What do you think?
Rate this book
Taking Flight #1
Taking Flight
Seventeen-year-olds Willa Thompson and Dan Martin are falling in love. But there’s one major problem: Willa lives in New York. Dan doesn’t.
Teens with divorced parents, Dan, a comic book nerd from Texas, and Willa, a sassy urbanite, have spent the last three years coordinating their monthly trips to visit the parent they don’t live with so that they can meet up during their layovers. As their junior year wraps up, Willa and Dan realize that their feelings for each other are more than friendly.
When they begin a long-distance relationship, Dan and Willa find out that there is more working against them than geography—both are serious students who aren’t applying to any of the same colleges. To make matters worse, Dan’s ruthless ex sees Willa as nothing more than a challenge to overcome, and Willa’s more-experienced-in-love best friend doesn’t trust Dan. as far as she can throw him. Which is not at all.
Spanning a year and told from Willa and Dan’s alternating perspectives, Taking Flight captures the many stresses of being a high school senior, and how very difficult—but also how very easy—love can be.
Teens with divorced parents, Dan, a comic book nerd from Texas, and Willa, a sassy urbanite, have spent the last three years coordinating their monthly trips to visit the parent they don’t live with so that they can meet up during their layovers. As their junior year wraps up, Willa and Dan realize that their feelings for each other are more than friendly.
When they begin a long-distance relationship, Dan and Willa find out that there is more working against them than geography—both are serious students who aren’t applying to any of the same colleges. To make matters worse, Dan’s ruthless ex sees Willa as nothing more than a challenge to overcome, and Willa’s more-experienced-in-love best friend doesn’t trust Dan. as far as she can throw him. Which is not at all.
Spanning a year and told from Willa and Dan’s alternating perspectives, Taking Flight captures the many stresses of being a high school senior, and how very difficult—but also how very easy—love can be.
- GenresYoung Adult
ebook
First published May 6, 2014
1 person is currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Erin Brown
9 books23 followersErin Brown is a writer, Whedonite, Whovian, yogi, HGTV addict, and connoisseur of The CW’s TV line-up. She was born and raised in Arkansas, lived in New York for five years, and now lives in Singapore with her fiancé. She really misses Tex-Mex, Target, and Trader Joe's. You can follow her on Twitter @erinbrownwrites.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 13, 2019
This could have been amazing book. It had his moments. But then started to fall apart at least for me. Never mind the realist ending you can take it or leave it but still I wish that ended differently.
Sometimes I just need the fairy tale and rainbow happy ending.
Yes, lie to me damnit....
Sidenote I don't plan to read a short novella about this couple in the future. I just don't care. Especially as the author gave next book in the series to side character I didn't like and I feel things will switch to make her more likable I am just over it.
Sometimes I just need the fairy tale and rainbow happy ending.
Yes, lie to me damnit....
Sidenote I don't plan to read a short novella about this couple in the future. I just don't care. Especially as the author gave next book in the series to side character I didn't like and I feel things will switch to make her more likable I am just over it.
October 1, 2014
I don't even know what to say about this.
I loved it. A lot of it. MOST of it.
I loved the cuteness of young Dan & Willa when they met. I loved watching them commit to growing their friendship through typical awkward teenage "stuff" with the added complication of being in a long distance friendship that is difficult for ANYbody to navigate (trust me, I've done long distance relationships...I'm not saying they can't work, I'm just saying they're not easy), let alone, two teenagers who could just as easily forget about it & focus only on the friends who are present in their day to day lives. Let's face it, most teenagers are selfish jackasses...they don't want to put work into anything if they don't have to. Dan & Willa just, to me, showed a level of maturity that I admired.
I loved the dialogue...I'm a dialogue whore and Dan & Willa's banter was perfect.
What I didn't like...
I loved it. A lot of it. MOST of it.
I loved the cuteness of young Dan & Willa when they met. I loved watching them commit to growing their friendship through typical awkward teenage "stuff" with the added complication of being in a long distance friendship that is difficult for ANYbody to navigate (trust me, I've done long distance relationships...I'm not saying they can't work, I'm just saying they're not easy), let alone, two teenagers who could just as easily forget about it & focus only on the friends who are present in their day to day lives. Let's face it, most teenagers are selfish jackasses...they don't want to put work into anything if they don't have to. Dan & Willa just, to me, showed a level of maturity that I admired.
I loved the dialogue...I'm a dialogue whore and Dan & Willa's banter was perfect.
What I didn't like...
