Fly Boy

by Eric Walters

Robbie's father is a Spitfire pilot who was shot down during World War II and is now a POW. At only seventeen, Robbie lies about his identity to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force under the guise of going to a boarding school so that his mother doesn't find out. He starts training in Brandon, Manitoba, but after acing all his classes, he's dealt a disappointing blow when he's assigned to be a navigator on a Lancaster. He wanted to be a pilot, just like his father, but the commanders of the air force have other ideas. Robbie is soon on his way to England, where he completes his training on missions bombing German targets in enemy territory. It is during one of these missions that his Lancaster is fired upon and the pilot and many of the crew are shot. It's up to Robbie and his limited piloting experience to save the crew...and himself.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Canada, Fiction, Young Adult, Teen, Childrens, Military Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published December 28, 2010

About the author

Eric was born in Toronto in 1957, which makes him "real old". But, as Eric says, "Just because I have to grow old doesn't mean that I have to grow up!" In his many roles as parent, teacher, social worker, youth sports coach and writer he is in constant contact with children and young adults. He draws from these experiences and feels that this helps him to capture the realistic interaction between young people—the conflicts, tensions, stresses and interests that make up their lives.

Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.

Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).

"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.

Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.

Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.

The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).

Reviews

[Kieran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today I am going to write a review on Eric Walters' book, Fly Boy! Eric did a very good job on his book, Fly Boy, and did a very good job incorporating very realistic details and information in the story!
Fly Boy is about a 17 year old boy named Robert who wants to sneak into flight school early and follow in his fathers footsteps, as a spitfire pilot! To accomplish this, he leaves high school under the false name and age of David at 18 years old. He has his friend, Chip, stay at high school and intercept any messages concerning his absents from the school. When at flight school he graduates ahead of the other recruits (or acey-deucey as they are called in the book) with almost perfect marks and is transferred to a flight base in England!
When in England he becomes a junior flight navigator and then after multiple trips is assigned to a crew and the official flight navigator! When making a bomb run in Germany, the captain is injured and the engineer is killed so Robert (or David) has to fly back to the base England and land the plane safely, which he has never even tried to do!
Robert manages to safely land the plane, after flying back to England for hours, and the captain survives the trip! A while after the incident, Robert is called to the CO’s office and is told that the CO found out that his name is Robert and is only 17! Robert is sent back to Canada and isn’t to return until he is truly, officially, 18 years old!
All in all, I believe that Eric Walters did an amazing job on this story and I am giving it a 4 out of 5 star rating!

[Tush123p · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Walters - Fly Boy
Summary=

The book Fly Boy is about a 17 year old boy who really want to be in the Royal Canadian Air Force, but he is not old enough so he fakes his name and ID with his 1 year older brother who died at birth. The main character of the book is Robbie McWilliams, there are many more characters like Johnny, Jed, Drew, Sandy and Scottie, Jim, but they were not important characters. They were in his life for a bit but then they left or Robbie left them because he continued with his training and some were just not important. Robbie really only wants to be part of the Royal Canadian Air Force because his dad was part of it. So now he has made his goal to try his best and get in the Royal Canadian Air Force and become a better pilot than his dad. So he sets of on his journey with help from his friend Chip, Robbie has told Chip everything and the plan. The plan is that Robbie has made 3 letters for his mother so while hes gone to the training in Brandon Manitoba Chip can just send the letters to Robbie's mother when Robbie tells Chip to send the letters. So the plan was set (it worked but not really there's a twist for the ending). Than Robbie left for his train and met this guy named Jim he became freinds with him, he even shared a drink(Whiskey) with him. They were traveling in a train which was a long ride and than after the train they went in trucks than they finally made it to their destination. In this book there are 4 main events, The first 1 is or was when he had to get his ID checked for if he was 18 and check if they had the peoples parent email or address so if something went wrong they could inform it but Robbie was a smart 17 year old he fooled the captain, the second main event is where Robbie had to apply for his license if he had failed that he would be sent home and and his parent would be informed that he is being sent back and he will have to wait another year to try out, the 3rd main event is where he was in the plane and he had to land the plane with 3 people 1 of them is dead and the engines are shot up and he has to land on the boats runway without falling in the ocean. The 4th main event was the most important and the saddest, it's where Robbie gets exposed for being 17 and not 18, so how this happens is remember the letter Robbie sent to his mother of him being sick well his mother went to the boarding school to check on him he wasn't there so she filed a missing report on a student (Robbie) and the CO had saw the news or file and than he called Robbie in and then Robbie confessed everything. This book is about never to lie and to have patience.


