Sky Daddy

by Kate Folk

Subversive and unexpectedly heartwarming, Sky Daddy hijacks the classic love story, exploring desire, fate, and the longing to be accepted for who we truly are.

Linda is doing her best to lead a life that would appear normal to the casual observer. Weekdays, she earns $20 an hour moderating comments for a video-sharing platform, then rides the bus home to the windowless garage she rents on the outskirts of San Francisco. But on the last Friday of each month, she indulges in her true passion: taking BART to SFO for a round-trip flight to a regional hub. The destination is irrelevant because each trip means a new date with a handsome stranger—a stranger whose intelligent windscreens, sleek fuselages, and powerful engines make Linda feel a way that no human ever could.

Linda knows that she can’t tell anyone she’s sexually obsessed with planes—nor can she reveal her belief her destiny is to “marry” one of her suitors by dying in a plane crash, thereby uniting her with her soulmate plane for eternity. But when an opportunity arises to hasten her dream of eternal partnership, and the carefully balanced elements of her life begin to spin out of control, she must choose between maintaining the trappings of normalcy and launching herself headlong toward the love she’s always dreamed of.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Audiobook, Literary Fiction, Book Club, Adult

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2025

About the author

Kate Folk is the author of the novel SKY DADDY (2025) and the story collection OUT THERE (2022). Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, and The Baffler, among others. A former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, she’s also received support for her writing from MacDowell, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and Willapa Bay AiR. Originally from Iowa, she lives in San Francisco.

Reviews

[frankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy shit i loved every second of this

[Brooke 𝜗𝜚 (comments restricted) · Rating 4 out of 5]

—— 𝟒.𝟕𝟓 ☆ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬. 🛩️

❝𝙵𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚌𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍. 𝙸 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚗, 𝟹𝟻,𝟶𝟶𝟶 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑.❞

📖┆𝐒𝐤𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐤
🏷️┆𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝕃𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝔽𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, ℕ𝕠𝕟-𝔽𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟
📆┆𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝟜/𝟚𝟛/𝟚𝟝-𝟜/𝟚𝟟/𝟚𝟝

⤷ buddy read with my girl Sidney ♡ check out her review!

📝┆𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
「 ”Linda is doing her best to lead a life that would appear normal to the casual observer. But on the last Friday of each month, she indulges in her true passion: taking a round-trip flight to a regional hub. The destination is irrelevant because each trip means a new date with a handsome stranger — a stranger whose intelligent windscreens, sleek fuselages, and powerful engines make Linda feel a way that no human ever could. Linda knows that she can't tell anyone she's sexually obsessed with planes.” ˩

❝𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚍𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝟷𝟻𝟶 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝟹𝟽,𝟶𝟶𝟶 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚝? 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜, 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚡𝚢𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚖 𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚘? 𝙽𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙸’𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝!❞

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆｡°·☁️✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆

ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ★★★★.𝟕𝟓
ɢᴏᴏᴅʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 𝟺.𝟶𝟽 ☆ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ
ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ: ꜰʀɪᴇꜱ & ᴀ ᴅɪᴇᴛ ᴄᴏᴋᴇ 🍟🥤
ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: 📻 ᴀɪʀᴘʟᴀɴᴇꜱ ♪ ʙ.ᴏ.ʙ & ʜᴀʏʟᴇʏ ᴡɪʟʟɪᴀᴍꜱ
ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ?: ʏᴇꜱ, ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
🛩️ ᴀɪʀᴘʟᴀɴᴇꜱ
🛩️ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ʜᴜᴍᴏʀ
🛩️ ᴜɴʜɪɴɢᴇᴅ ꜰᴇᴍᴀʟᴇꜱ
🛩️ ᴡᴇɪʀᴅ ɢɪʀʟ ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ
🛩️ ꜰᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱʜɪᴘꜱ
🛩️ “ᴍʏ ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ ᴀᴅᴅɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ”
⚠️ TW: sexual content

❝𝙼𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚍 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎. 𝙸’𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛.❞

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆｡°·☁️✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆

💬┆𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
• As soon as I saw the cover for Sky Daddy, I knew that I would like this book. However, I didn’t anticipate liking it as much as I did. 🥺

• From the synopsis, it makes it seem like this book is just about a girl who is sexually attracted to airplanes which, well, yes.. yes it is, but it is also so much more than that. You’ve got female friendships, the discussions of fate, manifestation, mental health, grief, people pleasing.