April 29, 2014
I honestly don't know how to review this book without sounding like an idiot. I think that's because it hit all the major points I love books of this genre to have thus my inability to articulate why I utterly enjoyed every moment of Taking Flight.
While Brown's writing is witty and full of fun pop culture references, the element I loved the most was the writing of Dan and Willa. I loved that the reader gets to experience both their inner thoughts as they navigate the feeling of falling in love for the first time despite being in a long distance relationship and what that means for them as a couple and personally when the future (i.e. college) comes rearing its ugly head.
And speaking of college, can I say that I truly appreciated how Brown really captured the personal struggle of picking a college. I remember endlessly debating with myself about which school's offer I should accept. Much like Willa I knew I wanted to different experiences from what I grew up with but it was insanely hard to determine where I wanted to experience them. It didn't help that I had been accepted to my first choice and was set to go before my dad told me that it just wasn't possible financially. Talk about throwing a wrench into my plans.
Anyway, all that rambling has just been a way to prevent myself from spoiling the ending which is by far my absolute favorite thing about this whole book. Why? Let's just say it's my favorite type of ending to books, especially older YA books. The best way to describe it without giving it away is hopeful. Hopeful but real.
While Brown's writing is witty and full of fun pop culture references, the element I loved the most was the writing of Dan and Willa. I loved that the reader gets to experience both their inner thoughts as they navigate the feeling of falling in love for the first time despite being in a long distance relationship and what that means for them as a couple and personally when the future (i.e. college) comes rearing its ugly head.
And speaking of college, can I say that I truly appreciated how Brown really captured the personal struggle of picking a college. I remember endlessly debating with myself about which school's offer I should accept. Much like Willa I knew I wanted to different experiences from what I grew up with but it was insanely hard to determine where I wanted to experience them. It didn't help that I had been accepted to my first choice and was set to go before my dad told me that it just wasn't possible financially. Talk about throwing a wrench into my plans.
Anyway, all that rambling has just been a way to prevent myself from spoiling the ending which is by far my absolute favorite thing about this whole book. Why? Let's just say it's my favorite type of ending to books, especially older YA books. The best way to describe it without giving it away is hopeful. Hopeful but real.
May 28, 2014
Such a lovely book! Willa and Dan's story is so sweet and fun and complicated and it gave me FEELINGS. I especially enjoyed Willa's POV, because so many of her thoughts as a native New Yorker echoed my own. (Some of us are fascinated by Homecoming and Friday night football games, it's true!)
But I was rooting for both Willa and Dan from the get go, as a couple and individuals, and I loved watching their relationship evolve into something so solid. And that ending! *wipes tears*
Also, I just really wanted to eat bagels the whole time I read this. You will understand when you read it! :-)
But I was rooting for both Willa and Dan from the get go, as a couple and individuals, and I loved watching their relationship evolve into something so solid. And that ending! *wipes tears*
Also, I just really wanted to eat bagels the whole time I read this. You will understand when you read it! :-)
July 2, 2021
Taking Flight ist eine wunderschöne, aber recht ruhige Coming Of Age Liebesgeschichte über zwei Teenager zwischen ihrer Liebe zueinander und ihrer (beruflichen) Zukunft. Auch für Nicht-Muttersprachler gut verständlich.
Dabei sind Willa und Dan Hauptcharaktere, die so normal sind, dass man sich gut mit ihnen identifizieren kann. Die verschiedenen Nebencharaktere bringen zusätzlichen Schwung in die Sache.
Generell ist die Geschichte eine der eher sanfteren Tönen. Das passt auch sehr zu dem Eindruck, den die beiden Hauptcharaktere machten.
Dabei sind Willa und Dan Hauptcharaktere, die so normal sind, dass man sich gut mit ihnen identifizieren kann. Die verschiedenen Nebencharaktere bringen zusätzlichen Schwung in die Sache.
Generell ist die Geschichte eine der eher sanfteren Tönen. Das passt auch sehr zu dem Eindruck, den die beiden Hauptcharaktere machten.
March 21, 2016
Originally posted on www.fictitiousdelicious.com on 04/21/14:
For the second time in six months, I've fallen in love with a book from a self-published author. This time, Erin Brown put me on an emotional roller coaster all in the name of teenage love.
Dan and Willa share perspectives in this story and I initially had a hard time distinguishing their voices from each other. Between that and the barage of song and book references that are thrown out too frequently, I was feeling a little nervous. I liked the writing, though, so I kept on and then BAM! Something popped at about 30% into the story. It felt like Brown suddenly found her rhythm. Everything clicked and TAKING FLIGHT turned into a story that I'd happily recommend to fellow lovers of contemporary fiction.
