2020 EDIT: A wonderful and heartwrenching book, read again with gusto.
I read and adored 'The Girl Who Could Fly' when it first came out. Now that I'm older and more socially and politically aware, it is easy for me to interpret I.N.S.A.N.E., the institution/prison for children with awesome abilities, as like a conversion therapy camp. The cultural and sociological pressure to be "normal" - bland, boring, conventional, stiff, unfulfilled, conservative, fundamentalist and "Christian", okay with the same daily routines, often invisible, not truly happy, voiceless, manageable, controllable and fitting into a box - is being forced onto so many people, sometimes through inhumane processes. It is damaging and devastating. Real people - from marginalised communities, and especially queer and trans folks - are going through this.
And fact: If you are doing something that requires having to suppress and deaden any or all of your emotions, and be blind to others' suffering and pain, and basically live and act like a sociopath, then yes, that thing you are doing is evil, and you are a monster, and you should stop.
'The Girl Who Could Fly', like its happy and innocent bonny protagonist Piper, grows and develops as it progresses - from the naivety of childhood, to adulthood and its harsh realities. It is very funny and self-aware, too.
If only there were actually any LBGTQ characters in it, or even a hint of it, and that the main cast wasn't white (and that there were more positive adult female role models, for that matter). Also the third chapter casually uses the R-word twice. Regardless of where and when the book is set, this is most unfortunate and off-putting to read in a book celebrating equality and uniqueness. It is a testament to how good the rest of the book is that this didn't end up marring my enjoyment of it overall.
For all its horrors, most of which are inflicted on young children, the message, themes and writing of 'The Girl Who Could Fly' are full of light, hope and freedom. It can be very scary and dramatic, but it's also euphoric. The characters are fantastically realised and well developed.
It's a sad but sweet, funny and beautiful book.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
'The Girl Who Could Fly' is a wonderfully entertaining read. It reminds me of 'X-Men' meeting a Roald Dahl story. It's sweet yet cynical to the point of parody. But mainly it's charming, with important lessons about surviving being different in a world that wants you to be like everyone else. Use your gifts to break the dull, ordinary mold, and be true to yourself.
Piper McCloud, the young protagonist, is just like a cloud - not only because can she fly, but because she is a creature of such fun, dreams and friendliness that you can't help but love her, and want her to succeed in everything she tries. Her free-spiritedness reminded me of 'Anne of Green Gables' and 'Heidi' rolled into one. She's naive, impulsive, but not stupid, and she refuses to be a sheep and give up what she loves doing - flying, despite what her religious farmland parents tell her. Piper McCloud is the perfect name for her - she wants to be free to test her abilities and be heard doing it; never fearing what people might think.
I hated Conrad Harringtom III, the bully at the school Piper is sent to for kids with abnormal gifts like herself. At first. He is an arrogant, self-important, insufferable know-it-all who doesn't know it all, and Piper is not afraid to stand up to him on this fact. But later, when I understood why he is the way he is - and when he went through something called character development - I liked him as much as the other cute kids. He himself is never cute, but at least he isn't as one-dimensional as I thought him to be for the majority of the book.
Conrad is also a good contrast to Piper and her strongly-held beliefs. He is an example of one of the book's themes of how no one is who they may seem at first - not on the outside or the inside, as human beings are complex and magical in different ways.
Despite 'The Girl Who Could Fly' easily being labelled a children's book - as it does have juvenile parts in it - it also contains snippets of mean-spiritedness to go with the seemingly childish premise and writing. I was also annoyed at the names, such as Millie Mae Miller, Sally Sue, Rory Ray, Timmie Todd, Jimmy Joe, Billy Bob and Junie Jane. I know it's parody, but it still felt overly silly even for a kid's book. Speaking of names, there are characters called Bella and Jasper in this book (uh huh), and other sweet but obvious names like Violet, Lily, Daisy, Myrtle and Kimber.
But despite the silliness, 'The Girl Who Could Fly' is a lovely gem that takes a very dark turn towards the end. There are surprises, ones that I'm impressed made it into a children's/young adult book at this day and age. It left me on edge a lot of times as I kept reading. With every laugh there is a tear, with every light there is darkness to counter and challenge it.
This story is both optimistic and pessimistic, and as dramatic as it is sad.
Overall, 'The Girl Who Could Fly' is a simple but overlooked and important story about discrimination and seeing the truth in people. If it had been written and published when I was younger, I think it really would have had a large effect on me. Even though I'm older than its target demographic, it strikes a chord through my heart.
Final Score: 4/5
P.S. I can see 'The Girl Who Could Fly' being made into a good children's film to watch during the holidays, if really good child actors can be cast.
'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
Page quotes:
'"I've never been away from my ma and pa before. My ma always says she can't figure where I've come from. She says that there wasn't ever another McCloud like me. Sometimes I thought that was a good thing 'cause I don't want to be just like everyone else. But then I got to thinking and it got me worried. 'Cause I am a McCloud, and if I'm not a McCloud, then what am I? A person likes to feel like they belong somewhere."' - Piper McCloud, Page 74-75
'This pivotal decision became a simple equation to live by: normal = good and abnormal = bad; ergo, all abnormality must become normal or be destroyed.' - Page 252
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