I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings Published by Tor.com on July 28 2020
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 176
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Flyaway is dripping with style and atmosphere, but the plot and characters fell flat for me.
Howling wilderness, my mother had once called the bush beyond town. Dad had laughed.
My heart sat high in my chest. I was more alive and more scared than I had been for years. Ahead of us, through the gilded saplings and the dense old scrub, we would find it: a house, half-staggering beneath a weight of banksia roses, and a shed, and marvels.
You can’t deny the cover of Flyaway is one of the most gorgeous covers of the year. And Kathleen Jennings just happens to be the illustrator! This cover was the hook that made me want to read this book, and I so wanted to love this more than I did. Jennings’ novella is a beautifully written, lush and unsettling story, but the plot was just too rambling for me to completely enjoy it. Still, I did love some of the elements, so overall I’ll have to call this a mixed bag.
The story takes place in a remote Australian town called Runagate and revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a man and his two sons. Bettina lives a sheltered life with her mother, and three years after the disappearance of her father and brothers, she still wonders what happened to them. Two events lead Bettina on a quest for answers to the mystery: someone paints the word MONSTERS on her fence, and she receives an odd note that says “You coward Tink.” Bettina is puzzled because the only people who ever called her “Tink” were her brothers Mitch and Chris. Does the note mean that they are still alive? Bettina sets off on a weird and fantastical road trip with schoolmates Gary and Trish to find some answers.
Kathleen Jennings’ prose is just beautiful, and I loved the way she describes the physical appearance of the town, the smells and colors. I’ve never been to Australia, but I could picture the dusty town on the edge of a forest perfectly. I also got Ray Bradbury vibes as I was reading, for some reason, which was pretty cool. Flyaway has been described as “Australian Gothic” and although that subgenre is new to me, I can definitely see the Gothic influences in her story: the sense of weirdness and unease that permeates everything, the descriptions of unkempt, decaying buildings and the sadness surrounding them, to name a couple of examples.
Jennings intersperses her story with legends and tales about Runagate and the surrounding Woodwild, told by various townspeople and relatives. This gave the story an eerie, fairy tale quality that I quite enjoyed. Jennings incorporates creatures of legend from her native Australia into these brief fables, accompanied by her whimsical drawings. But while some of these tales were engaging on their own, as a whole they didn’t always mesh with the rest of the story.
The story itself was meandering and confusing, and it took me until the halfway point to figure out what was going on. And I just couldn’t get a grasp on any of the characters. Bettina is a meek, antisocial girl who lives with her controlling mother and doesn’t seem to have any friends. Her schoolmates Gary and Trish are simply horrible to her and treat her like dirt. I couldn’t stand either one of them and I hated the way Bettina let them walk all over her. And the final reveal was just odd. Despite some welcome speculative elements–which tied in with the intermittent fairy tales—the ending just confused me.
I think readers who loved This is How You Lose the Time War might enjoy this more than I did. I had similar feelings about that novella—lots of ambiance and gorgeous writing, but very little plot to speak of. If I had time, I would reread Flyaway because I feel like it’s one of those stories where you probably miss stuff the first time around.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Yeah, I think I’ll be skipping this one. I mean, three star books aren’t necessarily bad but it’s sounds kinda meh? Great review though! 😀
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: Gifting Me To His Best Friend by Katee Robert
Thanks Stephanie!
I’ve yet to read This is How You Lose the Time War so I don’t have a feel based on that. Sounds like this has potential for the right reader. And being set in Australia with the legends and creatures of that region is pretty cool. It is a very interesting cover, makes you wonder at what it all represents.
It’s definitely going to be perfect for the right reader:-)
Great review Tammy! I will probably give this one a miss. That cover really is gorgeous though!! 😀
Proxyfish @ Books by Proxy recently posted…Review: A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
I love the cover too, and it actually relates to the story:-)
Aw! I’m sorry this didn’t work out for oyu — the Australian setting though does appeal to me just to see how she writes it.
I loved the setting!
This is the first time i’ve heard about Australian Gothic, and I’m intrigued: from your review it would seem that this story focuses more on background and mood than actual characters, and it sounds a bit different from the overall offerings in the genre…
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…TOP TEN TUESDAY: Most Surprising Books
It was very different, which I liked. There is a lot to appreciate, but it just wasn’t a complete win for me.
I’m hoping to speed read this one over the weekend, but I was worried that I wouldn’t relate well to the story.
Liz H. recently posted…Book Review: Fae Conqueror by Sarah K.L. Wilson
I’m really curious to hear what you think!
A great review, Tammy:). I don’t think this one is for me. The dealbreaker is the scarcity of likeable characters with this one. I quite enjoy a fractured narrative and I like the idea of beautiful prose – for a short while I thought this sounded a bit like You Let Me In and got quite excited – but then we had a wonderful narrator, whom I absolutely bonded with. So I shall be giving this one a miss – thank you for sharing your thoughts:)).
There’s no comparison with the characters in You Let Me In. It’s definitely more of a book geared for a reader who’s after mood and ambiance, I think.
I’m glad to read your review. After starting this book twice, I only got to about 25% and then just had to stop. I couldn’t get into it at all. I agree, the style is interesting, but I ran out of patience with not being able to figure out the point of the story. Oh well.
I’m glad I’m not alone! It just didn’t grab me, and unfortunately these days, when my attention span sucks, I need a book to drag me in right away.
Uh oh. I had high hopes for this one but it sounds like I’ll be putting it off for a while. I don’t need any extra confusion in my life now.
Ha ha, I know what you mean.
I love what you’ve said about the writing and how atmospheric it is. Tempts me to try it. But that’s unfortunate that the plot meanders and the characters didn’t work out for you.
It was too bad, but I will definitely try her again:-)
So both you and Lynn gave this one a so-so review so I have a feeling I won’t be falling head over heels in love with this one either. Still, it does sound like it has its high points, and it’s short so…maybe I’ll give it a look if I have time, but I definitely need something to grab me these days. Thanks for the review!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Audiobook Review: Left For Dead by Caroline Mitchell
Sometimes I don’t mind confusing so I might like this one. Sorry that it wasn’t quite working for you. Thanks for your thoughts on it, Tammy!
Thanks for the review! I do love the cover.
I’m going to be picking this up in the next couple of books that I read. I’m glad to see your review. I’m expecting lovely writing, and it’s good to know I should lean into that.
This is definitely an unusual read isn’t it. I enjoyed it probably slightly more than you did and in a way I wish I had time to revisit and read it again toes how I get along the second time around.
Lynn 😀