Walking on Air [Hardcover]

Kelly Easton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2004

But today I dream of falling...into the crowd of God-struck people. The pale leaves of their faces tilt up and their white limbs rise to catch me as I am passed among the river of their hands, one to another, am kept by them, am kept.

-- from Walking on Air

It is the Depression in America, 1931. Twelve-year-old June is a tightrope walker. Performing in her preacher father's revival shows, June travels through cities, makeshift camps, carnivals, and freak shows. The family has no home, no money, no friends -- and faith that is getting thinner than the air upon which June walks. On her journey June examines her life and is torn between loyalty to her family and their religion, and the life she might have. She comes to understand that discovering what the world has in store for her will require facing old family secrets and making some gut-wrenching decisions.

Walking on Air is a stirring novel of self-examination, as June balances on a literal and figurative tightrope within the rich and tormented landscape of America during the Depression. Facing the problems of her day, June must use her wit, fire, and strong spirit in order to triumph.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8–Set during the early years of the Great Depression, this novel centers around a deluded and impoverished itinerant preacher, his emotionally spent and physically frail wife, and their 12-year-old daughter, June. Failing to attract an audience, the girl's father designs a tightrope-walking act to draw people to his sermons. When Pa is arrested and sent to prison for five months, June and her mother have a brief respite of stability and peace in a small town where June finally has a chance to go to school. There she's given a copy of Grimms' Fairy Tales by a kind teacher and, like the many Bible stories recounted in the novel, the tales provide a counterpoint to events of her life. But the glimpse of happiness is temporary, and soon another round of disasters leads to June's brave decision to make a break that may be necessary for her survival. The book ends happily, rather like one of the fairy tales she loves. June is an introspective and sympathetic character. Easton's writing is smooth, filled with rich descriptions and images, but her plotting and timing are not as successful. After a while, unhappiness piles on unhappiness without a strong underlying dynamic. Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust (Scholastic, 1997) is a more cohesive look at hardships during those hard times.–Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. In 1931, June walks a tightrope "like an angel" as her father preaches at revival meetings. They travel with June's mother, Agnes, and their enigmatic assistant, Rhett, who refuses to speak and frequently disappears for weeks at a time. During her father's imprisonment on a trespassing charge, June, Rhett, and Agnes enjoy a brief period of happiness but are uprooted upon his release, and soon begin a downward spiral. As her mother lies ill in a Hooverville shack, June learns an astonishing secret about her paternity that even her father doesn't know. Period details vividly re-create the despair of the Great Depression. June's first-person narrative is filled with Bible stories that reveal the girl's questions of faith and growing independence but slow the pace of the novel. After overwhelming adversity, the blissful conclusion also strains credibility. Still, June is an engaging, compassionate character whose spirited account both amuses and inspires. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry; 1 edition (March 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689848757
• ISBN-13: 978-0689848759
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,002,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kelly Easton grew up in Los Angeles, California. From the time she can first remember, she was obsessed with the destruction of the beauty of the area, orange groves and strawberry fields and charming downtowns, by the suburban sprawl of the seventies. Her search for the perfect place has sent her all over the place, most recently North Carolina and now New England.

Kelly has an MFA in playwriting from UC San Diego. She teaches in a low residency MFA program in writing for children and young adults at Hamline University, and lives on islands in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. She also teaches creative writing to kids in summer workshops, and helps other writers edit their books. Kelly lives with her husband, Michael Ruben, and their children: Isaac, Isabelle, Mollie and Rebecca (plus their dog Garfield). She has just finished her first adult novel, Dreams in the Land of Photographs. You can reach her through her website: www.kellyeaston.com

Kelly's novels have won many awards, among them, the Asian/Pacific American Literature Award, the ASTAL Middle School Book of the Year Award, NYPL Book For the Teen Age, Kentucky Bluegrass Masterlist (Hiroshima Dreams); an ALA Quick Pick listing, and nomination for the ABE award, 2010 (Aftershock); Atlanta parents Best Book, and NYPL Book for the Teen Age (White Magic); a Boston Author's Club Award, Westcherster's Choice Best Book, CCBC Best Books selection (Walking on Air); and a Golden Kite Honor, Booksense Top Ten (The Life History of a Star). Her newest book, The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes, is a Jr. Library Guild selection.

She loves to hear from readers!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars depressing, fulfilling, and enraging., May 7, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Walking on Air (Hardcover)

This book is very sad in some parts, because June (the main character) feels out on her own sometimes and, well, like she's walking on air. Even though it is kind of depressing, it's a real page turner, and there are lots of twists in the story. Sometimes I got really furious at June's dad for being so intollerant of other religions. He won't even let June read a book of fairy tales because he thinks it's paganism! I find that very ignorant of him. This is a very fun book to read, and I recommend it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching, August 31, 2007

By 

Padma Venkatraman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walking on Air (Hardcover)

This is Easton at her best. In this touching portrait of a girl growing up during the Great Depression, Easton combines reality and philosophy, and the result is a heart-warming novel. I'm sure her upcoming novel, Hiroshima Dreams, will also be in this mould, and I look forward to reading it. While you're waiting for that book to come out, I'd also suggest reading "Life History of a Star" - my favourite of all of Easton's books.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Historcal fiction, July 10, 2005

By 

C. Shorkey "booklover2005" (Flint, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walking on Air (Hardcover)

The book brings religion to us through the eyes of a child. It shows how childern are completely innocent. I liked the book but I don;t think I would let a child read it due to the realtionship the mother has with the father and how part of it makes religion look pretty bad.