Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This hit me so hard emotionally. I was uncontrollably sobbing in the last 15% to 20%. Anna and Weston had such a perfect connection, it was impossible for me not to love them. I'm usually not the biggest fan of friends to lovers, but this book wrote it perfectly. When friends to lovers is done right, it is better than every other trope, and Full Flight has done it better than right. Usually, I only get this attached to a friends to lovers couple when a book is childhood friends to lovers, but Anna and Weston's connection was undeniable.

I don't think I've cried over a young adult book like this since I read "A Thousand Boy Kisses" by Tillie Cole. I wouldn't say they are very similar, but the emotional impact they both have is phenomenal. I'm not getting over this any time soon.

To make the book even more perfect, the cover is beautiful.

I haven't read Ashley Schumacher's other book, but I'm going to read it soon.

4.5 stars — Huh. I probably should have reread the blurb before reading the book, and then I wouldn’t have been quite so startled with the turn of events. It’s weird how things are hinted in blurbs, but then you forget, and suddenly the author is murdering all your emotions.

Another rollercoaster ride of a book. I think I need to take a break with something light and fun after this. Which is not to say I didn’t love this book, I truly did. But wow. My heart. Ouch.

One of the things I truly loved about this book is how it showcased 2 very different individuals struggling with mental health. We so often think about depression in one way, but I can vouch that Anna’s form of depression is very real. I really connected with her on it, and the struggles that she went through. I can’t help but look back on my childhood and wonder how long I was struggling before it became impossible to ignore in my 20s. The need to continue being the “good child”, the struggle with how other people see you, and wanting them to see you in one way. I don’t know, I just really connected SO MUCH with Anna. She was quirky, awkward, adorable, caring, and genuine. She wasn’t perfect by any means, and I cringed watching her make certain decisions, but I could understand it.

Weston was a deep well that no one took the time to look inside. I loved seeing him embrace what Anna brought into his life, even as he struggled and was terrified of that. The way he was shaped by the events in his life is probably very realistic for many young adults. He had a really interesting way of looking at the world, and I loved that he helped Anna broaden herself as well. It was a perfect give and take.

They were seriously so cute together, everything I love in a YA couple. Their emotions were so strong and overwhelming. I loved that they balanced each other out, that they found another lonely soul who would understand them.

I adored (in a heartbreaking way) the way both the duet and the story of the Kauai ‘o’o bird were woven into the narrative. It was beautifully done.

Even though we don’t do marching bands up in my neck of the woods (prairie Canada), I was a band geek in school, and so all that band stuff really did hit a mark with me. Mr. Brant reminded me of Mr. McLean in so many ways. The weird band friendships, the feelings from that time in my life…it was perfectly nostalgic.

So yeah. I need to recover now. I shouldn’t be surprised, Ms. Schumacher’s debut did the same thing to me. So many of the things I wrote in that review I could have written in this one as well.

I can’t believe it was this time last year when I was first introduced to Ashley Schumacher’s writing. Everyone I know who read her first book, Amelia Unabridged, was instantly smitten.

Speaking of instantly smitten, with her sophomore release, @ashwritesbooks explores the trappings of first love head on. In Full Flight, we are taken to the small town of Enfield, Texas. It’s a place where, for better or worse, everyone knows everyone else’s business. The story quickly zones in on Anna James and Weston Ryan, two self proclaimed square pegs in a town that’s the equivalent to a round hole.

While Anna has managed to fake fitting in, Weston has remained on the fringe, rumors swirling that fuel the semblance of a bad boy image. The two are in band together, where Anna is struggling to stay in tune. When Weston becomes her duet partner, Anna finds herself drawn to him, despite what the rumors say.

As the two start spending more time together, it becomes harder and harder to fight their feelings. But Anna’s strict family would never approve of “bad boy” Weston, so their love blossoms as forbidden. But as time keeps marching, we are reminded of the painful pangs that come along with first love, and loss.

While some writers succumb to the sophomore slump, the immensely talented Ashley Schumacher sidesteps this curse entirely, defying expectations with her latest release. Full Flight is a bittersweet love story about what happens when life falls apart, but the band continues to play on.

Full Flight was an emotional rollercoaster for me filled with laughter, tears, hope, joy, and most importantly love. Ashley Schumacher broke me with this delicate love story in a way that I haven't felt since her debut novel Amelia Unabridged.

