Synopsis
Everyone else in the tiny town of Enfield, Texas calls fall football season, but for the forty-three members of the Fighting Enfield Marching Band, it’s contest season. And for new saxophonist Anna James, it’s her first chance to prove herself as the great musician she’s trying hard to be.
When she’s assigned a duet with mellophone player Weston Ryan, the boy her small-minded town thinks of as nothing but trouble, she’s equal parts thrilled and intimidated. But as he helps her with the duet, and she sees the smile he seems to save just for her, she can’t help but feel like she’s helping him with something too.
After her strict parents find out she’s been secretly seeing him and keep them apart, together they learn what it truly means to fight for something they love. With the marching contest nearing, and the two falling hard for one another, the unthinkable happens, and Anna is left grappling for a way forward without Weston.
A heartbreaking novel about finding your first love and what happens when it’s over too soon. Ashley Schumacher’s Full Flight is about how first love shapes us—even after it’s gone.
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Review
I could relate to this book like you wouldn’t believe! It may be 30+ years since I was in high school, but I was in the band and in a small Texas town and understood the dynamics of Friday night football, band competition, and small-town life.
Anna and Weston are destined to be together once they get past their hangups and controlling parents (at least on Anna’s side). However, these two are good for each other as they bring out the best in each other and push each other to strive for more than they thought they could achieve.
This novel encompassed many aspects of life from the teen perspective and I felt like these were spot on with what kids might experience in high school from friendship, bullying, pressure, and so much more. While the synopsis hints at what happens at the end, it still broke my heart and I admit to having a few tears running down my face. It was hard to imagine how I might have felt in the same situation.
I did feel like Anna’s parents were overbearing and while I know they were just trying to protect her, she also had given them no reason to go overboard with their judgments of Weston. It was a shame they took so long to get to know him because, in the end, that time wasn’t enough.
Make sure to have some tissue on hand for the last 15-20% of the book. You will need it.
We give this book 5 paws up.
About the Author
ASHLEY SCHUMACHER is a young adult author with a degree in creative writing from the University of North Texas. She lives in a small town with her antisocial but lovable husband and more books than is strictly necessary. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her belting Disney or Broadway songs, protecting her snacks from her greedy golden retriever, hand embroidering, or playing Mario Kart. Amelia Unabridged is her first novel. She lives in Dallas, Texas.
