This book ruined me. I sobbed at work.

I will say, I was honestly a little bored in the beginning and couldn't figure out if Amelia Unabridged was just SO GOOD anything else was going to pale in comparison, or if my expectations for Full Flight were just too high. Then the second half of the book started and I was invested and then THAT THING happened and I was distraught. While I stand by my statement that the beginning was a tad boring, overall this book is so damn good and I love it and everyone should read it, right now. Go Buy It.

Some YA books I love and enjoy, and some YA books just aren't meant to be read by 30-year-olds. "Full Flight" falls squarely in the latter category. The story centers around Anna and Weston — two members of the high school marching band who come together to help Anna nail their duet for the upcoming competition. Obviously, they fall in love, and their sweet, innocent over-the-top earnestness was just too much for this particular mom of three. It really reminded me of "Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell if that's your vibe.

What I loved about the book — and what attracted me to it in the first place — was the setting of small-town Texas. The close-knit highly-religious community strongly resembled my hometown, and I was curious to see if these characters shared any of my high school experiences. I can also appreciate Schumacher's lyrical writing style. Particularly, I liked how she weaved the story of the bird (whose name I can't remember) throughout and how that particular plotline ended.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of things that I didn't like or just didn't make sense. Possible spoilers to follow...
- One, I couldn't figure out why Weston was such a "forbidden fruit." His parents got a divorce, but so did 50% of the other kids' parents, too, so this seems like a weird point of differentiation. There was that one rumor, but even that seems a little far stretched to make Anna's parents oppose him so much. I mean... he plays in the marching band — how much of a bad boy can he be?
- Two, do the high schoolers really need to have sex? Is the love not real if this doesn't happen? I just don't think anyone should be reading or writing about adolescent sex.
- Three, and this is a big one, I didn't read the synopsis very well, because I didn't see the horrible ending of this book coming. Just completely blindsided me. And then only took 10-15 pages to wrap up the story afterward? Seems like such a slow build for such a horrific event with such a hasty ending.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

While I didn’t read the synopsis for this book, I know AS is going to have us in our feelings by the end of any book she writes. She is so great at writing a beautiful story that makes you feel so much empathy toward her characters.

I will not go too deep into anything, but this book was beautifully written and I will read anything AS writes with gusto. If I had to be picky and critical, I would say that I really disliked Anna’s family and couldn’t change my mind about them even when they changed their ways.

If you’ve got this far without reading any summaries or the synopsis, try not to read those and start reading this book!

I really like the premise of this book. Their initial meeting is great, and my favorite parts were the Anna and Weston interactions. However, I felt that the blurb gave away too much. I could easily predict how the book would go just from reading the back cover. Weston was my favorite character, but that may be because I love the 'bad boy' type. I would have liked to see more support from parents, but that is a personal preference.

"Never thought we'd have a last kiss, never imagined we'd end like this"
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Full Flight is a beautiful story about young love. A story about the outcast and the girl trying to master her band solo. A story so well written that you'll NEED tissues for no matter what.
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Weston is the "bad boy James Dean" of the town with the leather jacket and 1/2 of the band solo duet. Anna is the girl who walks in assuming Weston will help her nail her the other half of the solo duet. Although Weston has thousands of doubts rolling through his head, he agrees to help Anna... behind her parents back. As the band competition dates get closer and the school year rolls on, nothing will stop the duet from mastering their notes......
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I'm going to stop there... because I can't ruin this for anyone. The synopsis? Gives away more than it should, so trust me. Stop there, find tissues and take flight in Ashley's newest novel.
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Thank you to @wednesdaybooks and @netgalley or this arc in exchange for my honest review. Full Flight releases TODAY, February 22nd!
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A really great YA contemporary romance novel with lovable characters and a fairly heartbreaking plot from start to finish. There is so much sadness built into these characters' lives and I hurt for both of them for so many ways along the journey.

The writing is lovely and comforting in a way and there was an interesting approach to the narrative by including the story of the Hawaiian O'o bird as an analogy of sorts. The characters and friend groups felt natural and unobtrusive to the story. Though there are friends and family members who clearly play a part in the narrative, they are very much sidelined to the focus on Anna and Weston. I loved that feeling of having the world revolve around the two characters as I think it really delivered on the teenage love feel to the story.