Weston is a gifted but strange teen, struggling to come to terms with his parent's divorce while fighting against the stigmatisms and gossip of small-town life. Every day he sinks deeper into the darkness until a ray of light- Anna, bullies her way into his life with a proposition to help her nail her duet for the band competition.

These characters were larger than life and leaped off the pages right into my heart. Anna was so mature for her age, putting aside her burning desire to be in the band because of her family's economic circumstances. Weston's self-doubt and anxiety were equal parts crippling and inspiring. Together, they wove a duet that consumed me.

I honestly cannot pen exactly how emotionally crushed I am by this book so I will give you some mini points for why I think you should read this book:
-A fantastic coming of age romance story that will hit you directly in the feels
-Full Flight is the kind of story that wedges its way inside your heart and makes you feel everything
-There are tears, laughter, sadness: readers will feel as deeply as these fantastically written characters do
-The ending.....................ohh the ending
-This story is an absolute celebration of being weird and finding yourself

Having read Amelia Unabridged I wasn't sure how Ashely would top that but she has this innate ability of innocently yet beautifully capturing human emotion. When I read how the characters see each other, my heart tugs with the beauty of their struggles and turmoils and their shining hope. Somehow Ashley makes wholesome flirting a thing, and I was absolutely here for it.

I cannot scream enough about recommending this book and this author as she is an auto-buy author for me.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, NetGalley, and the author for providing me with an arc.

Wonderful characters and what a truly touching heartfelt story..... A new author for me and this was definitely an attention holding novel.

I received a copy of this from the publisher in exchange for fair and honest review.

This author has a way of giving you all the feels. As an adult I’m transported back to my teen years of marching band, first loves, angst, friendships and loss. Wonderful writing.
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Can’t recommend enough the love story of Weston and Anna. They are like the Romeo and Juliet of marching band.
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The characters were well rounded and interesting, especially Anna’s sister - loved how their relationship progressed.
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Five stars and highly recommended!
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Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress

3.5 stars rounded up

In small town Enfield, Texas football season doubles as contest season for the high school marching band.

Anna is a saxophone player trying to prove herself worthy of a duet. The other half of the duet being mellophone player Weston, town mystery boy and supposed troublemaker.

When Anna and Weston join forces to work on their duet, they quickly find they have more in common than they thought, and they fall for one another. Hard.

I really enjoyed the author's first novel, Amelia Unabridged, so I was very excited to get my hands on an early copy of this one.

I was intrigued by the marching band concept, but I felt like that part of the plot was lacking where it could've been more in depth. It was such a big part of the characters lives and connection.

Overall, it was a cute story about first love, how intense it is, and how it has the power to shape you.

Full Flight is an absolutely lovely read. Schumacher fills her novel with lyrical writing, that its difficult not to pull quotes from the pages. Being a former band kid myself, reading about marching band brought back some amazing memories and I couldn't help but laugh at all the corny band jokes. The ending threw me a little, which is why I only gave this one three stars.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the gifted e-copy.

Well...that was...I'm not quite sure how to word my thoughts on this book, actually. I absolutely LOVED Amelia Unabridged last year, so I had very high hopes for Full Flight. But honestly, I didn't love it. It was beautifully written, in the author's lyrical style, don't get me wrong. I just didn't feel attached to the story at all.

The first 70% is like blahhh band duet blahhh more band...Anna seems determined to win over Weston, and Weston is determined to keep Anna at a distance. Obviously, that doesn't happen. Anna starts lying to her parents, who decided they don't like Weston (they don't know him or barely anything about him other than some rumors), For someone who is determine to keep Anna at a distance, Weston sure doesn't seem to be trying to actually do that, though. Then all of a sudden they're together, and seem to go from kissing to sex rather quickly. (I was like, wait what???)

Of course, Anna's parents find out, ground her for eternity, and she's miserable. However, they end up meeting Weston and decide "ohhhh heyyy, he's not really that bad, guess what, you can be with him!". Then - BOOM. The bad thing that I knew was going to happen happens. All of a freaking sudden. And the rest of the book is completely depressing. I *think* it was supposed to have an uplifting "everything will be ok* message at the end, but I was too busy crying to pick up on it.

This one just didn't do it for me. I felt like the first 3/4 of the book was boring and the last 1/4 was trying too hard to be heartbreaking and angsty. I wish I had dnf'd in the first few chapters, it would have saved me a lot of tears and negativity at the end.

2.5 rounded up to 3 only because it actually made me cry.