• I’ve always loved the show My Strange Addiction on TLC & I also love weird girl fiction. It’s one of my favorite niche genres so this book was a near perfect read for me. I was entertained the entire time. Laughing out loud at Linda’s inner dialogue & all the situations she would get herself into just so girly pop can get her plane fix.

• Despite Linda’s quirk (kink?), I found her to be a relatable character & a damn good friend who was just lonely, trying to fit in, & live out her best sexually fueled by airplanes life.

❝𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝙸 𝚝𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝙸𝙳, 𝚖𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚒-𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚝 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚊, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝟽𝟹𝟽, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝.❞

At the end of the day, don’t forget, she’s also just a girl! 💄

• One of my favorite parts of the book was the friendship Linda developed with Karina, but my girl Sidney brought up a good point about their friendship & now we have questions & theories. 🤔 See, I told you it was more than a book about sex with airplanes.

• I had such a fun time with this book & Linda is a character that I’m going to think about a lot… especially every time I board a plane. ✈️ And speaking of planes, I think I have a new found respect for them now, but not in the same way Linda does.

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆｡°·☁️✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆

❝𝙸’𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝙺𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚊, 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚍.❞

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆｡°·☁️✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆｡°·☁️✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆｡°·☁️✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆｡°·☁️✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚⋆

[Marcus (Lit_Laugh_Luv) · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.5 stars] I said I was going to write a review, and then life happened and a month has elapsed without me writing one. Just know that this book is every bit as weird and unhinged as the premise suggests, and despite not enjoying Folk's debut short story collection, I ate this up.

The ending could have been better, but this had the perfect balance of emotional depth without veering into sappy melodrama. Will every detail of this stick with me? Probably not. But it's a fun and propulsive read that doesn't take much brain power and will make you look chic and mysterious when you carry this around in your tote bag.
—-
i once dated a gay priest so I feel exceedingly qualified to give romance novels like this the spotlight they deserve <3

[Zana · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up.

I've never related more to a fictional character. Minus the plane obsession, of course. Although, I will admit that I've checked FlightRadar24 slightly more obsessively than the usual person.

Linda is me and I am Linda. Awkward, aloof, and a tad bit more blunt than what's considered socially acceptable, I found a kinship in the FMC as the novel went through her day-to-day life. This would sound boring if it weren't for the writing style, tone of voice, and how eerily dark the entire story turned out to be.

The vibe was very satirical (I'm not sure if that's actually one of the genres?) and I'm a huge fan of satires. It reminded me of how I felt reading Yellowface and The Eyes Are the Best Part (no discussions on race in Sky Daddy though), both of which were instant favorites. They're all filled with over the top ridiculousness, tinged with a layer of darkness, and I couldn't stop reading. Hell, I might as well add Sky Daddy to my Favorites list.

Kate Folk's prose is both witty and very easy to read. I had such a fun time reading this ridiculous book that I found it difficult to put down. I don't think I've ever highlighted so many lines that made me chuckle or snort, so kudos to the author!

The similes and analogies were laugh out loud funny, although YMMV. Sadly, since I read the arc seven months before pub date, I have to refrain from posting direct quotes. But I'll definitely update this review when the book comes out.

If you like dark and funny novels, this might be right up your alley.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this arc.

[Stacy (Gotham City Librarian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the kind of strange fiction that I love. It was funny, but also mildly disturbing and very awkward at times. Folk knew her main character Linda very well, and was able to tell her story with intimacy and skill. The core of the plot is Linda’s deep and unwavering love/lust for airplanes. It is her sexual identity, and she objectifies the shapes and curves of different models of aircraft as if they are human men. Linda doesn’t consider planes to be objects. She feels that they are sentient beings with feelings and souls, and she wants one to “choose her” for marriage. How will she know she has been chosen? Well, because that flight will crash with her inside it.

Obviously, this book will not be for everyone, and some readers will definitely feel that it’s in poor taste. Especially given Linda’s ultimate goal and how passionately she romanticizes it. The timing for a plot like this is also maybe not the BEST, but that is not the author’s fault.