Review =

I personally think this is a good book and you should read it or make a person read it that is very impatient and a liar, this is because this books message is to not lie and be patient, i think this is a good message and a strong one too. I also think this book is good for the age group of 10-15 this is because this is where the age comes in where you start to lie become impatient and become interested in being cool. I give this book a 4 rating because this book is interesting and makes me feel bad because now i know what happened to Robbie when he lied and was impatient i don't want to be like that and i also feel bad for the time i have lied and gotten away with it now.

[Charlie.Strome · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best book I have read in a long time. I really enjoyed it for many reasons. Firstly because it is about WW2, which really interests me. Next it was very intriguing, and I love how Eric Walters decided to make Robbie/Robert an underaged kid who wants to join and does join the Royal Canadian Air Force. It was interesting how Robbie got away with enlisting.

The insights that the book brought to me that the history textbooks would likely not provide, were things like more details on what a bombing mission was really like. Also it shows, tells and focuses on more about the Air Force part of the war.

The lessons that I learned from the book, are for one to never try to join the Air Force or the Army if you are underage, because you won't like the consequences. Next I learned that you should never think that your not capable of doing what needs to be done. For example when Davie/Robbie had to take over the controls, he wasn't confident he could land the Lancaster, but he knew he had to. In the end he landed it alright. The moral of this is basically " don't doubt yourself".

In this book there were so many things I liked. I think my favourite part of the whole story was when they were on Their last bombing mission. What I liked about it was how much detail Eric Walters put into it. It's neat because it tells you every detail about what is happening. It is set up to sort of walk you through the the entire mission. At times the characters are telling you what is going on, and most of the time it is Davie explaining it or you are reading his thoughts which also tell most of the book. I really enjoyed it because you are told things like how the planes engines take enemy artillery(flak), what the plane does, how it handles everything, and explains what the mission is going like. Also it describes to you every detail and gives you a great mental picture of what is really going on. This is my favourite thing about the book.

I never really disliked any thing. The only thing that Eric Walters could have done differently is when your reading something about for say a mission and it's really interesting, the next thing you know it skips the rest of that part and tells what is happening later.

[Ian Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this review I will be talking about what I like and dislike of the book and also some things the book brought to light about when the Nazis were in power and also something that grabbed my attention when I was reading this book. The book fly boy was an interesting book and an overall good book to read. Some of the historical events that where brought to light when reading this book is what it was like when it was like when the Nazis had power and how difficult it was and u never knew if you were going to live whenever you went near or over Nazis territory because it didn’t take them long to get into the air after you go over into their territory. Also how important it was to have a relatively good route and if anything happened suddenly, you could change it a bit. Somethings I learned about life when the Nazis took over that grabbed my attention was how quickly things could change because one minute everything would be okay but then the next minute you could be fighting for your life. This book was a good interesting book like I said before and the things that I liked about the book is that I learned a little bit of what it is like to be in the air force and how stressful it is because you never knew if you are going to live whenever you went up in the plane. Also that the book for the most part grabbed my attention and I wanted to keep reading. Some of the things that I didn’t like are that in some parts it dragged on a bit and lost a little interest in reading but only in a few parts of the book.

[Austin Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fly Boy managed to capture the feelings and emotions of WWII air troops and make it more fathomable for the average reader. Eric Walters did an amazing job at making the story more realistic and used many descriptions to engage the reader into the story but also teach them about WWII while he was at it. Because the main character (Robbert McWilliams) was only a 17 year old it was easier to relate to the emotions he was feeling as he when through the horrors of war at such a young age. One of the most impressive parts of the book is how Eric Walters managed to make a realistic plan to get an underage boy to become a pilot. If he had not made such an incredible plan to get into the war the story would not have been half as good. Another good part of the book is the lovable characters who make you feel the same way he is feeling as he leaves good friends or hears about their death. The realism involved in the pure terror of Robbert made you realize that war is very serious and we might look at it like a kind of game, you must eventually realize that it is very terrifying and should not be something taken lightly. Although in the middle of the book I did not have much expectations for the end (because the training was not very exciting), after finishing the ending I was surprised at how quickly the book turned from a light read to one that made you feel like you had just fought in the war and one of your comrades had died. Overall this book is definitely worth the read and can keep you reading until the very end.