I loved Amelia Unabridged, so I was thrilled to be approved for this new book by Ashley Schumacher!

There is a lot to love about this story: deep feelings, beautiful prose, lovable characters, and band jokes to lighten the story a bit. I enjoyed the band aspect of the book; it was a lot of fun to learn about it and to see that side of high school portrayed! Love, loss, and dealing with the after effects of divorce was beautifully written, and I felt so much for the characters of the book.

I didn’t care for the swearing in this book; there was mostly mild swearing in Amelia Unabridged, so I wasn’t expecting the strong swear words used in this book. There is also a lot of lying to parents in the middle of the story, and as a mom I had a harder time with that. That being said, the resolution of all that was so good, and I loved that part of the book!

I won’t spoil anything, but be prepared to cry while reading this book. I don’t usually cry over books (though I will tear up over them), but I definitely cried while reading this. So have some Kleenexes nearby while reading!

4/5 stars

Content:
Strong swearing
One intimate scene without explicit details
Very brief memory of a girl talking about kissing her girlfriend

Wow. I don't even know where to start because this book took me on such a ride. First of all, if you were ever a high school band dork, like myself, this book will bring back so much nostalgia for those Friday night football games. Or, if you ever had a high school sweetheart, you can bank on feeling those nostalgic feels, too. The small southern town feels are quite accurate, too, especially the "church on every corner" vibe, where youth group becomes one of the only places kids are trusted to hang out.

Full Flight is an incredibly sweet high school "first love" romance between two teens in marching band: first chair saxophonist Anna James and school "weirdo" Weston Ryan. They live in the small town of Enfield, Texas, and are thrown together when Anna reaches out to Weston to ask for help with their upcoming duet. Weston, who is an incredibly talented mellophone/French horn player, doesn't want to agree to help Anna, as he's still processing the grief that goes along with his parents' recent divorce, and is scared of the feelings he's having towards Anna. But ultimately he gives in and a deep friendship and loving relationship blossoms.

I absolutely loved Ashley Schumacher's writing. It's deep and sensory without being overly complicated. I also loved the characters and their friendships. The atmosphere was spot on, as any fellow marching band folks will know. I greatly enjoyed this reading experience. It is very YA, very cute, sometimes cringe, but still worth it. Also, there are some great reflections on loneliness (the sections in Weston's chapters about the Kaua’i ‘o’o bird nearly broke my heart).

Be forewarned that the last quarter of the book is quite emotional and I am not ashamed to say that I sobbed quite a bit. I was also a bit shell shocked, although the synopsis lets you know that something is coming, so you're somewhat prepared.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Don’t let that beautiful swoony cover fool you, Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher packs an emotional punch that will make you ugly cry. It’s a heartbreaking but beautifully written story about feeling like you’re missing half of yourself, until you finally find someone who makes you feel whole, and what happens if you were then to lose that someone…

I was drawn to this book because of its focus on high school students in the marching band. I didn’t personally play an instrument myself but I was in the color guard when I was in high school so I felt a kinship to this entire group of kids. The main characters, Anna James and Weston Ryan, are both members of the band, and are assigned to play a duet together. Anna is new to the band and struggling with her half of the duet, so she begs Weston to help her since the band director is threatening to give her part to someone else. Anna and Weston have never so much as exchanged a single word with one another prior to Anna’s request for help so it’s awkward to say the least.

Weston is the character who intrigued me the most, mainly because he just has so many layers. He has somehow earned the reputation of being a weirdo and a troublemaker, even though it doesn’t appear to be who he really is at all. Aside from a small circle of friends, most of his fellow students don’t really have much to do with him and he feels very much out of place and alone, with music as his only solace. Because of his reputation, he’s absolutely shocked that Anna wants his help and at first tries to push her away.

I loved Anna, not only because she was stubborn and persistent enough to finally convince Weston to help her, but also because she flat out did not care about what other people thought about Weston. She thinks he’s a great guy and that’s all that matters to her. She makes it her mission to make others give Weston a chance, including her parents who judge Weston very harshly when they find out their daughter is associating with him.

I really enjoyed watching Anna and Weston connect, both in the practice rooms as they worked to perfect their duet, and in their personal lives as they first become friends and then realize they feel more than just friendship for one another. Watching their first love blossom was just so sweet and endearing, which made the tragedy that brought it all crashing down that much more heart-wrenching. I don’t want to spoil anything but you might want to have some tissues handy.

