Customer Reviews

When She Flew

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before it was published Ann Patchett gave the manuscript of Bel Canto to her friend Elizabeth McCracken, her first reader. McCracken started reading it while eating at a pub. As she was reading, she knew the book was going to hit big and had the urge to tell the bartender and patrons about the amazing story she was reading. I had that same delicious sense of conspiracy and delight when I read the Advanced Reader's Copy of Jennie Shortridge's When She Flew. It's a luminous story of loss and connection that lifts you up and gives you a chance to lead a double life as you follow intriguing characters caught in a heart-tugging dilemma.

The story is based on true events that happened in Portland, Oregon when a veteran and his daughter were discovered living in Forest Park. After authorities and the media descended they eventually disappeared under the scrutiny. Intrigued by the story, Shortridge interviewed the police involved in the case. She then imagined a cast of characters that bloom among her sharply-drawn settings and taut, finely-honed plot so you feel like you're breathing the same air as the characters. What I love about all Shortridge's novels is the way readers come to know her story people through her intimate portrayals and how they make us think about the important questions that are raised. In When She Flew the reader is left to ponder so much, but especially what it means to be a parent and society's standards for raising children.

This novel hits all the right notes and I cannot recommend it enough. Jessica Morrell

WHEN SHE FLEW is a poignant and compelling read, about a true incident. It is timely because of child abductions and kidnappings that have appeared in our news recently, and the complexity of emotions within them. It is heart-warming and compelling because of the love and care--misguided or not--at the center of the drama. The characters are realistic and interesting. The story, with no easy resolutions, will leave you touched and involved long after you put it down. Jennie Shortridge is a very talented storyteller, and this is one of her best.

"That is the balance of things: some of us are predators, screeching and hunting and tracking down prey, and some of us must live quietly among the trees, just trying to survive."

Thirteen year old Lindy, full name Melinda Faith Wiggs, wrote this evocative conclusion to her report on the common barn owl while living with her father in the woods in a ficitional Oregon city.

Lindy loves animals, and especially birds, and knows more about them than most adults, because she lives among them in an ingeniously constructed camp in a huge wooded park based on Forest Park in Portland, Oregon. Lindy lives with her father, Ray, an Iraq war veteran suffering from physical injury and PTSD. They survive on his vet benefits, and have developed a well thought out plan for living and for emergencies; for example, being caught camping illegally on city property.

Lindy and Ray go to the library every week so she can keep up with her studies. They dress up and go to church every Sunday. They take care of their camp and the forest around them; respecting the animals and the plant life that share their home.

This is also the story of Officer Jessica Villareal, a single mother and recent grandmother, who volunteers to be on the search team when Lindy has been sighted by birdwatchers in the woods. Jess has followed in her father's footsteps in becoming a police officer, the only job she has ever really wanted. The police department immediately suspects abuse or at least neglect in this case of a child apparently living outdoors, and very soon Jess has a life changing decision to make when the department decides to separate Lindy from Ray.

The story is narrated by Jess and Lindy in alternate chapters. This use of the female characters makes the story all the more compelling, especially because both characters have a solid core of strength and determination, and at the same time they each reveal a deep vulnerability as they navigate through some pretty murky waters.

Lindy and her father, being homeless, are weak links in our society, and as the weaker in nature do, they swiftly become prey. The police pursue them, the media pursues them, and city officials become hardened in their determination to separate Lindy from her only parent for the crime of being homeless.

Jess, agonizing over her estrangement from her own daughter, has serious doubts about the department's stance, and begins questioning her own "by the rules" approach to life. Black and white quickly become grey, and as the media runs with the story, the city of Columbia itself becomes a character with its population of "bleeding heart liberals" uncharacteristically defending a police officer doing what she believes is right.

Will Lindy be torn away from her father, whom she worships? Will her superiors or the media destroy Jess's chance to help them? What makes a home, or a family? Who are the homeless among us, and what rights do they have? These are some questions you will have as you read this book.

A community church with a social mission and safe houses for "refugees," the close camaraderie between officers up against a wall, the subtle suggestion that officers of color need to be more careful than others in order to keep their jobs; all these elements lend depth and texture to this masterful creation of a novel inspired by a true story. And on a deeper level, perhaps unconsciously, we can perceive the similarity to some of Shakespeare's plays, where the dichotomy between the forest and town is mythic; the forest treated as the escape from reality, a place of peace and calm, as opposed to the city, where everything can get way too real.

Whatever your political persuasion, you will have some new thoughts about police officers, homeless people, single parents, and war veterans after reading this book. It will break open your head and melt your heart. And then it's up to you how to put all your previous notions back in place or maybe to create a whole new mindset for yourself.

