Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly
Stephen Graham Jones
". . . [Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly] is an entertaining, thoughtful piece." - Publishers Weekly Things Mary doesn't want to fall into: the river, high school, her mother's life. Things Mary does kind of want to fall into: love, the sky. This is the story of a girl who sees a boy float away one fine day. This is the story of the girl who reaches up for that boy with her hand and with her heart. This is the story of a girl who takes on the army to save a town, who goes toe-to-toe with a mad scientist, who has to fight a plague to save her family. This is the story of a girl who would give anything to get to babysit her baby brother one more time. If she could just find him. It's all up in the air for now, though, and falling fast. . . . Fun, breathlessly exciting, and full of heart, Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly is an unforgettable ride.
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Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly is a young adult story with dystopian and sci-fi elements and follows a teen girl named Mary who’s struggling with anxiety and general mental health and how her friends and family are dealing with things in their lives. At a kid’s birthday party, she witnesses a strange kid start floating into the air like a balloon and then everyone in town starts getting sick and other kids start floating but not Mary. When her little brother starts floating, it’s up to Mary to find the Floating Boy who started it all and figure out what’s happening before she loses her brother.
I'm a little mixed on this one. As far as Mary herself, she’s got some issues but ultimately I liked her snark, attitude and determination. I also really liked the relationship between Mary and her little brother, who she works hard to protect and I also liked the awkwardness between Mary and the strange boy, which felt more accurate to what I remember of being a teen.
What didn't work for me as well was more related to the plot. The pacing felt a little uneven and I really didn't like the ultimate explanation for the floating mystery and I wish it had been left more vague because I just couldn't suspend disbelief for that. I also didn't love that the themes around medication and religion felt a bit heavy handed but that could also just be a me thing since I really don't like heavy themes.
Overall, this was a middle of the road book for me. I liked elements, particularly related to the main character but the plot and worldbuilding elements just didn't work for me.
If you want more details, I have a dedicated review for this on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gzHI9_adYIY
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