With Why We Fly, much like they did with their debut, I'm Not Dying With You Tonight, Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal showcase their knack for writing timely, thought-provoking books on social justice and race relations in America. Both these books are quick reads, but they're necessary conversation starters, especially with how they center youth.

This book focuses on Chanel and Eleanor, high school cheerleaders and best friends, who hope to make it to cheer Nationals. Between the two of them, they are also navigating college apps, friendship, romance, substance use, and recovering from a severe concussion. At the first football game of their senior year, the cheer team decides to take a knee during the national anthem following the lead of an NFL player (and alumnus of their high school), Cody Knight. And suddenly, this cheer team is at the heart of national discourse, with some athletes under greater scrutiny than others.

Each of the characters, primary and secondary, felt incredibly believable. The protagonists and Three (Eleanor's love interest) were wonderfully flawed, and I appreciated how the authors explored each character's relationship to the fallout of kneeling with nuance. I especially enjoyed Eleanor's exploration of her privilege and conversations with Three's aunt Rhonda (the coolest) and her rabbi about allyship.

"'An ally supports a cause without suffering any consequences for their actions. But an accomplice takes the hits along with the people they're trying to support.'"

Because this is a relatively short book, I felt some ideas and relationships didn't get enough consideration. But overall, the book is well-written and compelling, showcasing the ties between sports and activism through great characters.

Wasn't what I was expecting, but was enjoyable. Quick read, will recommend if someone's looking for books involving cheerleading. Apart from that, not exactly high on my list of recommendations.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Why We Fly.

Best friends Eleanor and Chanel are ready to start their senior year. Chanel is looking forward to being named captain of the cheer team while Eleanor is hoping to receive medical clearance to resume cheering following a concussion.

When the cheer team decides to kneel during the national anthem in support of a school alum, it gets them plenty of attention, but not all of it is positive. The consequences are not the same for the girls either. (Eleanor is white, Chanel is Black.)

While I enjoyed the book and the dual narrative, in particular, I felt that it missed the opportunity to really focus on WHY athletes are kneeling. It was briefly explained, but it wasn't really the focus of the book. I felt like a teachable moment was missed. I still recommend it for middle and high school readers, but parents and teachers may want to add their own teaching during or after reading.

Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal was a book that was REALLY easy to sell me on reading. You see, when a book combines themes of sports and activism, I am absolutely on board to pick it up. And so, I was really excited to read Why We Fly and fall into the dual narratives of Chanel and Eleanor. As it turns out, this book didn’t quite hit as much as I had wanted it to.

Why We Fly opens summer before senior year. Eleanor or Lenie as she is referred to in the book is going through physical therapy after suffering two concussions while cheerleading. She is hoping to be cleared to come back to the team after being sidelined for a year. While in physical therapy she meets Three, the quarterback, in the parking lot and the two form a romantic relationship. Chanel, or Nelly, as she is referred to is spending her summer at an elite cheer camp. Nelly is driven and a natural leader. Lenie and Nelly are the best of friends.

That is, until Lenie is chosen to be cheer captain over Nelly. This starts a rift between Lenie and Nelly. The two continue to grow apart. At this time, a famous football player begins kneeling to protest racial injustice — the player isn’t Kapernick, but clearly modeled after him – right down to the initials. Lenie is struck by this.

And so, after a conversation about these actions the cheerleaders decide to take a knee at the next game during the anthem. This ends up having consequences for the team and specifically for one cheerleader that is not Lenie. Nelly, FYI, is doing her level best to achieve all the things. As well as to be selected for a prestigious program before college.

Overall, Why We Fly was not exactly what I had expected. It feels like there’s so much going on in this short book which is fine. I would have liked it more if this book was more tightly focused. Or if it had really leaned into certain events more. I felt like this book was very surface when I wanted depth. However, maybe that’s because I am evolving as a reader. I do think maybe Why We Fly would work well for a younger audience and subjectively it wasn’t for me and THAT IS FINE. I am not at all the intended audience.

When the cheerleading team decided to take a knee at the first football game of the season, best friends Eleanor and Chanel had no idea the fallout that would happen.

This book was incredible and really took a deep look into friendship, privilege and race. This one was so interesting to see each girl’s viewpoint and how their backgrounds led to them being affected in different ways. I loved that this was told in dual POVs because it really allowed me to understand what was going on in each girl’s head. I’ve heard great things about Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal’s previous book, and after reading this one, I definitely want to read more by them!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced copy.

