Title: Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Everyone else in the tiny town of Enfield, Texas, calls fall football season, but for the forty-three members of the Fighting Enfield Marching Band, it’s contest season. And for new saxophonist Anna James, it’s her first chance to prove herself as the great musician she’s trying hard to be.
When she’s assigned a duet with mellophone player Weston Ryan, the boy her small-minded town thinks of as nothing but trouble, she’s equal parts thrilled and intimidated. But as he helps her with the duet, and she sees the smile he seems to save just for her, she can’t help but feel like she’s helping him with something too.
When her strict parents find out she’s been secretly seeing him and keep them apart, Anna and Weston learn what it truly means to fight for something they love. With the marching contest nearing and the two falling hard for one another, the unthinkable happens, and Anna is left grappling for a way forward without Weston.
Ashley Schumacher’s Full Flight is about how first love shapes us—even after it’s gone.
Review:
Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher is a poignant young adult romance.
Anna James is in the marching band and she is having difficulty playing her portion of a duet. She asks Weston Ryan, the other half of the duet, to help her with her part. He initially says no but Anna proves to be hard to resist. Her friends and parents do not want her spending time with the town’s “bad boy” but she knows there is more to Weston than rumors. Anna’s parents are strict and they have already made their opinion of Weston know. So, she sneaks around behind their backs in order to see him. Weston and Anna begin to fall for each other, but what will happen to their relationship when Anna’s parents find out she has been lying to them?
Anna is refreshingly direct, sweet and used to being in the “friend zone”. She is very smart but she has not been playing the saxophone as long as the rest of the band. Her family is close and her parents keep tight reins on her and her younger sister. Anna feels bad about lying to her parents but she does not want to lose her part in the duet.
Weston is an incredibly gifted musician but he has been through a rough time recently. After his parents’ unexpected divorce, he went to a school in a nearby for a year to escape the gossip. His transfer back has not been easy since he is no longer as close to his friends, Ratio and Jonathan. Weston is smart but he does not prioritize his schoolwork until Anna begins helping him.
Anna and Weston quickly become friends but there is also a mutual attraction simmering between them. Anna does not want to get her heart broken again and Weston does not want another person in his life to disappear. But young love can be powerful and impossible to resist, so their friendship soon transitions to romance. Once Anna’s parents find out about them, will their relationship survive her punishment?
Full Flight is a heartfelt young adult romance that is utterly captivating. Anna and Weston are wonderful teenagers that are three-dimensional and incredibly life-like. The small town and high school settings are well drawn and easy to visualize. The storyline is well written and touches on a number of topical issues that will resonate with readers of all ages. With a heart-wrenching plot twist, Ashley Schumacher brings this bittersweet romance to a very emotional conclusion.
