It’s just an ordinary high school football game. Mana, a flyer on the cheerleading squad, is ready to cheer with her neighbor and crush, Lyle, the reliable cheerleading base. Their friend September will be cheering, too, and it seems like it’ll be a nice, normal game. That is, until the band’s cute drummer is revealed to be an alien in disguise.
During the ensuing chaos, Mana meets the enigmatic China, who introduces himself as Mana’s mother’s partner and tells Mana the truth: Her quiet, mousy mother is really an alien hunter. And not only has her mother disappeared, but she may be carrying a computer chip with vital information that could save—or destroy—all of humanity. Not that the stakes are high, or anything.
Who’s really human? Who’s an alien? Who’s been replaced by a bad doppelgänger? And why does Mana suddenly have the ability to land spectacular jumps—and maybe even to really fly? As Mana, Lyle, Seppie and China search for Mana’s mother, dodge aliens who may or may not be friendly and navigate a town that’s suddenly become an interstellar obstacle course, they face these questions and more. (Does Lyle want to kiss Mana as much as Mana wants to kiss Lyle?)
Funny and playful, with a diverse cast of characters and a bit of romance and adventure, Flying is the perfect light summer read.
Jill Ratzan matches readers with books in a small library in southeastern Pennsylvania.