Why We Fly is a fascinating look at privilege and the lengths people have it will go to keep it. It never gets preachy, but is unflinchingly honest. The character development and their struggles across the board were captivating. The writing is terrific, and the multiple narrators add important perspective. A must-have for both HS and public libraries.

Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal have friendship that lends itself very well to a co-authored book. Their second collaboration together, Why We Fly addresses racism and female empowerment.

When we fly is a book about being a teenager and trying to hold everything in your life together. There are Many things that this book talks about friendship, about school, and how people treat you different because of how you look. I like how in When We Fly talks about the two different side where one person can be seen as the hero while another person who does the same thing can be seen as the villain. I also like how the book talks about just how hard cheer can be and how dangerous it can be. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.

This a book for the times. It’s about friendship and trying to figure out what you want to do in the world. Nelly has a plan; she always has a plan. Leni has been recovering from a second concussion and hasn’t been herself. As members of the competition cheer squad, they all decided to kneel during the national anthem in support of a former student, now professional football player. After the second time, the team is banished from the field for future national anthems. Only one of the team members is suspended, Nelly. Nelly and Leni have been best friends since grade school and the suspension and Leni becoming captain over Nelly has fractured their relationship. As the year moves on, the team competes in the national cheer championship, new friendships and relationships are formed and changed. Leni has things to figure out and Nelly jumps into college prep. I wish I had the drive that Nelly has. I enjoyed this book.

Why We Fly is a very timely novel that can resonate well for both teens and adults. After a professional athlete kneels during the national anthem - Eleanor and Chanel's high school cheerleading squad choose to do their own peaceful protest and take a knee before a football game. But the aftermath and ramifications of their decisions do not fall equally on the two young women. Both Eleanor and Chanel have their flaws and don't always make the smartest decisions or always fight for the right reasons - but they each learn and do grow from their experiences. This is a very approachable social justice novel for teens- definitely recommend. Looking forward to reading more from these two authors. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

I really appreciate the message that Why We Fly is putting out there. The girls made a split second decision to protest and support a fellow athlete by bending a knee during the national anthem. Then came the unexpected consequences, harder on some than others. I loved both Leni and Nelly as protagonists, but was a little saddened and disappointed in the way that relationships developed in the story. The girls' friendship fell apart so easily, and the romance with Three was so messy. Understandably realistic for high schoolers, but not the most fun to read, in my opinion. I did enjoy watching both girls grow personally by the end of the book.

There was a lot of important, relevant stuff going on in this book. I would have liked it to be a little longer to address the topics a little more (although it would be good for a younger YA audience being a little shorter). The vaping storyline ended up feeling random due to the book having so many topics. The message of the book got a little lost having so many topics. I liked having dual POV and it was interesting to see the perspectives of both girls. Overall, I would recommend this book to my students and other YA readers.

HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND

this is so underrated like even the cover is so aesthetic and people should be going crazy over this book


I can't argue how much I sincerely enjoyed reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal.

This book did not go where I thought it would from the first chapter. When we are introduced to Leni she is recovering from a concussion, her second in her career as a high school cheerleader. From there we are introduced to a variety of high school characters who get caught up in news coverage and their ability to make change in the world.

I adored this book, the mix of sports, privilege, opportunities, and making plans for how you are going to change the world rather than jumping in with two feet was entertaining and kept me reading so that I read the entire story in one sitting. I appreciate that not everything went to plan for these characters, most of it did and shows that even if things seem like they are going all wrong most of your hard work will pay off but things will change and not everything will stay the same or be able to go back to the way it was before. Just like for Leni and her cheerleading, after the concussions she was good but it wasn't exactly the same as before and she has to deal with those repercussions for the rest of her life.

Overall I think this book has a great message sandwiched in a captivating story with great characters.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

I really enjoyed Jones’ and Segal’s first book - I’m Not Dying With You Tonight. While this follows the same premise: a Black main character and a white main character facing a racial problem, it fell just short of the first novel.

I found I was not as attached to the characters in Why We Fly, but I did enjoy the plot. I would recommend to teens and adults who enjoy reading social justice novels.

I was super excited when I received an ARC. This has been one of my highly anticipated reads. Sadly, I ended up disappointed by this one. It is told in two different pov's. The two voices didn't sound that unique from each other. The main characters also weren't all that likable. I really wanted to have a reason for caring for the characters and for their goals. The main topic of the synopsis didn't feel like it was the main issue in the story. It felt like it was barely touched upon and any issues that came from it were solved too easily. The ideas and conversations that went into this book are great. I really wanted to see how students rights, sports, and protests would be discussed in this book. There are so many great conversation starters in this book. However, the execution felt empty of the discussions. I felt like I was being told things that were never properly shown in the book. There wasn't any character development and I never felt that I truly got to see any conflicts naturally play out.