[Jake Healey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A review of Fly Boy By Eric Walters
The book, Fly Boy written by Mr. Eric Walters is more than just a ‘Goodread,’It is an excellent one. History text books provide the reader with one benefit and or requirement to learn information in chronological order. A student on the road to their education will read many text books and absorb that information for the time necessary to get the grade, remembering some of that information but forgetting much. The authors of text books tend to become faceless memories. And the title of that text book may even be forgotten. But a ‘Goodread,’ like Mr. Walter’s Fly boy will be remembered forever. A person can read a book like this at one point in their life and re visit the book later on. Readers will perhaps learn more about themselves as they gain wisdom throughout life. Some may decide that they would have made the same choices that Robbie did as a teenager but reading the book later in life they may decide that they would have handled things differently. Mr. Walters Fly Boy not only helps readers learn about World War Two, but in some way it helps readers imagine themselves living out Robbie’s life as a World War Two navigator. Fly Boy provides the adventure but the safety of one’s comfort chair! Fly Boy describes how pilots and other air force staff were trained. The Allies were so desperate that they began using barns and old farms to train military personnel. The barracks used in Fly Boy during basic training was in old cattle shed. The book also describes how pilots from several different allied countries served together in the same flight squadrons and, often on the same plane.
The book invokes the struggle that the protagonist, Robbie McWilliams felt as he sat in a boarding school at 17 years old during World War 2. His father was taken prisoner of war and he watched as young men slightly older took on the role of soldier, to fight for freedom in a world that he would soon inherited as an adult. The reader can empathize with Robbie, and see what made him decide to steal his deceased older brother David’s birth records and enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force as David McWilliams. Robbie sought to make a difference and to help form his own destiny. This novel helps people who did not go to war understand the facts, emotions and history of World War 2. Mr. Walter’s ability to evoke emotion, and describe his characters with their strengths and flaws are what makes this book an amazing read. The reader understands Robbie’s need to lie about his age and his drive to make his world a better place. Robbie’s father was also a pilot who was taken prisoner and Robbie who idolizes father desires to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he becomes a navigator instead.
The reader is able to understand what makes Robbie and Lieutenant Blackburn angry. The author describes how they beat up some British soldiers. Rage builds in people who are faced with an uncertain future. Stress, fear and adrenaline can sometimes kick in and change temperaments momentarily.
The author does an excellent job describing and leading the reader when he describes how Robbie McWilliams as a trained navigator finds himself in a plane with an injured pilot and several other crew members who are incapacitated. The reader sees a scared 17 year old boy. This boy has to take control of the plane in order to save those who are still alive as well as himself. The reader begins to not only empathize with Robbie, but to perhaps become Robbie, a teenager, who is faced with a sudden grown up situation. Did he make a mistake lying about his age and becoming part of the war and a man’s world? Can he overcome the odds and successfully land the airplane returning it to the base and become the man that destiny would have him be? The story becomes so real because many Royal Canadian Air Force pilots and crew died and or were faced with these sorts of situations. The book gives readers a glimpse into and or a taste of their lives.

The book, Flyboy by Mr. Eric Walters is an excellent read. The novel earns a generous 5 stars. The book is not difficult to follow. It would be an excellent addition to a grade 11 or 12 English course reading list. At present the novel: Slaughter House Five “appears on the grade 11 reading list. This book is also about World War two and that book is very confusing. The main character has some dilutions and the reader gets caught drifting with him from one to another and then back again. Slaughter House Five loses many readers because of this wandering and this takes away from the reader’s ability to gleam any historical information from the settings and events in the book. Mr. Walter’s Fly Boy is both engaging and it is laid out logically .The historical information and emotion conveyed in this novel make it one that the reader will remember, learn from and enjoy. Students will want to read it rather than endure it! Fly boy may surpass another work by Mr. Eric Walters. This author also wrote: “We all Fall Down” which is an excellent read about the World Trade Center bombing in 2001. This book would also make a great addition to a high school English course reading list. It is both captivating and informative.

