This is Ashley Schumacher's second novel. I adored her first novel It was 5 stars. She explores hard hitting topics, which I love. Full Flight made me cry like no other, but it truly reached me as a person. I will be buying a physical copy. I recommend this for older teens due to the topics discussed. Also, the cover is gorgeous!

TWs: Bullying, grief, car accident death


I first stumbled across Ashley Schumacher when I read her debut novel, Ameila Unabridged. I immediately was drawn to her method of storytelling and her lyrical words, that I was happy to see return in her sophomore novel, Full Flight.

The way readers are able to connect to Schumacher's stories and characters is nothing short of magical. The author does an incredible job at making you care about these characters as though they were real people. She makes them relatable, and in doing so, helps readers become attached.

There were so many emotions running through me while reading Full Flight... Nostalgia, happiness, amusement, grief, sadness... I admit at one point I did tear up, and I rarely cry while reading.

This book has gotten high ratings and rave reviews and after finishing it, I can see why. The pacing felt a bit slow for me at first, but I was definitely more engaged later on, and one of the main things that kept me interested was the writing style and how beautifully written the book was. As we read about the relationship between the two main characters, we see how important they are to each other and how devastating it is when Anna’s parents try to keep them apart.

As a former band geek, I was so excited to read this one! As predicted, Schumacher did not disappoint.

Don't get me wrong.. it absolutely destroyed me, but that's how you know it's good. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

I feel like I really connected with both characters, but especially Anna. I felt her every emotion. It was like being a teenager again, stuck in the middle of childhood and adulthood.

I highly recommend this one!

Ok, so I knew what was coming. I mean…you can tell from the synopsis. I read up until the moment I knew the death was going to happen and then I stopped and didn’t read for a week. I thought that would take away some of the connection I felt to the characters and the story.

Guess what? I WAS WRONG.

As soon as I started reading after my week-long break, tears…SO MANY TEARS. It’s like someone cracked open a fire hydrant.


And it’s because Ashley Schumacher wrote Anna and Weston so well. You just connect to them immediately. From page one when Anna bursts through the door and asks Weston to please lie for her. And as they get closer, the more you feel connected to them.

Most of the time, I feel a connection to one character over the other, but Anna and Weston…there are parts of me in both of them. The anxiety and invisibleness Anna feels and Weston’s role as the outcast in the town are VERY relatable to me. I also used to wear the same jacket every day to school lol.

There is also something about Ashley Schumacher’s characters that…I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s like you get a view into their souls. It’s like they become a best friend while you read the book and it’s hard to give them up once the book is finished.

I don’t know how she does it, but there is a reason I sob reading her books. She draws you in with the characters and then punches you by making sad things happen to them. I love it but IT HURTS! (and she has a new book coming soon!)

Overall (if you couldn’t tell), I loved Full Flight. The romance, the teen angst, the parental issues, and the absolute destruction of my feelings. I loved it all. 5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommend!


Full Flight is available now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ashley Schumacher’s debut novel, Amelia Unabridged, was one of my absolute favorite books of 2021. So, when her sophomore novel was announced, I knew I would be reading it. I also knew from early reviews that it was going to be sad, so I needed to wait for the right time to read it. Turns out an evening with no responsibilities was the right time.

I read this in one sitting - a very rare occurrence for me. But, just like with Amelia Unabridged, I was sucked in to the story and had to know all about Anna and Weston and what tragedy would befall them.

I have very limited musical knowledge, so I wasn’t sure how much I would care about marching band performances. Suffice it to say I cared a lot more than I thought I would. Ashley Schumacher is a talented storyteller and I will continue to read whatever she writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Anna James has finally got her chance to be a part of her school band. Her parents financial rollercoaster has precluded her from joining in the past, but now is her moment. Only one problem. She has been tasked with performing a duet with the bands mellophone player, Weston Ryan, and she’s not sure she can pull it off. In a full panic, she tells her band teacher that Weston has agreed to help her…without actually asking him first. Weston’s reputation isn’t a good one and most of the school has deemed him as “weird”. Anna is nervous to actually ask him for help, but after some hesitation and push back, he eventually agrees. And, so begins their story together. The pair begin spending a lot of time together, working on their duet tirelessly, all while getting to know each other intimately. Anna has to hide what she’s doing from her parents, as the rumors have also reached them and they don’t approve of him. Everything comes to a head when secrets are revealed and consequences threaten to drive a wedge between them. Just when things may have turned a corner and start looking up, tragedy strikes and everyone has to learn to pick up the pieces and move forward.

