High Flying, written by Kaylin McFarren tells the story of Skylar Haines, a talented young pilot. This is a complex story, filled with both suspense, drama and themes of love, the complexities of family, self-harm and sacrifice.

The main character, Skylar has been orphaned – her father died before she was born and her mother died when she was seven years old. She lives with her stern and seemingly uncaring Grandfather. This has left a huge and detrimental impact on her life. The reader is plunged into the pain Skylar is suffering on the very first page, as Skylar retreats into her bathroom with a box cutter. She proceeds to self-harm, sitting desperately alone on her bathroom floor.

Skylar has found some solace in her new passion – flying, in particular stunt planes. Her enthusiasm and passion for flying are evident; as is her feelings for Jake Brennan, describing him as “an artist” in the cockpit. This new-found happiness proves to be short lived, as she flies into a storm when performing with Jake at an air show. After colliding with another plane she is transported back in time, where she is able to witness the poor choices her parents made that have led to her current life.

High Flying switches between modern day Nevada (2013 and 2018) and back in time to before Skylar was born. The story is however, predominantly set back in time – eight months before she was born, twenty-one years ago. I enjoyed the description of the town, in both the past and present, it was vivid and convincing.

The plot is generally easy to follow and logical. The plot is otherwise grounded and believable, other than the time travel bit. But the ending makes up for this by being quite believable and realistic.

Most of the characters are well developed. Their body language and vocabulary help discriminate between characters. We meet many characters when Skylar travels back in time, the ones that link to her present life are easy to follow but the addition of many other characters can be difficult to follow. But I truly enjoyed the relationships between the main characters and found the tension between the two both engrossing and believable. But some of the minor characters and their relationships are not quite as well developed.

Overall the story is engaging and entertaining. I highly recommend it.

Pages: 277 | ASIN: B07QYH3CD4