The reader gains truth of life and a pearl of wisdom from the novel; Flyboy because the reader can see how Robbie McWilliams faced danger, when his plane was shot over enemy and several crew died or were too injured to help him fly the airplane. The reader can see the following traits: tenacity, stubbornness, rationality, courage, leadership and an organized mind in the young character. Robbie was able to separate the fear he must have felt and calmly transform himself into the man who saved himself and others that day. Mr. Walters describes the scene and his character in such a way that every reader asks the question: “Could I have been Robbie or would fear have crippled me to the point that I would have surrendered to it?” Robbie may be responsible for making many of Mr. Walter’s readers’ better people, who are less selfish and more courageous.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my grade 6 class in connection with our unit on flight. Everyone loved it especially the boys which is rare. I really liked how Eric Walters added the suspense factor of Robbie lying about who he was. The fact that he is too young to be enlisting really helped the kids connect to him. Almost like they are too young to be in war but so was the main character. The book did an amazing job of including lots of details about the war and what it was like to be a soldier and how life was different back then. It started many great discussions for my class about different points of view related to war. The main character is very relatable in other ways as well, the way he is home sick and deals with other emotions throughout the novel is great for this age range. There is quite a bit of discussion about drinking, which can be problematic in the class room but it is very matter of fact and easy to talk to students about in relation to the time period and circumstances of the novel.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fly Boy is an excellent young adult book about WWII. It is about a young man who manages, with fake ID, to sign up for the Royal Canadian Air Force when he is just 17 years old. The book is very strong when it comes to describing the realities of training to be in the military, as well as the harsh realities of what bombing runs into Germany were like in WWII. The author was also very good at describing both the fear, courage and emotional turmoil that the airmen went through. The book does not glorify war, but rather shows its harsh realities. Yet at the same time, the story is compelling enough that it should be able to hold the attention of young readers.

[Austin Ignagni · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review on "Fly Boy" by Eric Walters

I loved what Mr. Walters did when he wrote this book, not only does he put you into the shoes of a young boy trying to be like his father as he pushes through the troubles of war but he also made us feel as if we were there in battle or in the air dropping bombs on Nazi soil.
Some of my favourite things about this book are, for one, it takes place in world war two and since it is during one of my favourite historical events and uses my favourite topic of literature.
For two, the main character is Canadian so it somewhat relates to young Canadians whether they like history or not.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful from introduction to its surprising conclusion. It will be a winner with my WWII buffs and intrigued my adult daughter when I introduced it to her. So well written. Very good plot, excellent characters and a main character that is believable, easy to identify with and someone you would like to have in your life. Not perfect, but thoughtful and fun.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow...

[Tristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ending is kinda short and in a way uneventful but the book is a great story

[Vaishali]

it was good

[Samuel]

It was good.

[Kai]

I think it was actually really good and had a pretty amazing story line

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worldview - Secular


Read Aloud 11 yrs +
Independent Reader 12 yrs +


Setting:

Location - Canada, England
Time Period - WWII, 1943


Review

With his father shot down and held prisoner somewhere in Europe, seventeen-year-old Robbie is desperate to do his part. Rather than return to boarding school he deceives his mother with the help of his best friend and co-conspirator Chip. With visions of adventure and heroism he enlists in the RCAF using his deceased brother Davie’s identity.

When his aptitude for navigation is discovered Robbie is fast-tracked through his training and sent overseas within a few short weeks. The harsh reality of war is a cruel awakening. He grows from a boy to a man while faced with his own mortality flight after flight.


The enlisted men are rough, drinking, smoking, gambling, fighting and chasing women. This is counterbalanced in the book, by Robbie’s choice to avoid these vices, as he recognizes that they eat up the men’s money and get them into trouble. The one time he does become drunk it ends badly for him. The book also makes it clear that underaged drinking is not to be condoned.


To an adult Robbie’s character may seem somewhat unbelievable. To the target young audience his tenacity and courage are likely to be inspiring. He is portrayed as a somewhat idealized character. Although he is young and small he is brilliantly smart, more so than the grown men he trains with, although it is mentioned that if the men set aside their vices and applied themselves to their studies they might achieve similar results.

He also responds to danger with a cool head when men with far more experienced than him digress into panic. Although he holds himself to higher moral standards than the other men he manages to endear himself to his peers and the reader, without coming across as judgmental.



Teacher Application

The fact that Robbie lies to enlist will be of concern to many parents as the lie is carried on throughout the book. This lie is addressed. Robbie recognizes both his recklessness and foolishness. Eventually he is caught in his lie and will have to face the consequences. There is a scene where he writes a letter to his mother explaining his choices, where the reader sees his character growth and how he understands that what he has done could hurt her deeply.
There have been underage boys enlist in most wars throughout history. Often military personnel, desperate for recruits have knowingly turned a blind eye.

This is an exciting book to teach students about the RCAF’s roll in WWII. It allows a broad overview of what it would have been like for the airmen. It does not focus on the causes of the war, any specific battles that Canadians fought in, or the holocaust.

There is one glaring editing error (ch 20, p. 152) “I was more frightened to take the stick then than I’d been when they were hurling flak up at us…” This error was what made this book a three star rather than four star book.


Questionable Language

There’s going to be hell to pay (ch 1, p. 7) Alternative: “You’re going to be in so much trouble”

bloody good (ch 6, p. 48) Omit bloody

even when all hell is breaking loose around us (ch. 18, p. 139) Alternative: “even when it’s a nightmare all around us.”

mad as hell (ch 20, p. 154) Alternative: “so mad”

Oh my Lord - ch 23, p. 170 - Alternative: “Oh my goodness.”



Field Trip Opportunities

The Queen Mary - The ship mentioned in the book is now a hotel. You can tour, or stay in the ship.
http://www.queenmary.com

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
http://www.warplane.com

Canadian War Museum
http://www.warmuseum.ca



Parental Warning

The men in the book are rough men, drinking, gambling, smoking and womanizing- There are no romantic interludes at all, merely mention of chasing the women at bars and on nights out on the town. See review above.

Robbie lies about his age and identity in order to enlist. Please see Teacher Application section for more information.

There is a scene where a member of the crew is killed. Part of his skull is blown away, but there is no excessively graphic descriptions of the wound.

Questionable Language - See Teacher Application.

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Walter's book, "Flyboy" is a very well written and heart felt book towards the men who risked their lives to fight in the air for us in World War 2.
This book gave many insights into historical events that the textbook would be unable to provide. Unlike the textbooks which just say facts and information this book followed in the footsteps of Robbie McWilliams through a first person point of view. By putting a reader through a first person perspective you get to experience what life was like through his eyes and all the challenges that himself and the air force faced throughout the book. You also get to see first hand how life was like on the base camp rather than just what happened at the front lines.
The pearl of wisdom that caught my eye the most in the book was, enjoy every second of life and don't let it go to waste because you never know what tomorrow will be like. In the book each night men would face the reality that they could die on their next mission and it just goes to show that you should enjoy the time that you do have before that mission because by tomorrow they could be dead. Also, as Robbie was under age and in the military he would have been better off to stay in school and enjoy life before his 18th birthday to be with his friends and family rather than sign up for something illegally and miss out on extending his education and time with family and friends.
Overall, I liked the book for it was a first person story making it a lot easier to connect with the character and understand the baseline of the book. As well as, I enjoyed the fact that this book covered the air part of war rather than it being like all the other war books, which occur on the ground. I also like how instead of Robbie being of age to go into the air force the author makes him 17 years old and he uses his dead older brother's, David, birth certificate so he can join the air force. This adds suspense to the book and keeps the reader hooked until the end to see if Robbie will get caught or manage to stay in the air force, which I found was very clever of the author. Lastly, I liked the book for it made you realize just how dangerous the night missions were. Throughout the book it mentions how they would always lose a few planes and on those planes many men would likely die as they didn't have enough time to get out or the plane would burst into flames. Furthermore, if they did escape they would end up behind enemy lines and attempt to escape from the clutches of the German ground troops.
All these reasons that I have indicated above are just a few points on why I rated this book a 5 star. To conclude, I recommend this book to anybody that would like to read a suspenseful and action packed war story.

[Alan Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fly Boy
By: Eric Walter
Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary


Birds, humans have admired them since creation of man, since Adam. The thing they admired most about them was their ability to fly. Man has tried to fly many times but have failed; until, the Wright brother came along and invented the very first flying machine. Since then, airplanes have improved so much that it has been used as weapons in the World Wars, which go at amazing speeds of three-hundred miles per hour or more. Life isn 19t easy for the pilot of fighter planes because they are worried that they might lose their life any minute while inside the cockpit. Some are brave enough to join early, while others wait a long time. This books tells the tale of one who was so eager that he couldn 19t even wait that long. Eric Walters is an amazing author whose writing style will keep you glued to your seat while reading his entire collection of books, but this is one of his best works.