This story provides something that I REALLY wish I would have had available to my high school junior/senior self--a healthy discussion on the difficulties of choosing a college. How do you pick a school when you have two halves to reconcile? On one hand, you want to pick a college that provides you with the best education. But what if that means going to a school that is far away from the person you love? This is a life altering decision and one that I wish I would have made differently. I made an emotional decision without any kind of guidance. Dan and Willa work through this decision in a much more mature manner than I did. It's great to see a high level of maturity meshed in with the emotions in this story.
And these characters tackle everything (aka sex) with maturity, not just the decision of college. *eyebrow waggle* I am going to be happy to have Olivia read this story in another year or so. Willa is a great role model, guys.
Secondary characters in this story are as enjoyable as the main characters. As a matter of fact, Willa's BFF, Ana, was one of my favorite characters in the entire story. She provides a strong voice and provides a many LOL moments.
All in all, TAKING FLIGHT is a solid debut from Erin Brown! Be on the look out for it when it hits virtual shelves May 6th. OH! And Erin has agreed to stop by our sweet little blog May 5th for her FIRST INTERVIEW EVER. I'm honored to have her stop by and can't wait to talk to her about that ending she delivered. GAH. It's one that will have you feeling weepy.
PS - The book cover for this is beyond perfect. Like, gives me goosebumps perfect. It immediately brings me back into the story. *sigh*
For the second time in six months, I've fallen in love with a book from a self-published author. This time, Erin Brown put me on an emotional roller coaster all in the name of teenage love.
Dan and Willa share perspectives in this story and I initially had a hard time distinguishing their voices from each other. Between that and the barage of song and book references that are thrown out too frequently, I was feeling a little nervous. I liked the writing, though, so I kept on and then BAM! Something popped at about 30% into the story. It felt like Brown suddenly found her rhythm. Everything clicked and TAKING FLIGHT turned into a story that I'd happily recommend to fellow lovers of contemporary fiction.
This story provides something that I REALLY wish I would have had available to my high school junior/senior self--a healthy discussion on the difficulties of choosing a college. How do you pick a school when you have two halves to reconcile? On one hand, you want to pick a college that provides you with the best education. But what if that means going to a school that is far away from the person you love? This is a life altering decision and one that I wish I would have made differently. I made an emotional decision without any kind of guidance. Dan and Willa work through this decision in a much more mature manner than I did. It's great to see a high level of maturity meshed in with the emotions in this story.
And these characters tackle everything (aka sex) with maturity, not just the decision of college. *eyebrow waggle* I am going to be happy to have Olivia read this story in another year or so. Willa is a great role model, guys.
Secondary characters in this story are as enjoyable as the main characters. As a matter of fact, Willa's BFF, Ana, was one of my favorite characters in the entire story. She provides a strong voice and provides a many LOL moments.
All in all, TAKING FLIGHT is a solid debut from Erin Brown! Be on the look out for it when it hits virtual shelves May 6th. OH! And Erin has agreed to stop by our sweet little blog May 5th for her FIRST INTERVIEW EVER. I'm honored to have her stop by and can't wait to talk to her about that ending she delivered. GAH. It's one that will have you feeling weepy.
PS - The book cover for this is beyond perfect. Like, gives me goosebumps perfect. It immediately brings me back into the story. *sigh*
May 23, 2014
Taking Flight was a fun read that I could see so many fans of contemporary YA really enjoying! I was rooting for Willa and Dan and couldn't wait to see where their story was going to lead. I'd happily read more from Erin Brown in the future, especially if it involved a peek at these characters a few years later. Hint, hint!
See my full review on So Obsessed With!
See my full review on So Obsessed With!
May 25, 2014
OH MY GOSH! I LOVED this book. The sweetness of a budding friendship that over time blossoms into that ever so sweet "teenage love". Wait, did I say sweet? Memorable, painful and YES very sweet. Loved Dan and Willa and, yes Sophie. How many of us have known a "Sophie" in our time? I highly recommend this book. Looking forward to more books from Erin Brown.
Read
February 14, 2017Sweet Love Story
Taking Flight is a sweet love story. Dan and Will are likeable and realistic characters, dealing with the tough problems with long-distance relationships. I was rooting for them all the way.
Taking Flight is a sweet love story. Dan and Will are likeable and realistic characters, dealing with the tough problems with long-distance relationships. I was rooting for them all the way.
May 28, 2015
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews