Review: Flight Season by Marie Marquardt

Title: Flight Season
Author: Marie Marquardt 
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publish Date: February 20, 2018
Source: Publisher

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Back when they were still strangers, TJ Carvalho witnessed the only moment in Vivi Flannigan’s life when she lost control entirely. Now, TJ can’t seem to erase that moment from his mind, no matter how hard he tries. Vivi doesn’t remember any of it, but she’s determined to leave it far behind. And she will.

But when Vivi returns home from her first year away at college, her big plans and TJ’s ambition to become a nurse land them both on the heart ward of a university hospital, facing them with a long and painful summer together – three months of glorified babysitting for Ángel, the problem patient on the hall. Sure, Ángel may be suffering from a life-threatening heart infection, but that doesn’t make him any less of a pain.

As it turns out, though, Ángel Solís has a thing or two to teach them about all those big plans, and the incredible moments when love gets in their way."

My Two Cents:

"Flight Season" is the story of three very different people: Vivi, TJ, and Angel. Vivi is trying to fix her life after losing her beloved father. Every turn seems to throw more difficulty at her: failing grades, a mother who seems too lost in grief and flakiness to take care of things, and a general uneasy feeling about her future life path. TJ seems stuck in his family business while trying to make something of himself outside of his job at the family restaurant. Angel wanted a better life in the United States but finds himself in the hospital hanging on to his life after fate deals a cruel hand. All of these people are very different but will come together in some surprising ways.

Marie Marquardt is becoming a must-read author for me. Her previous books have been smart with a message behind them. The message always feels baked in and never didactic, which I think is important for any book but particularly young adult books. Because I had enjoyed her previous two books so much, I knew that I needed to jump on reading this one. I was not disappointed!

The characters in this book are great. Vivi is floundering in the beginning of this book. She's done trying to keep up with the social life that took her down a dark path. She is in college at Yale, pre-med but while this seems like something she should do, she isn't sure if she is doing this for herself or for another reason. TJ is confident in his own skin most of the time and seems to know what he wants. Angel was the most touching character. Seeking a new life in the United States, he never was worried about getting hurt; he thought getting over to the U.S. would be the hard part. Because of his status and trying to please his terrible uncle, he has to take any job he can get even if it is dangerous and ends up working on a turkey farm with some insidious practices. These characters come together in such an amazing way. Their bond was really special throughout the whole book.

The book was well-written. Each of the characters had a very different and unique voice. The author has a really good way of pulling together a really interesting story line with characters that will stick with me long after I shut the book.