I would like to thank Sourcebooks for providing me with an ARC.

Eleanor and Chanel are best friends who have the same dream: all they want is to be amazing cheerleaders. But Eleanor is still recovering from an injury that benched her last season, and all Chanel wants is to be team captain. But when Chanel doesn’t make team captain, and Eleanor starts hanging out with a new guy, their friendship starts to pull them apart. Their friendship is only put under more strain when their team takes a knee against racism, and the administration takes action against them. Can they save their friendship and make a difference?

I received an advanced reading copy of Why We Fly in exchange for an honest review.

Why We Fly is a young adult fiction novel by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal. It’s a novel that discusses friendship as well as racism, and how a team comes together to fight it.

The novel started out with two friends who have similar goals and then find themselves torn apart as life happens. I really enjoyed these characters, and how they are so different. I also really love how they grew and developed, and where they ended up. Of course, I won’t tell you how they ended up (because of spoilers), but I liked how it went!

The characters were fascinating, and the circumstances that slowly moved them apart were important to depict, but I sort of felt like part of the plot ended up fizzling out. While the friendship part seemed to continue developing, the part about them taking a knee and standing up against racism sort of faded into the background. I think that plot needed to keep growing a bit more, and I would have loved to see the characters continue on that part of the story, although the way it went was probably more realistic. I guess this might be a bit of a spoiler to say this, but it’s something I wish had been a bit different about the book.

Why We Fly was a quick and short book, and a good one for high schoolers to read, both to read about how friendships can develop and change, as well as what people can do to take a stand.

Why We Fly was released on October 6. You can buy it from Sourcebooks Fire now.

I thought that this book was interesting because it is telling a very modern story. What happens when you stand up for something you believe in?? As a former cheerleader, it was exciting to see a cheer-themed book that also delved into serious social issues. I think that the authors did a good job balancing the lighter and heavier moments in the book.

Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones have done an excellent job creating a world that feels real and characters whose actions and motivations a reader can easily relate to. I would recommend this book and I think it would be a great addition to a classroom bookshelf.

This novel is set in 2019 during the Colin Kaepernick NFL kneeling scandal BEFORE the viral BLM movement took hold in the summer of 2020. Two best friends and high school cheerleaders, Eleanor and Chanel, are navigating their senior year during a time of social and political uncertainty. Their cheer squad decides to take a stand by taking a knee at the first football game of the season but their act of rebellion has disastrous consequences for the students involved. Chanel, who is black, is singled out and suspended while none of the other members of the squad suffer consequences. This novel explores issues of friendship, race and privilege.

I read the bestselling debut novel by these authors 'I'm Not Dying with You Tonight' and this book did not disappoint! Both of the authors live in Atlanta which is also the setting of the book. Although this book is meant for teens, I think it resonates for both teens & adults. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Black Lives Matter / anti-racist movement or the nuances of interracial friendship & relationships in modern day America.

Check out Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones; Gilly Segal and be sure to get this YA novel wherever you buy books!

✦ Goodreads ➜ https://bit.ly/3kkvD7M
✦ Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/3kmV8oW
✦ Apple ➜ https://apple.co/2Xtml0u
✦ Google ➜ https://bit.ly/2XoNuS5
✦ Kobo ➜ https://bit.ly/3tQPsH8
✦ Nook ➜ https://bit.ly/39kH8G8

TAGS: fiction, contemporary, young adult, romance, people of color protagonists, race, politics, black lives matter, blm

*Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire, & the authors Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal for providing a free eARC in exchange for my honest review #WhyWeFly #NetGalley @NetGalley #sourcebooksfire @sourcebooksfire #KimberlyLatriceJones @kimberlylatricejones #GillySegal @really.gilly

I didn’t like it at all.
The idea of the plot was a good idea but when you are at the middle of the book and almost nothing happenned, it’s not a good thing. Even more with a short story.
The story is too on the surface. I imagined something deeper. I wanted something deeper. This story could have talked about many more things, and much better.
It could be a little bit positive if I liked the characters but no. I really hate them and every chapter was more diffictult to read : every chapter I hates them more.
A good thing ? It was short. So i finished it quickly.