Dreaming of Flight - Catherine Ryan Hyde

Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Genre: Middle-grade Fiction

Rating: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: I kept swivelling across 4 and 4.25 and 4.5 for this book. The ending made sure it was a 4.5. Loveable characters, beautiful story, soothing writing.

Story:

Eleven year old Stewart Little (Like the mouse, but not like the mouse) has never known his parents. He lives on the farm with his elder sister Stacey (a nurse in training) and his elder brother Theo (student, suffers from cerebral palsy). Stewie spends his free time taking care of his late grandma’s hens and selling their “fresh eggs” at a premium price in his village.

Marilyn is a crotchety old lady living at the far end of the village. She has a secret and to keep it, she maintains a firm distance from everyone.

When the paths of those two individuals intersect, Stewie sees in Marilyn a version of his beloved grandmother and he is determined to win her over. Marilyn is equally determined not to connect with this boy who doesn’t seem to leave her alone.

How will the relationship between these two dissimilar people move ahead?

The book is written in a limited third person narration from the points of view of Stewie and Marilyn.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 It's a story set in the contemporary timeline yet it has such a beautiful old-world feel to it. I loved those “good old days” vibes coming from every page.

😍 The characters are so wonderfully etched. The story is clearly that of Stewie and Marilyn and both of these are quite complex individuals. On the surface level, Stewie seems like any ordinary eleven year old but as he has grown up only with his grandma, there is a maturity in his thinking that isn’t common to his age group. His underlying insecurity, his firm need to help everyone, his passion for his hens, and every other quality of his will ensure that Stewie goes down as one of the sweetest boys in modern fiction.

😍 I loved the sibling bond across Stacey, Theo and Stewie. While there is only a little page space dedicated to the two elder siblings, it is enough to make them shine. I would have loved to know more about the two of them, of course, but this was Stewie’s story and any shift in focus would have diluted the impact of the main plot.

😍 Though it has a child protagonist, the book deals with loss and grief beautifully. There are quite a few lines that just made me want to stop reading and mull over them in my head. It was a very wise book in a way.

😍 It is such an unusual story of friendship that transcends age barriers.

😍 Special points for the way Theo’s cerebral palsy was incorporated in the story. Many books that have physically-disabled characters go out of the way to show the “limitations” of the person and somehow end up treating the character with gloved hands. But Theo is written almost like any other character. Yes, there is a bullying situation but it was written in a very realistic way. I loved how the author treated Theo exactly as she treated her other characters. When Theo comes in the story, you don’t think “cerebral palsy” or “physically disabled”; you only think “Theo”. That’s the power of her writing.

😍 The relevance of the title, and how it was incorporated throughout the story, either directly through the flight-restricted hens, or indirectly through so many characters who are ‘dreaming of flight’ but caught by the limitations of their situations.

😍 The ending. Nuff said.

😍 I completed this 300 pager in a day. Always a plus point for me if this happens.

Where the book still worked for me but might not work for others:

⚠ The book is tagged as “general fiction” or “women’s fiction”. But I received strong vibes of middle-grade fiction from it, and not just because of its main protagonist being an eleven year old. The simplistic writing style, the rambling tone, the situations, the characters, the emotions – all point to a children’s book. Luckily for me, I adore children’s fiction so this difference in genre didn’t make any dent in my enjoyment. But it may not work for those looking for a complex adult fiction.

Sometimes, you feel like picking up a book not for thrills or prose or complexities. You just need a soothing book, a calming book, a touching book, an emotional treat. That's the time you pick this book up. It is a beautiful coming-of-age story with minor flaws that you will be happy to overlook because of the sheer warmth contained within its pages. Definitely recommended when you are tired of the real world and want to lose yourself in a satisfying fictional story with loveable and memorable characters.

This wasn’t my first Catherine Ryan Hyde novel, and it certainly won’t be my last one.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC of “Dreaming of Flight”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.