The Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn’t Fly by Stephen Graham and Paul Tremblay (as PT Jones) | Rating: ★★☆☆☆

"Gravity sucks, yeah?"

The thing about this novel is that it had the potential to be something unique and really, really captivating. I was instantly concerned that it just wouldn’t work out, however, when I saw how short it was. Regardless, I did have high hopes for it. Unfortunately for me, it started off so slowly I wasn’t sure I’d really be able to focus myself on finishing it — but I did give it a chance because it really did seem promising and I hoped for some improvements over the span of the novel.

In terms of plotlines, it is unique in the midst of all that is young adult literature these days but even in its uniqueness it just didn’t fit with me. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but that shouldn’t frighten any of you away from giving it a go — it just wasn’t for me.

I couldn’t help but cringe at certain parts of the novel and immediately felt guilty in doing so because I really wanted to like this novel. But it felt like an odd mix between slow and fast — it lacked certain detailing in my opinion and left me a bit puzzled from time to time, almost as if I’d missed something big as I read.

Which was very, very frustrating.


Our narrator, though, is pretty likeable — she is sarcastic and clearly brave and I did quite like her. The way she goes on this mission to save her younger brother sealed the deal for me — she is brave. What little we know about her, I liked. Her best friend, Liv, was also a pleasant presence in the story and I quite liked their friendship, in spite of her initial disbelief towards Mary’s story of the floating man.

And the mystery of it all — what is making this town ill and why are these children suddenly able to float — could be interesting to you. Although there were times when I was extremely frustrated, I still desperately wanted to know what was behind all these happenings. I didn’t feel like the ending gave me enough closure, but it did manage to tie up various loose ends — I’m glad we learned how all of this was happening and finally, the Floating Boy’s real name.

I think that for its age range, however, it could gain a solid fanbase. It's just wacky enough to appeal to kids of varying ages. Since the characters are pretty young and the writing is quick and to the point, it would be perfect for a junior high student. Middle grade kids who lack the attention span to read much or just have no interesting in doing so could probably dive into this book and appreciate it much more than I did.

In fact, I think it’s the perfect book to spark an interest in reading for all ages — as it isn’t a difficult read.

It just felt like the characters were just there, talking and not really coming to life like I’d hoped. We meet many characters but I just didn’t connect with them in the way that I typically do in novels. They were just there. It was much like the plot line for me and just didn’t feel like much at all. Which is really unfortunate.

I do have to applaud the authors for taking a chance on this one and think that their creativity was on point in terms of plots and what not.

That being said, I don’t think I’ll be reading this novel again in the future but I do hope you give it a chance. While it may not be the best story you’ve ever read, it could be interesting — but please keep in mind, if you have similar taste to mine in regards to reading: this book will not be for you.