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Enfield, Texas, is much like any other town in Texas: there, football is practically a religion. But for some students at Enfield’s small high school, marching band is king in the fall. Anna James has been playing saxophone for just a few years, not nearly as long as most of the other kids in the band, and when she gets a chance to play a duet in the field show, she is determined to get it right so she won’t lose out to another student. That leads her to ask her duet partner, a mellophone player named Weston Ryan, to help her practice.
Weston is inclined to say no. He’s mostly a loner, except for a couple of close friends, and many people in school and the town think he’s trouble or at least just weird. He doesn’t want to rub off on Anna, who is perfect, a Happening. But he says yes.
The two form a friendship and more. Weston’s musical talent helps Anna to be a better musician; she helps him feel a little more accepted and comfortable. But just as their relationship is truly blossoming and he’s feeling accepted even by Anna’s strict parents, a tragedy happens, and Anna has to move on without him.
I immediately decided to read Full Flight because I so thoroughly enjoyed the author’s debut young adult book, Amelia Unabridged. This is a bit more grounded in reality, without the bookish fantasy threads going through AU. But they both have themes of friendship, loss and grief, and feeling lonely and separate. Both are lovely and real and struck at my heart. And as a band member in high school myself, and a mom to three marching band kids, it was fun to be so immersed in marching band in a novel. I immediately handed it over to my youngest, currently in band, who enjoyed all the band geek references. Even as fun as it is for readers who have been or are in marching band, it still will ring true for others, as band is just a construct where the important themes can play out.
RATING
Rated: High. Profanity includes 14 uses of strong language, about 10 instances of moderate profanity, fewer than 10 uses of mild language, and about 15 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes kissing and one scene where the two teens have sex but there are no details past kissing and undressing.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
