Flying Solo - Ralph Fletcher

Flying Solo by Ralph Fletcher
Genre: J Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): When the substitute for Mr. Fabiano's class never shows up, his sixth grade students are left on their own. Wanting to prove that they can run the class by themselves, they decide not to let anyone know that they are teacherless for the day. With a little bit of careful planning, things might go off without a hitch. But a fight breaks out between Bastian Fauvell and Rachel White over a classmate, Tommy Feathers, who died six months earlier. Rachel has communicated only by writing notes since Tommy's death, the class hasn't dealt with Tommy's absence, and now everything is falling apart. The school day isn't over yet. Will Mr. Fab's class keep flying solo, or crash?

MY OPINION: ****

I should've gone deeper into the title of this story. Then I would know that there is a lot about airplanes in the book. Oh, well.

If you have already read my review on Goodreads, you would know that I promised to make this a short review, and I will try. I mean, this book was extremely short, so a short book equals a short review, right?

Yeah.

OK, I think that this book was actually not bad. I was leafing through some books that my little sister had bought, and I came across this one. I read the back cover, and it looked pretty good to me, so I was instantly intrigued. I think that this book only took me one day to read, though I may have started it a few days ago, and have left it there.

I hated the thing about Tommy Feathers. This does not count as a spoiler in my opinion, so...Tommy died in his sleep due to natural causes, and the fact that the author does not explain more leads me to think differently. The author makes it seem like Tommy is a normal sixth grade kid, and I actually forgot that he was held back many times, so he was a lot older. Tommy's crush on Rachel was so sweet, and I kind of get why she went into her lapse of silence. She was so mean to him! Tommy's character really made this story kind of sad and even depressing at times! Not that he is a bad kid. I think that the author did a good job of going deeper into Tommy's character, and making him seem important even when he wasn't there.

Secondly, Rachel's lapse of silence was actually starting to get on me. I mean, I totally get it, but the fact that she doesn't talk made me sort of angry. I don't know why.

OK, the good stuff:

This book was really intriguing and interesting. It helped to pass time, and I loved reading their flashdrafts and other writing. I also liked learning about the new characters, and their personalities and lives.

At first, I really liked Bastian, but then I saw his behavior. This context helped me come to the conclusion that not everyone is who they are in one place than as who they are in another. I have no idea if that sentence made sense, but...it sums up my feelings. I was so sad that he had to give away Barkley. Truthfully, I don't think I could have ever done that to my dog or cats. I feel like Bastian is actually really brave.

OK, enough. This was a short review (for me). Hope to see you soon!

OH, I also liked the little romances throughout the book :)

I would recommend this book to younger readers, from fifth grade on up.

Main Character: Rachel White
Sidekick(s): Bastian, Sean, Jessica, Jasmine, Vicki, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, independence, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: Anything in this book COULD happen in real life, though it does not necessarily mean it will.