by Victoria Forester
ages 11+

My interest for this book was piqued after reading this review over at Charlotte’s Library. Especially the part about more heart than Savvy and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Since I really really liked both of those, I knew I had to read this one. And you know why, Charlotte’s right: The Girl Who Could Fly is a unique book, full of heart, amazing discoveries, thrilling adventures, and enough emotion to blow you away.

Simply, Piper McCloud can fly. She was born a “floater”, and, eventually, realized that she could probably fly. However, her flying creates a bit of a problem: those in Lowland County don’t take to people flying very well. Enter a special government task force to take care of the problem. They whisk Piper away to a special school, where she meets more kids with exceptional abilities, and faces what could probably be the biggest challenge in her short life.

The biggest challenge with reviewing this book is not giving too much away. I was thinking that this book was nice and all, until about halfway through when the first twist happened. Suddenly, I couldn’t put it down. I’ll just say that it’s an incredible, and emotional, roller coaster ride from there to the end, one that had me on the edge of my seat, biting my nails.

And if that isn’t enough of a recommendation for you, M pried it out of my hands last night, and read it all in one sitting. Then she picked it up this morning (she’s home from school with a bit of a stomach bug), and read it again.

I would go into detail about why we love it so much, but I think the best thing is for you to go out and read it yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)