Fly Away Home [Hardcover]

Judith Kelman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1996

Everyone on Rand's Island swore Eva Haskel was crazy. Ever since the well-publicized, unsolved kidnapping of her baby, she was a tragic figure on the tiny island off the Connecticut coast, wildly mourning the child who mysteriously vanished six long years ago. Then a shocking twist of fate and a very determined young woman enter Eva's dark world to bring her son home at last....



Bethany Logan, a spirited teacher at a private boys' school in New Hampshire, teaches children with learning disabilities. All of her students adore her...except for one: Pip Stafford, a moody troublemaker and son of the school headmaster. Determined to solve Pip's behavior problems, Bethany delves deep into his files and discovers a clue to the boy's true identity. Now, determined to right the wrongs of a heinous crime, Bethany takes Pip to isolated Rand's Island. But her effort to put the past behind them rapidly escalates into terror, drawing Bethany deep into a world of madness, as she learns not only the danger of digging up the past, but that the present holds no escape from her own darkest fears and tragic memories.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A teacher who suspects that a young pupil is the victim of a toddler kidnapping takes a huge step in Kelman's (Prime Evil) hardcover debut. Beth Logan, a special-ed teacher in a New Hampshire private school, elects to return Pip, the headmaster's purported son, to Connecticut and the family to which she believes he was born. Beth is convinced by the lack of records in his file and the insinuations of a paranoid neighbor that Pip is actually Ethan Haskel, who, six years ago, disappeared mysteriously from his island home in Long Island Sound. But having reunited Pip with this strange extended family and having witnessed the patriarch's cruelty and the mother's nearly narcotic submissiveness, Beth realizes she must get the boy off the island and back to his home in New Hampshire. Kelman's coincidence-ridden, improbable tale asks readers to sympathize with a least likely heroine whose intentions do not redeem her bad judgment.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Bethany Logan teaches students with learning problems at a private school in New Hampshire. When she can't find records for the principal's eight-year-old son, she convinces herself that he is the victim of an unsolved kidnapping that occurred years before. Determined to return Ethan Haskel to his parents, she kidnaps him herself. When they finally reach the family's island, Bethany discovers that the place is totally isolated from the mainland. Every August the Haskels spend a week in seclusion, and their activities are unnerving. Almost every Haskel is mentally unbalanced, and some are homicidal. Bethany soon realizes that she has placed herself and the boy in danger. If this isn't enough action, one subplot involves Bethany's sister and a nasty divorce, while another centers on Bethany's guilt over her mother's suicide by drowning and Bethany's resulting fear of water, especially the ocean. To get through the book, readers will not only have to suspend disbelief but abandon it entirely. Purchase only where Kelman (Hush Little Darlings, Berkley, 1996) has a following.
Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (December 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553101935
• ISBN-13: 978-0553101935
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,397,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lightweight, December 11, 1999

By 

Diane Atwood (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fly Away Home (Mass Market Paperback)

I had read and enjoyed another book by this author. I was almost embarrassed to be reading this one. The plot premise was interesting but as the story unfolded, it became wildly implausible. The ending left me unsatisfied. I did enjoy the elements of humor in the author's writing.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read., August 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fly Away Home (Mass Market Paperback)

Judith Kelman knows how to ratchet up suspense and how to tell a scary tale with humor and interesting characters.

3.0 out of 5 stars Almost Unbelievable, November 8, 2010

By 

M. E. Bossom (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fly Away Home (Mass Market Paperback)

The plot is not very realistic; it would not be possible to pull off a child snatching as Bethany did in today's times. The consequences that Bethany suffered (or didn't suffer) would not have happened like that in real life. Good suspense, though...I had to keep reading to find out what would happen to her and Adam. I also appreciated Bethany's concern for Adam, the learning disabled/emotionally disturbed child. The story's mix of fantasy and realism was hard to digest.