I highly recommend reading ONLY the first two paragraphs of the synopsis, as I feel like it totally wrecks the emotional impact of the book. Some readers may not be satisfied with the ending (my personal experience), but the story will give all readers an emotional ride regardless.

As a side note, I was mildly put off by the religious aspects of the novel, as they were brought up but really didn't factor in the two protagonists' lives in any consistently coherent way. Instead, it just felt like a way to add some internal shame to the characters' actions and rubbed me the wrong way.

Despite my personal feelings about the ending, I still enjoyed my read quite a bit. I also see great value in this read for other readers. I liked the writing style and the character construction and I will definitely be looking to read more from Ashley Schumacher in the future.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

I adored this book! Ashley Schumacher has a way of writing characters and stories that really burrow into your heart and make a permanent home there.

“𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.”

I finished this overdue arc last night (sorry, @wednesdaybooks), and I'm very torn about how I want to break it down in today's review.

I'll start with this: As a reader you will have a 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 with this book if you go in blind (like I did) versus if you read the synopsis first.

As most of y'all know, I'm Team No Info when I dive into a book, so this one completely caught me off guard. I won't elaborate as to why in case you're a fellow member of #GoingInBlind.

Set in a small, football-worshipping town in Texas, this YA contemporary is a nostalgic glance back to the tumultuous days of high school spent navigating friendships, futures, and first loves.

Anna James, teacher's pet and marching band newbie, is paired up with the town's leather jacket wearing "bad" boy, Weston Ryan, to master a pivotal duet for their upcoming regional competition. And although they have little in common, sparks fly between the duo in that instalove way that can only be genuine with teens. Where glances and flirty exchanges fuel the flames of passion and the promises of forever.

Heavily centered on the themes of loneliness, grief, and overcoming snap judgements, 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 is an emotionally charged, yet age appropriate, story that I would have swooned for in my youth. Reading it as an adult, I wish the ending had been expanded and allowed a little bit more room to breathe. It felt abrupt and jarring, which added a level of realism, but sacrificed some of my ability to connect to the characters. Part of me, however, is thankful Schumacher didn't dive deeper because I found myself shedding more than a tear or two despite the content hovering at the surface level.


Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with an earc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.



Trigger Warnings: death, death of a child, grief, anxiety, divorce, bullying, car accident

I'm normally not a big fan of YA, but this book struck a chord with me. It's a beautifully written though incredibly sad story of first love. I loved that the main characters were musicians in a high school marching band. I really identified with that aspect of the story. I played flute in a marching band for two years in high school. Full Flight took me right back to that period of time in my life even though it was quite a long time ago.

I loved this book, but it was a bit too sad to bear. Have tissues nearby while reading this one!

Ashley Schumacher wrote an Ode to her first love, and took us along with her on a trip down memory lane. In her Acknowledgement, she speaks directly to her own lost youthful first love, telling him that she finally got around to telling his story.

<Img src="https://www.thefashionisto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Fashionisto-Exclusive-Diego-Moncada-001-800x1199.jpg"/>

Weston was an outcast - a trouble-maker, a boy from a broken family who "did not fit in." Anna James came from a "proper" family, so when Weston and Anna are paired for a duet for the state contest, Anna was not expecting to fall in love with the high school "bad boy."

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I have to say, Weston was NOT my definition of a bad boy, however. He marched to the beat of his own drum and dreamed of a career involving music. He also had a thing for "good girl" Anna. He had admired her from afar, never expecting to "win the prize" of her heart. (Triple Sigh!) Inevitably, with everyone telling Anna not to go there, she absolutely did! (Forbidden fruit is always so enticing, as most of us know to our own cost!) What an incredibly intense relationship they had, only for it to end before it really even began.... (sob, sniffle!)

Of course, when the tragic event (no spoilers here, but even the blurb hints at it) occurs, Anna is completely broken and rarely leaves her room. She can barely function and her parents worry endlessly: will she recover from this incredibly tragic loss?

