Here's the thing. I loved all of the creative writing classes I took at OSU, but they left me unable to enjoy the simple pleasure of reading a story without critiquing the writing, even a children's story such as this one. The entire book felt like a blue print to what could be a really fun story with some more work. I loved the way it started--a little house on the prairie girl who could fly!--but then it all fell apart. The characters were flat and the writing was so wordy. Take this for example:

"...Piper was given less than four seconds to retroactively relive all of her last months in a staggering journey that reordered by 180 degrees everything she'd accepted as real and true to be fake and lies, so that her head was spinning and her knees were shaking and she no longer knew which way was up or down."

How did such a sentence get past an editor? Really? And I also had a hard time finding the story plausible. X-Men somehow manages to pull you into the mutant world without it feeling as contrived as this one.

However, I do hope they turn this into a movie, because I think this may be one of those exceptions when the movie could outshine the book. The story has huge potential if put in the right hands.

One of those books you just love and don't know why.

What an amazing story! I loved the characters and want to see more. My daughter loved it too. Very dark but fun. Not sure I liked the ending, but?

When I first read this book, I LOVED it.

Stephanie Meyer (??) had it extremely right in the quote on the front of my copy when she called it a mix between Little House on the Prairie and X-Men. The only thing missing is that it's got a liberal dash of fairy-tale cuteness stirred in.

When I was younger, the fact that kindness could almost be a superpower really struck me. It was a new concept. I had never thought of anything that way before. She can fly, but Piper's positivity and open-heartedness are what really drive the heart of this book. I love her and Conrad's dynamic, and Conrad as his own character is fabulous too.

On this re-read, I'm sad to say it doesn't hold up as well as I hoped.

When I was a kid I felt like this book straight up knocked me flat on my back. Now, the simple story and lack of realism does take a little bit of the shine off, but I'm keeping the rating because it reflects my opinion when I was closer to the book's target audience. I still think that Conrad and Dr. Hellion are extremely well-done, complex characters for the type of book this is, and that the message is a powerful one. (And easier to swallow here than from Pollyanna.)

3.5/5
This book had the vibes of miss perigrine and I enjoyed that a lot.
My issue was that the plot twist was very predictable and took so long to be revealed

The Girl Who Could Fly is the story of Piper McCloud, a young girl born on a farm who discovers at a young age that she is able to fly. Her parents are confused and worried by their daughter’s gift and keep her isolated from others in the community for just that reason.

When Piper and her parents attend the 4th of July picnic, Piper is deliriously happy at the idea of making friends and spending time with children her own age. The picnic is a disaster; Piper’s dreams of friendship are crushed and when the neighbors witness Piper’s ability she and her family are met with fear and scorn.

Piper’s public display also causes Dr. Letitia Hellion to show up on her doorstep. Dr. Hellion and a large government entourage propose to take Piper to a facility for children with “special” abilities where she can be trained and taught and kept safe. Piper’s parents love her, but fear they are not capable of giving her what she needs given her special abilities. Piper travels with Dr. Hellion to the Institute of Normalcy, Stabilty And NonExceptionality (I.N.S.A.N.E.). The Institute is a subterranean fortress. Piper is awed by the school and by Dr. Hellion, who seems like an angel, rescuing her from all the doubts and questions that have been swirling around in her mind. She makes real friends for the first time in her life!

Piper gradually discovers that none of the staff or the students are who she believes them to be. She begins to realize that her safe haven is really placing her in mortal danger. Piper struggles to master her feelings of shock and betrayal and resolutely sets about the task of planning an escape. Piper’s true ability comes from her generous and compassionate heart; she has extraordinary empathy for other living beings and is passionate about dreams and ideas. Coupled with her ability to fly, these gifts endear her to the other students in a way that generates their own determination and faith in themselves.

When the children attempt to free themselves from I.N.S.A.N.E. the unthinkable happens and Piper is devastated to think that she cannot trust her own heart. Her surrender and her return to the others as a shell of the person she was are the saddest moments in the story. But the author does not leave us there!! We see how Piper’s compassion and drive has infused the others with the desire to help her when she can no longer help herself.

This is a wonderful fantasy: children with extraordinary abilities like a group of young X-men woven together with a heartfelt tale of human compassion, self-determination and generosity of spirit. Full of suspense, danger and exhiliration this is a great read-aloud for 3rd-5th graders and a terrific independent reading choice for almost any age.

it was really good, i liked it and stayed up all night reading it last night. i don't recall the time but i am sure i finished it after 12 am so i am marking it as finished today.

I read this with my daughter. Pretty good book about kids who are different. There is some serious torture toward the end

What do you call the poem or quote included in a book before the text begins?

Whatever that is, the one for this book is perfect:

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best,
night and day, to make you everybody else
means to fight the hardest battle which any human
being can fight; and never stop fighting.

e e cummings