I have to give kudos for excellent crafting of a title that has multiple meanings within the story, is funny and interesting and immediately made me want to read the book. (Great cover, too!) Don’t be fooled, though: it’s not a light-hearted romance or a cute coming of age story or anything like that. It’s very much a dark comedy with some grim moments and off-putting decisions on behalf of our main character.

Linda was a protagonist that wasn’t always easy to root for. Even though I was intrigued and wanted to keep reading to see what she would say and do next, she definitely did some things that had me face-palming. And these were just her interactions with human men, not airplanes. She was way too passive and nice and I wish she’d had more of a backbone. Though I will say that many things I questioned turned out to have a specific purpose or repercussion later on that made sense. Much like the vision boards that became so important to Linda’s plans… (What a great story element!)

Folk actually made Linda’s romantic and sexual interest in planes feel so believable that by the time the story really got going, I was unfazed by it. There were other aspects of her personality that I could absolutely relate to, and the way that Folk wrote about romantic and sexual attraction that is “not normal” was perfect. Linda was very confident in how she felt but also terrified of how other people would perceive her if they knew the whole truth. Another surprising theme of the novel was friendship, believe it or not.

Small complaint, but Linda constantly referred to her tiny rental unit as her “cube,” so every time a scene was set there I at first assumed she was talking about being at work, because to me a cube means a cubicle in an office. Probably just me, though. That was my only issue.

I was a big fan of the ending. “Sky Daddy” will likely be a hit with anyone who loves the weird, dark comedy side of contemporary fiction and an unpredictable narrator.

Biggest TW: Suicidal ideation, Depression, Bullying, Plane crash imagery

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was obsessed with Sky Daddy. It’s the exact kind of book I’m always chasing...weird, hilarious, a little chaotic, and somehow still full of heart. I tore through it and I’m still laughing about it months later and I’ve been telling literally everyone I know to read it. A reminder to stay unapologetically strange!!

[Ron Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confronted with Freud’s condescending question “What does a woman want?” Kate Folk might sigh, “What have you got?”

Folk’s debut story collection, “Out There” (2022), disrupted a quiet night with a series of unnerving tales about the persistence of desire in a grotesque world. The title story — first published in the New Yorker — imagines a young woman trying to find love when half the men on the dating apps are “blots”: handsome, humorless robots designed “to target vulnerable women.” In the end, given the human males out there and the exhausting rhythm of disappointment, she figures: Why not embrace the lifeless circuitry?

Like George Saunders and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Folk seeds the petri dish of each story with one aberrant premise and then lets it mutate into something monstrously hilarious and revealing.

This month, for the first time, she extends her diabolical method to an entire novel: “Sky Daddy.” The results are just as bizarre, witty and poignant as her fans could hope. The narrator, Linda, is a single 30-year-old woman who’s madly in love with airplanes. I don’t mean that she’s enthusiastic about airplanes; I mean that she’s erotically fixated on airplanes. On Friday nights, she hangs out at a bar near the San Francisco International Airport to “ogle planes.” Terminal 2 is her own “personal red-light district.” She dreams of someday marrying a big one, maybe “a beefy Boeing 777” in an “orgasmic catastrophe.”

“This was my destiny,” she confesses, “for a plane to recognize me as his soulmate mid-flight and, overcome with passion, relinquish his grip on the sky, hurtling us to earth in a carnage that would meld our souls for eternity.” She’s not willing to purposely cause a plane to fall from the sky, but she’s hopeful, despite the long odds. “Like dating,” Linda notes, “death by plane crash was a numbers game.”

I don’t want to plane-shame anybody, but Linda is basically the middle seatmate from hell, particularly since, in flight, she can’t keep her hands off herself. “Takeoff was uniquely orgasmic,” she says, “and landing had its own erotic appeal.” She keeps a small chunk of a decommissioned 737 in her underpants. “No man,” she says, “could do....

To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...

[Candi · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I believed this was my destiny: for a plane to recognize me as his soulmate mid-flight and, overcome with passion, relinquish his grip on the sky, hurtling us to earth in a carnage that would meld our souls for eternity.”

