"Full Flight" is a good book, but readers, I will warn you, near the end it becomes sad -- ugly cry sad.

The story focuses on high school band, in particular band members Weston Ryan and Anna James. Weston is very musically talented and he has two good friends (Horatio (Ratio) and Jonathan), but most people in their small Texas town of Enfield think he is "weird". He wears a black leather jacket all the time, his parents are divorced (which is rare in their small town), and "everyone" thinks he chopped down the "Memorial Memorial Tree." He feels a lot like the kaua'i o'o bird, of which there is one lone male in existence; when scientists went to the last known location of the bird and played its mating call, the bird flew out, believing it was no longer alone. Anna James is smart, beautiful, hard-working and popular and she seems to have it all together. However, even among friends, she can feel alone. When she is truly alone, the shadows sometimes come out -- all the doubts and insecurities she feels she has to hide from her family and friends.

As part of the performance piece for the marching band, Weston and Anna are playing a duet on mellophone and saxophone respectively. On the first day of school, Anna bursts into the music room where Weston is playing piano and insists that he has to help her learn her part of the duet. Anna cannot be responsible for costing the marching band a chance to make the State competition. Weston "knows" it is a bad idea for Anna to spend time with him, even if it is just to learn the duet; Weston is not the sort of boy parents want hanging around their daughters (or at least the false impression of Weston that is held by most of Enfield). However, he cannot stop thinking about her, and Anna appears to be accepting of him in a way that is rare in Enfield. Anna knows it would be "easier" to have someone else assist, but she wants it to be Weston, both because he is the best and because she understands him better than he realizes.

The story focuses on their growing friendship and then dating relationship. With Anna in his life, Weston starts to show more of his personality and becomes more "alive." He is still generally considered a social pariah, but some of the band members start to show a little more acceptance as he interacts more with them with Anna around. The friendship/relationship with Weston also changes Anna, but outwardly the change seems more negative, because Anna feels the need to hide the friendship/relationship from her parents. When Anna's mother learned that Anna was playing a duet with that "Ryan boy", she expressed her disapproval of him to Anna, making it clear that he was not someone she wanted Anna to be spending time with. This greatly frustrates Anna because her mother's knowledge of Weston is based on rumors shared by other band mothers. Anna knows that Weston is not the person everyone believes him to be.

The interactions between Anna and Weston are quite good, and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop and their personalities show through as they began to understand each other better and open up to each other. Eventually Anna's family finds out about her relationship with Weston, and when they finally take the time to get to know him, they find out they really like him. Some of the best interactions and dialogue involve Anna's family and Weston. [However, the author takes it a bit too far -- only a week or two after meeting the family, Weston is invited to a family weekend at the lake house owned by Anna's grandparents; especially in the context of the story, it seems unrealistic that Anna's parents are going to have their sixteen-year-old daughter's boyfriend spend the night with her (with the other family members nearby).]

As I noted earlier, the book eventually becomes "ugly cry" sad; I will leave it to the reader to discover what happens. However, the ending contains some very sweet and touching moments. "Full Flight" is definitely worth reading.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Catch me openly sobbing in public to this book. Goodness gracious it tugged on every heartstring. Ashley Schumacher has such a poignant way with her writing and it blew me away how emotional I got while reading this book. I really think it was quite well done and any reader would enjoy this beautiful, lovely heartbreak of a book.

A beautiful story of love and loss and learning how to move on when life sends your world spiraling. It is both heartbreaking and hopeful.

Thank you to the publisher for an e-ARC of this book. This book does a great job showcasing the inner workings of band friendships and relationships. It's pretty en pointe in that regard, and the story is well told too. I didn't see the twist coming, but thought it was well executed and think many high school band kids will enjoy this one. I will definitely mention it to my colleagues who teach high school band.

I loved Ashley Schumacher's last book, Amelia Unabridged. I had just been thinking about reread it when I got the chance to read her new book, Full Flight.

I KNEW Full Flight was going to sad. I went into expecting that I might shed some tears, however my heart still broke. I loved Amelia Unabridged so much that I have high hopes and expectations for this one and I was not disappointment.

In Full Flight we follow two teenagers, in dual perspective. Weston, who moved away but is now back, is known for being trouble. He's an angsty little dude, going through a hard time with his parents divorce and the rumors that surround him and his departure from their high school. The other perspective is from Anna, who is the complete opposite of Weston. They are two people who no one expected to be friends but that (and more?) develop when they are assigned a duet for their school band.

Even though it broke my heart, like ten different times, I still loved this book. It has definitely secured Ashley to an auto read author for me, no need to read the synopsis, I know it's going to be good (and sad, probably). I also loved the cover.

Review to be posted closer to publication date.

This book was a very light and quick read, the characters are well represented and the chemistry between them is very soft and charming.


It is perfect to read in a rainy day, when you want to warm your heart.