Knowing that something like this story really did happen makes it all the more compelling. Knowing that Jennie Shortridge did extensive research, and was able to interview the police officer whom she recreates as Jessica Villareal, makes it both fascinating and believable. Now I keep wondering about the real Lindy, where she is and how she's doing. My bet is, so will you.

I've read Shortridge's other books, and enjoyed them, but When She Flew takes it to a whole new level. It's believable (based on an actual incident), has two equally-engrossing protagonists (one approaching 50, one a young adolescent). It seems rare to have nailed the 'voice' of two such diverse characters. The author does what I wish more would do: foregoes the "easy out" of an obvious villain. Maybe that's why this book is so satisfying--the characters all seem like people we really know (warts and all). I really recommend When She Flew--it's satisfying as an "entertainment" read, but also provides meat for the philosophical reader to chew on.

This was not my usual reading; our book club selected, I read the back cover blurbs and thought why not? I found it fast paced and a book that made me think about how we live our lives. Am I so much better off living in a house, driving a newer car, but with no time to read? Lindy and her father, who are living out in the woods of an urban park, have the time to dive deep into the world. I am reminded of Seneca, to paraphrase the philosopher: "Nothing is ours except time." In contrast, Officer Jess Villareal seems to live a harried life, disconnected from her daughter and grandson, moving through the world on autopilot. In the end, all the characters grow and expand. I think Jennie Shortridge has written a solid and thought provoking book, well worth reading.

I read "When She Flew" in one sitting. This is the kind of book that pulls you swiftly into its fast-paced storyline, and places you firmly in the shoes of its main characters. See the world through the eyes of a thirteen year-old girl who has been raised "off the grid" by her father, and watch how the girl's world-view evolves as she gets a taste of the mainstream society from which she has been sheltered. The female police officer at the center of the story has always done things by the book. She is now confronted by a vexing dilemma - whether to do what the rules tell her she must, or to do what she knows is the right thing. This book will make you think about so many things, you will enjoy every minute of it.

Jennie Shortridge has created another warm and wonderful novel that will touch your heart in all the right places, and leave you asking questions about your own beliefs. It certainly will have you taking a long look at family-related news stories that go for shock-value and ignore the real people at the heart of the story.

Jennie's characters are drawn vividly, and the story sails smoothly, pulling you in from the very first page. Thank you, Jennie, for another delightful escape! Can't wait to read number 5!

I felt completely immersed in the world created in this story. This was my "commute" book, and I have to say I almost missed my bus stop more than once. The characters are believable and the plot pulls them along. As noted by other reviewers, it raises lots of questions for our culture. Great starting point for discussions on parenting, war, and when it is/isn't okay to break the rules. I also read "Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe" by this author and enjoyed it equally.

The story is provocative and satisfying. It was a great news story that ended without a resolution after a troubled, homeless war vet and his daughter were found camping in the back woods of an urban park and ultimately escaped the glare of the headlines and TV. We all hope they found peace.

Ms. Shortridge fashions her novel from the real life story and makes it personal. It takes us inside the head of a cop who has to make dozens of tough decisions, choosing whether to play it safe or to risk her career and do what feels right. And most impressively, the author takes us inside the head of the Lindy, the young girl who is alternately being taught and raised by her father, and caring for him - making peace with his demons and her own.

The words Lindy writes in her notebooks are both innocent and profound, and so amazingly dead on that it is a joy to read and re-read them.

Lindy is a great character. The life lessons she and the lead police officer must learn the hard way are golden. When She Flew is a good book. I've thought about it often since I read it.

Beautifully written and well-paced. I would be interested to see reviews from police officers on small town forces to get a sense of how plausible Jess's story would be. She's very comfortable in her role on the force, joking with other officers and not panicking when she's late to roll call.

The story operates on three levels: Jess's own conflict with her daughter, the police conflict with the family of Ray and Lindy and the conflict of Jess within herself. Jess breaks her own mold when she follows her instincts and refuses to be part of the pack. She knows all too well what can happen when the government gets involved in things that are working well.

I am reminded of an old book Travels with Lizbeth, by Lars Eighner, about a homeless man who spent three yeras on the road with his dog. At one point he's locked up in a psych ward. The psychiatrist says (I'm writing from memory so the quote may be off), "We think anyone who has a different lifestyle from conventional society has to be crazy." That book was a memoir and was much gritter than When She Flew, but there are parallels.

On page 16, Lindy tells a story that could be a metaphor for this book. A baby orca and its mother get too far upriver. The news crews actually make it harder for them to get back home to their natural place. Hopefully, Lindy says, they'll submerge and disappear, far from the reach of these well-meaning but ultimately destructive outsiders.