My absolute favorite part of Full Flight is a reference to the Kauai O’o bird that runs through the entire book. On the brink of extinction, this bird was the last of its kind and still called to its mate, ever hopeful that its mate would respond. Weston did a school report on the bird when he was younger and felt that it was a kindred spirit. The way the author ties this bird to Weston and Anna’s story was beautiful and heartbreaking and yet still somehow filled with hope, just like Full Flight itself. This is a story that is going to stay with me for a very long time.

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!*

This book broke me – but in the best way! Oh, it had my heart breaking at the end, but the journey was beautiful! ❤️

I really loved both Weston and Anna. They were both these sweet little cinnamon rolls that struggled with feelings of self-worth and belonging. I just wanted to squeeze them both and tell them that everything would be alright! Their relationship was so lovely to watch grow. I feel like they both helped each other become more sure of themselves and they brought each other out of their shells in their own unique ways. I am all about coming of age stories, and this one was beautiful for both of these characters.

I was a big fan of the friends and family in this book as well. Ratio and Jenny were my two favorites. I love seeing strong, platonic friendships in YA novels. The friends you make as a teen are often even more defining than your romantic relationships, so it was nice to see this represented well. I was also a big fan of seeing the sisters grow up and realize that they actually liked each other as the book went along. It felt very realistic to me.

If you follow my blog/reviews, you know that I am in love with a book that is about music. It brought back so much nostalgia from when I was in choir in high school. Obviously this is about band, but the feelings of camaraderie and pressure were so reminiscent of my own experience. I loved getting to see the love of music from different perspectives as well. You had some characters that were a lot more naturally talented than others, but the passion was the same.

I will not do any spoilers, but I will say that this book had me ugly crying by the end. I actually gasp-sobbed at one point, and I was thankful that my husband and daughter were out of hearing range because they would have probably thought I had hurt myself or something! No big deal, it was just my soul crushing 😭😉

The writing in this book was also just stunning. I found myself underlining lines that had nothing to do with the overall story, but just were so beautiful that I wanted to be able to go back and read them again.

This was a lovely book. If you want a beautiful love story, coming-of-age, hits you in the feels contemporary YA book – look no further!

My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I gave Full Flight 5 Stars!!

While YA is not my favorite genre, I found Full Flight to be an engaging, well-written read. I went into this one mostly blind (and what I had previously read of the synopsis was long forgotten, due to my poor memory), and I would suggest that for anyone considering this book. I honestly think the synopsis gives too much away, including a major plot point that took me by surprise and definitely increased my rating of the book overall. I think reading the entire synopsis beforehand will cause the reader to be distracted by what they know is coming, thus reducing the overall enjoyment of the story up to that point.

One of the aspects of this book that I really enjoyed is its focus on marching band. Although I was only in marching band for one year (and admittedly, was not a big fan of it), this book brought back lots of memories and felt very relatable in that way. I think the author did a great job describing the experience of being in marching band, even down to the bus rides to and from events. That said, if you've never been in marching band, you might find that aspect to be a bit much at times. While it was completely relatable to me, I could see how it might be a little long-winded for someone that has never been in or had an interest in marching band.

Up to about the 80% mark, I found the book to be interesting but follow a somewhat predictable plotline. Then at 80% of the way through it took a drastic turn, and I felt like that's when the story really gained some depth. I do think the synopsis is a bit misleading because it mentions this big plot point as if it's the focus of the book, when in actuality, it doesn't occur until pretty close to the end. But that 20% is poignant and emotional, so while it wasn't the overall focus of the book, it was definitely an important part of it. If anything, I would have liked to have seen that major plot point take place a little earlier in the book, as the first 80% felt a little drawn out and the last 20% felt a bit rushed. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and would recommend it to anyone that remembers (or wants to be reminded of) what it was like to be a teenager, to experience first love, or to be in marching band.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance e-galley of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Wednesday Books for sending me a copy of Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Ashley, you've done it ONCE AGAIN. I smiled, laughed and cried my way through Schumacher's first book (Amelia Unabridged go read that too!!!!) so my expectations for Full Flight were high. Anna and Weston are perfect. Their tension and stubbornness are so well crafted throughout the book that I can't help but wish I could go back and time and learn to play an instrument from childhood! Schumacher's superpower is always saying what we wish we could hear from those we like and it gets me every damn time!!!! UGH! I need more of Ashley's writing asap and need everyone to read Full Flight. I have nothing but phenomenal things to say about this book (except that maybe I'll be suing for Ashley Schumacher and Wednesday Books for hurting my heart in the worst best way!!).