I'm not a huge fan of insta love.. and I'm not a huge fan of chick flick, beachy reads.. so this just wasn't a book for me. It felt way too much like it was trying to be All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, and I'm sorry, but Niven just did it better.

I was cringing from the beginning, and I just didn't care about either of the characters...


BUT-- I gave this 2 stars because this book was written for someone else, not me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions stated are entirely my own. This book was a bit of a surprise for me. I expected to enjoy it but I did not expect for the writing to be this lovely and for there to be so much depth and emotion in the pages. The book was perfectly paced too. It didn't feel like things were dragging along or happening too fast. There were some twists that I did not see coming and the book was unpredictable (which can be hard to find in YA contemporary books sometimes). I would definitely recommend this book (and a box of tissues to go with it) I also want to check out the author's other writings since I really enjoyed how the book was written.

Full Flight is beautifully woven novel about experiencing your first love, and how it can be stolen so soon. I didn't go into this expecting it to be so powerful, but upon finishing it I have to say this book shed so much light on how loss affects teenagers. I've read other books conveying this message before, however this is certainly my favorite interpretation of it, it will for sure stand out compared to others. This book was heartbreaking, and although the synopsis made it quite obvious what would happen, I still finished this feeling so empty, yet also so full because of how amazing it was.

There was so much I loved about this book that I'm not even sure where to start. The pacing was brilliant, it was fast which I'm sometimes not a fan of, but I think that's exactly what this book needed. It truly showed how quick relationships start, and just how quickly they can end, everything in-between suddenly feeling as if it never even occurred. Although it's depressing, it's reality for some, and this raw emotion is what will set this apart. The plot most of the book was mainly lighthearted, showing much accuracy to what it's like being a teenager and having new experiences.

The characters like everything else, were very enjoyable. I related so much to Anna, she was so authentic, and I know so many readers will love her. Weston was just as well executed, the mysteriousness about him was so intriguing, and being able to see that fade away as he grew closer with Anna was very nice. Their relationship dynamic was fantastically done, and although some may argue it's too insta-lovey, I think that's the whole point, they were 16 and 17 I believe. Lastly, I loved that the side characters such as Ratio, Andy, and Jenny were also contributing to the plot. (What Jenny did for Anna, I might have screamed. Where's her award???)

I really only had one complaint about this book and it was how heavy the marching band terms were, sometimes to the point where I was genuinely confused, but it wasn't enough to bring down the 5 star rating, I would just be aware of that when starting this.

Mark February 22, 2022 on your calendars, I promise you don't want to miss this book. Ashley Schumacher exceeded my expectations with this book, and I can't wait to dive into her other works. Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press (Wednesday Books) for providing me with this eARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Always love reading arcs from this publisher!! This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Bookbub immediately..

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was brilliantly done. I really enjoyed it.
I also sobbed my way through the entire end of the book, so there’s that. There was so much emotion in this story. I didn’t understand all the band references at first—I was never in band—but eventually caught on. I thought Ratio was a really great and important friend, and I just really loved the friendship dynamic he and Weston had throughout the story.

Ashley Schumacher destroyed me with this book. I fell in love with Anna and Weston and their feel-good band camp romance but found their sense of alone so relatable. The idea that you can find someone to make your darknessess lonely, especially in high school is so real. I ugly cried for the last 20 percent of the book and cannot wait to see what she does next.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Ashley Schumacher is quickly becoming one of my favourites. Her exploration of grief and love is haunting and lovely. It pulls you into the story completely. I fell in love with both of the MCs and cried my fair share of tears by the end.

This book seems like it is the sweetest love letter to high school marching band kids and to finding love in unexpected places, but it jumps in and destroys you. I loved it so much. Maybe I am a little ‘extra’ with my emotions because it hits close to home - I have a high schooler in a very competitive marching band, in Texas, and I am surrounded by high schoolers all day who are lonely, confused, misunderstood, heartbroken, interesting, delightful, talented (and yes, I am describing every kid - they each contain these fullness of emotions and attributes within themselves daily). They come into our library to hide, to meet friends, to escape, to grind out those too-level papers and assignments. They are amazing, tender people. This book explores that with such earnest, heartfelt kindness. Am I happy about the plot twist at 80%, of course not. I cried the last 20% of this book. I prayed that it would suddenly switch to being a fantasy genre so that something supernatural would happen to bring our hero and heroine back together.
A great read and great rec for patrons who are seeking a swoony story (but that do not require a HEA). Wishing this was out already so that we could include it in our Fall Friday Night Lights/Football season display (and because I am dying to get a printed copy in my daughter’s hands during marching season!).
Thanks for the ARC! I loved Amelia Unabridged, too, but this one was my favorite. (And now that both my daughters names have been used as leading characters in Schumacher’s books I a wondering where she can go from here!)