Only men over the age of eighteen can enlist to join the British Air Force, but Robbie McWilliams was too eager to join at the age of seventeen to fight against the Nazi. Slipping away from boarding school and stealing the identity of his brother who died at birth who was supposed to be eighteen at the time. Fooling his mother, the principal of the school and the rest of the world; his best friend helps him helps him with his plans by sending letters to his mom saying how great his school life was. On the train to his training grounds he meets a farm boy named Jimmy and befriends him. During the ride, most of the other men were drinking and gambling. While Robbie wanted to make himself look older, he didn 19t want to take up smoking because he might start coughing and that might make a bigger mess. He also thought about growing a moustache but that didn 19t work either. Getting yelled at by Officers that outrank him was a regular thing for him. He was determined to become a pilot no matter what. The only thing he feared was that it would be found out that he was not eighteen .

Considering the course military language in this book, it is not suitable for readers under the age of thirteen because the language in this book will be words not used much in their lives and they might find it too harsh. Eric Walters has done a good job in making a book with a story this interesting added with his writing style makes an amazing book, one like I 19ve never read before. All in all, this is a very interesting book to read with a great plot, characters than evolve with the story and an amazing writing style.

[To Read Pile Too Big · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an adult but I found this book in my local book-box and, once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. It is well written and researched. Every once in a while, you are reminded that it's meant for teens (the dialogue mostly), but that doesn't' take away from the story. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit to an interesting relationship with Eric Walter's books. I find that he does a tremendous amount of research for his novels, and I can appreciate the time and energy he devotes to this. However, I find at time his books can more of an "info dump", and the storyline often suffers for the delivery of information. Luckily, this is one of the rare times where the information and the story marry well to deliver a great tale of life in the war.

I genuinely liked the character of Robbie (who assumes the identify of his deceased older brother Davie in order to enlist), and I felt that his naiveté in wanting to enlist early was portrayed effectively. The deception in the boarding school stretched the bounds a bit, but once you got beyond that and let yourself follow Robbie through basic training and flight school, it was very easy to be drawn into the story.

What I liked most about this story was that the pace was steady and that the main character remained true to who he was, while allowing for personal growth and discovery along the way. Robbie is not the same man he was when he enters the war, and it heartening to see that transformation.

The ending is perhaps a bit too pat and (SPOILER) the reader wonders after Robbie's letter to his best friend Clay if Robbie will want to return after he is sent home as his perceptions on the validity of the war are not as they were. As well, Robbie's missing father seems to be a dropped story thread; I hope that this does not mean that there is a sequel brewing, as this story gains its strength from being a standalone; revisiting the characters would only weaken the conclusion.

One final note - the introductory veteran's letter is poignant while being instructive; as a teacher, I would strongly recommend that this be discussed with students so that they might understand the honesty and emotion behind the author's words.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1943, seventeen-year-old Robbie McWilliams is determined to join the war effort as a pilot ever since his father was taken as a prisoner of war. He has come up with a brilliant plan of taking on his brother David’s identity, who died in early childhood, so that he will be old enough to enlist. With the help of his best friend Chip he is able to deceive his mother and his school about his whereabouts and become the youngest person in his training regiment. Robbie finds himself as a natural. However, he is so well suited for navigation that he cannot train as a piolet like he dreamed. After being sent overseas Robbie soon realizes the harsh realities of war, and sees his former self and his best friend as naieve dreamers. He longs for his old life, but at the same time would never want to leave his crew behind.

I really enjoyed this coming of age story. I felt that Walters expertly captured the romantic view that most soldiers had when enlisting in WWII. It did seem a bit far-fetched that Robbie was such a trouble maker and bad student in school, and yet was a natural in the air force and scored perfect marks on all of his examinations (but you could argue he just needed to apply himself).

[CanadianReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many kids I know love books by Eric Walters. The stories are accessible, invariably told in the first person, and usually focus on a young teen being tested in some way, coming to a big realization, or doing something heroic. Fly Boy is no exception. It is the story of young (underage)Robbie Mc Williams, 17, who takes on the identity of an older brother ("Davie" died in infancy but his birth certificate was still kicking around the house)in order to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Robbie is determined to be a spitfire pilot but turns out to be exceptionally gifted at navigation. He finds himself navigating for Lancaster Bombers who fly out on night missions over occupied France. Walters doesn't create a lot of tension about Robbie's true identity being discovered, and Robbie's chance to actually fly a plane under difficult circumstances is a tad predictable. Nevertheless, Walters does manage to communicate some valuable information about World War II in narrative form for his young audience. Fly Boy is an okay read (not exceptional). Boys 11-14 would be the chief audience for the book. Iain Lawrence's novel B for Buster is similarly themed but more challenging and skillfully written. I prefer it over Fly Boy.

