FLIGHT

Whiting presents a YA novel in verse about a grieving teenager and her family.

In the opening scene, set in 2022, Cassie Fowler happily celebrates her 13th birthday with her parents; her 11-year-old sister, Courtney; and her 9-year-old brother, Jeremy. The narrative then jumps to 2024, and the milieu is decidedly different: Cassie’s father has died from cancer, and her mother is grappling with pill addiction. Cassie sums up the family dynamic thusly: “we’re like three strangers who just / happen to live under one roof, a / roof that’s about to collapse.” At school, she struggles to relate to her peers and feels disengaged from her lessons. Then, a teacher assigns Cassie a project about butterflies, and she becomes intrigued by the concept of metamorphosis. She learns about poetry in another class and finds satisfaction in writing haiku. These two interests converge in lines such as “Wings in flight, you’re free / Yet even you stop and rest / Beauty in the now.” When Cassie’s mother abruptly departs the home to seek treatment for her addiction, a neighbor, Mrs. Lee, stays with the teens; she and Cassie soon form a meaningful bond. Whiting’s narrative authentically explores a complex range of emotions, including the teen protagonist's emotional turmoil—anger toward her mother, frustration with her siblings, and longing for her father. About her mother, Cassie wisely inquires, “How can I hate someone and miss / them all at the same time?” Whiting also effectively uses the butterfly metaphor to underscore Cassie’s transformation. However, at times, the use of verse feels like an awkward fit for the action: “Our first stop is McDonalds. McDouble and / fries. My favorite. // Next, Walmart.”

An often affecting poetic portrait of familial trauma.