I'm obsessed with AS's writing. It's lyrical, yet authentic. And once again, she has proven that emotions written on paper can be felt as if they are living, tangible things. From stolen glances to important celebrations, each action and feeling takes on a life of their own and in a really poetic way. So many sentences are worth highlighting in this! I also adore the title, what it represents, how it manifests in the story, and how the theme of birds (one bird in particular) is so heartbreakingly and beautifully depicted. The way it is all woven throughout is my favourite thing about this book. It really is quite something.

My only complaint is the last 20% kind of let me down. It doesn't help that the synopsis gives away too much. The plot's 'big event' can very easily be inferred when reading the blurb, so when it came time for it to actually happen in the book, I felt no emotion because I already knew to expect it. Also, the event itself is stated in the space of two lines. That's it! And it's towards the end, so any time for Anna to learn to move on after the event (which the synopsis implies is a big part of the story) is brief, almost as brief as the actual event itself. It's supposed to be this tragically defining moment, but it just doesn't deliver as impactfully or as emotionally as it should have.

Regardless of the ending, I can't deny that AS knows how to tell a story about first loves, growing up, and finding yourself as well as finding others. While I may not have wholeheartedly loved this as much as her first book, I think it's a nice sophomore novel and has me looking forward to seeing what AS writes next.

As in Amelia Unabridged, the writing style was gorgeous, and the way Schumacher phrased things alone caused me to pause and think about things for a while. I genuinely cannot get enough of the writing style. It evokes such specific emotions so well.

As someone who marched competitively in high school (though not in a program with the rigidity of Enfield's), I enjoyed the importance of band and all the jokes and relatable moments. Schumacher really captured the essence.

Ratio is hands down my favorite character. I am exceptionally attached to this boy for no reason I could give you. I also liked Andy a lot, and my favorite scene in the entire book was the one where Ratio, Andy, and Weston played the piano together. The relationship Anna had with her younger sister felt real and messy.

However, I was unable to connect to the romance between Anna and Weston because it happened so quickly and seemingly without any foundation. I love reading close relationships, but I did not see the basis for this one.

Anna is a new member of her high school’s marching band. She is paired with another student, Weston, who is assigned to help her master the duet they are supposed to play in a competition. Their story is told in alternating chapters as their unlikely friendship develops.

Despite the fact that I am not familiar with marching band etiquette and terminology, I found it hard to put this book down.

Beautifully written, with relatable, likeable, and unforgettable characters, this coming of age novel will appeal to young adults and adults as well. It’s a heartbreaking story of loneliness, friendship, love, and tragedy that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and author Ashley Schumacher for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC of this unforgettable novel.

i’m delving into spoilers here because a lot of what i have to say is about the last quarter or so of the book, and once you read it, you’ll know why. you’ve been warned.

i think the story could have gone without weston’s death. i knew it was coming - the blurb here on goodreads alludes to it - and dreaded it. the minute weston was finally happy, finally content and not feeling so much loneliness, he was killed off. it felt to me like saying he couldn’t have that happiness, or wasn’t built for it/didn’t deserve it or some shit, and that made me angry. once i (warily) accepted it, i WAS able to finish the story, which all in all was rather good. the writing is beautiful, honest, and true. i liked the whole marching band theme too.

#netgalley

Ashley has truly done it again. The way she’s able to write equally heartwarming and heartbreaking books is a true gift, and she’s remarkable at it. I sobbed many a time reading this, and every time I thought I was done, I would read the next page and start all over again. I just love a book that emotionally destroys me and leaves me feeling empty after I finish it, so Full Flight truly hit all of the marks for me.

One of the features I loved about this book was its conversation surrounding loneliness and the pressure to be perfect. It deep dives into the way everything in high school can feel monumental and the stress that can be caused by just trying to stay above water. The truths that Weston and Anna shared with each other illuminated those feelings beautifully. Weston is my bb and I loved his angst and personality. I definitely swooned at least once in his conversations with Anna, and he really is just the sweetest guy.

As someone who was a theater kid, I love books focused on specific high school groups as you get to see the differences and similarities with your own experiences. It was so interesting to see the amount of rehearsal marching band takes, and even though I had so many band friends in high school, I didn’t actually know much about what they did. I think Ashley did a great job of exploring that and what being dedicated to an activity in high school can look like and how it can affect your social, school, and home life.

I read this book in a few hours because I didn’t want to put it down, and I truly cannot say enough good things about Ashley’s sophomore novel. This deserves being an Indie and NYT bestseller and so so much more.

Thanks netgalley for the arc.

I enjoyed the characters of the book and the main storyline was good. This book would be a great read for someone else it just didn’t turn out to be my cup of tea.

I loved the author’s last book, Amelia Unbridged, so I happily read this ARC.

It has kind of a niche audience- the two main characters are high school marching band members who feel like outcasts. Still, I enjoyed their connection.

The plot twist near the end was really not my favorite, and due to recent events in my own life, not something I really wanted to read about. The ending was satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.