Full Flight is the story of two young, struggling students recognizing something special in each other. Anna's the only freshman in the marching band and is struggling to keep up. When she's paired to perform a duet with Wesley Ryan, she's excited but also apprehensive. Wesley is the town troublemaker, the weird boy no one understands. And yet, when Wesley looks at Anna a smile breaks out on his face and Anna feels special. A strong friendship quickly incurs that leads to an insta-love situation. Thus when tragedy strikes, one of them has to learn how to move on under the burden of intense grief and loss.

Full Flight is an emotional young adult story that deals with issues like first love, peer pressure, loss and grief. The book is well written with characters that will steal your heart. I found the pace a bit slow with long descriptive passages on band protocol, etc., but overall it's a fast read. I feel like a little too much information is revealed in the blurb leading readers into the story with a wariness, an expectation of what's coming, and it puts a damper on the enjoyment of watching young love blossom. As might be expected, Full Flight is a heart-breaker so have the tissues ready. In spite of all that, Full Flight is a story of hope, survival and learning to let go and move on. Highly recommended to fans of young adult romance.

Nope. I reject this story and the pain it caused me, so I will definitely not be recommending it. (But also, it's beautifully written and really great, so I totally recommend that you read it.)

this is sadness you can not prepare for. if you need a good cry this is the book for you. when i tell u i sobbed, i actually sobbed. ugh this was so good. i loved it 🥰

Immense gratitude to #NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for an ARC of this book. In exchange for an honest review.

Ashley Shumacher has done it again. Full Flight is a well crafted piece that takes readers through an onslaught of emotions associate with first love. Well developed and relatable characters drive the story filled with many first and secrets. I am not a reader brought to shed tears often. but you might while reading this one. If you are YA Romance reader I would highly recommend this book.

The synopsis for this book pretty much tells you everything that's going to happen, so go into this one blind if you still can.

When I requested this as an ARC, I did so feeling confident that I would enjoy it. It was definitely going to be at least 3 stars. After all, I loved Amelia Unabridged last year.

And now here I am, writing a 2 star review.

Let's start with how much I am not the target audience for this book, and not because I'm an adult and this is YA, but because of the setting and how that impacted the rest. The story takes place in a small, southern American town. That's not a setting I tend to gravitate towards in general. But what really makes this a problem is that this small town of Enfield, Texas apparently sees Weston, one of our main characters, as a "bad boy". This is central to the plot, and it doesn't make a lick of sense to me unless this is set in the 80s (they have cell phones, so it isn't).

I had a hard time staying immersed sometimes because the reasons Weston was shunned by the whole town felt incredibly superficial to me. The possible motivations the town has to label Weston a bad influence are (and these are all assumptions but if it's not because of this list, I'm even more confused):
* his parents are divorced? (because of course he has total control over that)
* he transferred to a different school for a year?
* he's moody and withdrawn? (which makes sense because his parents recently got divorced)
* everyone assumes he killed a tree the community planted? (there is zero evidence though, they just assume he did it because they already think of him as bad)
* he wears a leather jacket all the time? (this is the one that gets mentioned most often, but why is this a red flag?)

I'm not American, so maybe these are all perfectly valid reasons. They just didn't make sense to me, but YMMV.

We also have protagonists that make clearly bad decisions, just for the sake of more drama. If you're keeping a secret from your parents, and you know some of their friends have found out, you don't think "I'll just tell them tomorrow" because OF COURSE they will find out before then. 🙄 I've been in that exact situation as a teenager and I definitely didn't make that mistake.

Both books by the author have a lot to do with mental health and depression. Both Anna and Weston seem to suffer from a form of it, even though it's never explicitly named. In Amelia Unabridged, the main character's depression was symbolized by whales, and she would imagine them in various scenarios according to her mental state at the time. In this book it's driftwood and a specific type of bird. There seems to be a theme here, and it's not one I enjoyed upon repetition. It might just be me, but it feels a little bit like depression is almost being romanticized. There's also the issue of both characters magically feeling better after falling in love; like it's that easy to stop being depressed, all you need to do is find your second half!

If you're looking for a hard-hitting contemporary, I honestly think this one misses the mark a bit, but the writing is pretty good, and if you don't mind the parts that I had issue with, you could really enjoy this book.