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read, the plot pacing was good, I connected to Anna and Weston as characters and was emotionally invested in their story. I think the end was slightly disappointing, only because I think after reading the book blurb, the ending was inferred, so I was expecting what happened to some degree. However, it still gave me all the feels. Overall, I would recommend this book! If you haven’t read the book blurb yet, DON’T! I think that will make it that much better.

Thank you to NetGalley + Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my personal review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

DNF @ 15%

I knew where this one was going, and I just couldn't do it. The writing was really good, and I've heard nothing but wonderful things from trusted book friends - hence the 3★.

I felt like I started in the middle of this book. The story of the two main characters didn’t seem to have a clean introduction and for some reason I always felt like I was playing catch up with their story. This is a solid YA book that deals with forbidden love and then surprisingly takes a serious turn. For whatever reason although it was a cutesy story, I just could not get that invested in it. There are rave reviews so it may be me, but I’m giving this one 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.

I will pick up EVERYTHING Ashely Schumacher comes out with. She is 2 for 2 in amazing prose, plot, characters and feelings. A new favorite author.

Full Flight is an emotional read that will pull you into this beautiful, tender, and heart breaking read. I love the characters and the story plot that tore me from the inside out. Schumacher totally gets the plight of being a teen - the awkwardness, challenges, being an outcast, and yet also wanting to experience being loved, accepted, and having that emotional connection with someone else.

What a special book!

My heart is so broken but I loved Full Flight. After reading Amelia Unabridged and falling in love with that book, I knew that I would read anything written by Ashley Schumacher. Ashley’s writing is so poetic and absolutely beautiful. The ending was extremely painful but I love how Ashley can tell an amazing story about first love. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and amazing yet heartbreaking story.

A beautiful story about love and loss. Though these themes have been done many times in YA, Schumacher's sophomore novel transcends cliche.

I could not wait for another Ashley Schumacher book, Amelia unabridged was one of my top favourite books last year! This book was so heartbreaking and beautiful. An amazing story about first love. Another awesome book!

When an author's words can bring me to tears, I know I've found a great author. Ashley Schumacher did that. I knew from the blurb that Anna and Weston don't end up together, and yet I loved how they engaged with each other and how both grew as a result of the other. I'd forgotten that tragedy was lurking until it happened; however, the ending was completely redeeming. I love the interweaving of a suspected extinct bird as the tie in for Weston and Anna and their duet.

A good read.

I have discovered that most YA romances are not for me. This one fell into that bracket as well. I just couldn’t connect with the characters and could not get into the story line.

This book made me cry more than Ashley's debut, which I didn't think was possible. That alone is worth the read but it's a great book overall. Our YA customer will love it.

Break out your marching band gear – we are heading back to high school where young love can be found in the band room!

I was such a big fan of Amelia Unabridged, I couldn’t wait for this story. This reads differently though – I found that it was hard to connect with Anna and Weston and the first 80% of the book is a bit on the slow side. It picks up with the same emotions that made me fall for Amelia – I just wish that I felt it a little more throughout the story rather than just the ending. This book had a bit too much teenage angst, even for me.

For those that played in the marching band in high school, this may bring back some memories for you! As I was a friend to band members pulled out of class for practice in elementary school, I could relate to how Anna felt for why she wanted to join the band.

There is also a theme of birds that is skillfully woven throughout the story that had me captivated. I loved how it related to both Weston and Anna. Side note – this story has back and forth POV’s from Weston and Anna for each chapter.

Based on my watery eyes at the end of this story, even with all the angst, this story is a 4-star read for me. Full Flight is available now!

I had a hard time staying focused and engaged with this book. The writing style is wonderful, and one of the beautiful things about Schumacher's writing. The author is to take simple turns of phrase that evoke visceral reactions in readers and make the characters' emotions feel exceptionally real to the reader. My focus problem lies more in the plot and full expectation that something terrible would happen to a main character from the first page on. I can see that this work would appeal to lots of readers, and Schumacher's writing style is established as being fully enough to make one familiar with her work pick up any book she has published.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest, though short, review.

My least favourite trope ever is probably insta-love, and unfortunately this book had that from the very first page. It is therefore just not the book for me and therefore, I decided not to continue it.