[Alex_1491 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review On Fly Boy ( Eric Walters)

From my perspective, Fly Boy was an okay book. When I first heard that it was about World War 2 I was thinking that it would be like in-battle scenarios. I soon learned that it was about a kid, named Robbie, who was under age and was using his dead brother’s birth certificates to get into flight school. This book is mostly about him training to become a pilot, but instead gets transferred to England (I’m pretty sure) and trains to become a navigator for a Lancaster. I thought that this book overused the exclamation mark. Like, seriously it was on almost every page! I would recommend this book to people who would like to know about training to become a pilot and for people who like planes and World War 2. This ending really threw me off. I was thinking something totally different but when I read this ending, I was like “What??” I really liked Robbie’s character. He seemed like a good guy and an excellent pilot and navigator.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robbie McWilliams wants to fly Spitfires like his father. Using a fake ID he enlists in the RCAF while being underage, and quickly learns the basics of flying. He discovers that he is extremely talented as a navigator, and is assigned to be a navigator on a Lancaster Bomber flying missions over Germany. War, he learns is not the romantic adventure he dreamed of while home in Canada. He also learns, that his dream of being a pilot, may need to change.

I picked this book up because it is one of the nominated titles for this year's Red Maple reading program.

I finished this book because I was waiting to see what the event was the changed Robbie's mind about war and flying.

I would recommend this book to Eric, because he is interested in books about WW2.

[Yoits · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Fly Boy is about a boy, Robbie,who lied about his age to get into the Canadian Air Force. He wanted to follow his father's footstep. He began his training in Brandon, Manitoba. He aces his classes and shows great signs of being a Spitfire pilot, but was instead assigned to train as a navigator on a Lancaster. He was transferred to England, where he completed his training on treacherous missions bombing German targets in enemy territory, all the while wishing he were training to be a pilot. On one of his missions something goes wrong and Robbie is about to learn that you should be careful for what you wish for. This is a good book to read, you can learn what it was like to be in the war. Though I usually don't like to read history books this was pretty good, recommended.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intense, but not graphic account of a young man entering the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War 2.

Robbie (known though most of the book as Davie) decides to lie about his age and enter the air force when he is only 17. To do this he has to tell a lot of lies to his mother, his boarding school, and the military. He is quite bright and accelerates through the training. After only four months in the training, he is sent to England to work as as a navigator on a Lancaster in the air force. There are many adventures along the way. I am glad that his mother finds out that he is lying in the end and he must deal with the consequences of his decisions.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fly Boy gets a very weak three stars from me. It's more of a report on the training of Air Force flyers and the flying community during World War II than a story. I liked Davie -- the main character -- but he was not very believeable. Or, rather, he was a one in a million kid, given how he managed to get into the war, his extraordinary brilliance as a student, his dedication, his courage ... Pretty idealized character.

Several readers told me the end really surprised them. I was expecting something super dramatic, so I guessed wrong. Good luck to other readers in figuring out where this book will end up.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fly Boy by Eric Walters is an action packed book about a boy who gets into the air force but is under aged in World War 2. He wants to be a spit fire pilot like his father. Robert who changes his name to David lies to his mother about going to boarding school and goes to military training. He becomes a navigator on a bomber. He goes on many missions but on his last one he gets shot over Germany. What will happen? I thought it was an amazing book. If you like history, flying and action it is the book for you. I recommend it.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting to like Fly Boy because I don't happen to read many Eric Walters books but I really did like it, it was my favourite out of all of the red maple books for this year so you have my vote Eric ;) I love how the title of the book was only mentioned once or twice throughout the whole book but always indirectly referring to the title. I really admire Robbie/Davie and it's commendable for him to be trying to help his country. I think the part about him I liked most was that he thought the whole thing out and planned everything so carefully.

[Mary Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was fantastic!! I read it when I was about twelve, and I admit that I haven't read it since, so I wouldn't really be able to comment on how it is for older readers, but I just couldn't stop thinking about this book. I basically read I in one sitting (which for me is pretty rare). It manage to hit home, that while this was a fiction book, it was based on things that really happened, and that young boys did have to kill other people, who had there own families and probably didn't like it any more than they did themselves. It was either do this or get killed themselves.