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I have to say that Anna did, eventually, show us how it can be done. She did, of course, have a lot of help from Weston's friends, the band, her parents and just about everyone who had ever tried to warn Anna that Weston was "bad news!"

<img src="https://c.tenor.com/rDCV30HyIOAAAAAM/marching-band-ohio-marching.gif"/>

Ashley Schumacher is truly a gifted writer who can pull on each and every heart string you own. This is a beautiful story, but these bad boy tropes are difficult because they have been done to death, and it is hard to make any story with this plot line sound new and fresh. Still, this books was well worth the read and all the tears! I'm rating this one a 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

Anna is in ninth grade and starting marching band. She’s a good student. She’s assigned to work with Weston, who’s considered to be a trouble maker. As they begin to have feelings for each other, they have to fight to see each other. But then just when everything feels perfect, tragedy strikes. This was an emotional look at youth, friendships, and love.

A book that you love and hate as the story takes a devastating twist. A first love that makes you believe all is possible. Explores the pressures of high school, band competitions, and going against the crowd.

I'm mad I read this book. It feels like it was written just to make readers cry, which, why?

The characters felt like manic pixie dream caricatures and I hated the ending.

getting caught up on my netgalley reviews always feels like two steps forward one step back, because i keep requesting more titles and ending up with more than i started. oh well, c’est la vie!

anyways, i recently finished ‘full flight’ by ashley schumacher, a ya novel about anna and weston, two teens in marching band in there small, christian town in texas, who are forced to work together on a duet they’re competing for. weston is seen as an odd kid in town with a difficult past, while anna is the girl-next-door who is willing to give him a chance. before you know it, the two develop feelings for each other, but must keep them a secret from anna’s overprotective parents.

this book just wasn’t for me. there was nothing wrong with it, i just really couldn’t connect to any of the characters or what they were experiencing. the story felt like it dragged, even though the book was not a long one. they’re romance was the main plot point of the story, but it took so long to develop that the book was nearly halfway done before anything happened. maybe i’m just not the right audience for this one (it is ya, so that’s probably true), but i just wasn’t a fan.

I loved all of the characters, which is something unusual. There is usually one character that is unlikeable in most books.

I knew something bad was going to happen from the blurb, but man, it broke my heart. Ashley Schumacher has a way with words. I will read anything she writes.

My friend was a big band person in school, so I recommended this to her.

I received an ebook copy, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for access to this title in exchange for a honest review!

Oh, this book hurt my heart.

Anna, Weston, Ratio, and all the characters really truly came alive on the page. Reading this felt like I was in school again and they were right alongside me. I enjoyed every aspect of this story, especially the attention towards music and feelings surrounding loneliness because it was so raw and I could tell it came from a place of love.

This story was so good, the main characters had such a grip on my heart by the end of the story that I just didn’t want to let it go. Another great book by this author!

I am not sure how to gather my thoughts about this one to be honest. Truly no one writes about grief quite like Ashley Schumacher. Her debut novel is still one I think about from time to time. If I am honest, I think I am going to forget about this one. There are moments that are written quite beautifully and I would have to have a cold, cold hear not to be impacted, but... I must have a semi-cold heart because parts of this were alternately frustrating and too drawn out.

I will say I think if you are a band kid, or were a band kid, you will appreciate this one as it is a love letter to growing up in band. I was not in band, but I appreciated it. The characters are also darling. I am just not quite convinced of the overall plot. It is a YA romance and the characters have chemistry, but the plot seems to trudge along until the very end - and while I understand the end, I am not convinced it needed to end in the way it did. I am low-key mad about it.

So... I guess I liked this book because, again, Schumacher really knows how to tug at the heartstrings but... It did not quite fly and land quite as meaningfully for me as I think it was supposed to.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Ashley Schumacher's first novel, Amelia Unbridged. This one didn't hit the mark for me. While I loved the characters, the plot/story was lacking. I could never fully commit to the story.

I went in thinking that I was going to really love this book. I was disappointed. I ended up not finishing the book..