A couple of months ago or so, one of my coworkers was flipping through the pages of BookPage and spotted this novel which was soon to be released at the time. I heard her snickering and had to ask. She said “Here’s a book for you” but was joking. Well, to be fair, she was probably half serious (she knows my sometimes-quirky tastes). She read the blurb and I sat up straight in my chair. I made sure the book was on our to-order sheet. When the UPS guy walked in on delivery day (with one of his daily “dad jokes”), I tore the box open and brought the book home. I’m not hooked on new releases in general, but if something has a whiff of being weirdly wonderful, then I’m all in. The gals at work were all hoping I’d report back with another Hurricane Girl or Vladimir-style, gushing review. If so, they’d all be lining up for it next.

“As a rule, I avoided forming deep connections with other people. I knew my fate could manifest upon any flight, and I didn’t want to burden additional loved ones with grief.”

Linda is the protagonist and no doubt she’s unique. Certainly, her love obsessions are incredibly peculiar. She had her first orgasm at the age of 13 during an extra-turbulent plane ride. While her fellow plane-mates were gasping for dear life, she was gasping… well, you know. She now carries around a small shard of a decommissioned 737-800 which she purchased on eBay. I won’t bother to tell you what she does with this particular talisman. In any case, it probably goes without saying that her life is very odd indeed. By day she cleans up comment threads on social media, removing hate speech, death threats, and that sort of everyday thing. On the weekends she either sits at a bar overlooking a runway or takes flights from San Franciso to other regional hubs. She didn’t fail to make me laugh. And she knows a hell of a lot about planes and flight patterns! Way more than I’d ever absorb even if I took the time to look at those laminated sheets in the plane’s seat pockets.

“A beefy Boeing 777 pulled back from F4, pivoting on his slender ankles with surprising grace for such a big fellow. Parked at F12, I spotted an old friend who went by the tail number N78823, an Embraer 175 bound presently for Phoenix, according to my flight-tracking app. I’d accompanied N78823 to Salt Lake City a few months ago, and found him to be a playful lover, teasing me with a round of turbulence as we descended into SLC.”

She has one person she can finally call a friend. Karina, a coworker, is an aerophobe. As they say, opposites attract! Karina introduces Linda to some of her own friends, who invite her to attend their monthly vision board meetups. Linda figures, why not. Perhaps she can make her dream of marrying an airplane come true if she manifests it properly.

This book isn’t just about laughter and the weirdness of it all, of course. There is a deeply rooted loneliness oozing from Linda. The problem for me is that it never really went deep enough. We know it’s there, but I wanted to get into the thick of her past. The premise of this was intriguing but the execution seemed to go in circles – much like a plane that needs clearance before landing. I was eager to see what the landing would be like, but I’m not so sure it satisfied this reader at least. Women in pain, loneliness, trauma – all themes that greatly interest me. Bizarre fetishes and odd characters – these have a large appeal factor, too. The difference lies in the writing. Marcy Dermansky and Otessa Moshfegh nail it, and maybe, just maybe, Kate Folk is onto something good here. I’ll read her next offering but can’t rank this book with the likes of Hurricane Girl for now. As far as my fellow coworkers – I didn’t rush to place this directly in any of their hands, but I didn’t tell them to stay away either. Whatever floats your boat. Or flies your plane, I guess.

“This was what I’d wanted for so long, and thought was impossible – to reveal my true self and be accepted as I was.”

[Ruxandra Grrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun and in the end quite sad and devastating. When I read the premise I was like: I'm in, but I had no idea what the destination would be and whether it would stick the landing. I think it really did, and the ride, hooo boy, it was bumpy and messy in a good way (but also just the right amount of cringe).

I found Linda a very engaging protagonist - obviously neurodivergent and just trying her best in a really fucked up world. I think that's what strikes me about these 'weird' books, the fact that the world they take place in is actually the weird, anomalous one, even though most 'normal' people tend to take that weirdness for granted. Linda's plane-based desires feel twisted, sure, but I find the other elements in the story much more twisted: the fact that the job of social media moderator has to exist and corporate shittiness with its employees, the Vision Board meetups of middle class women who want to manifest being in the present or to have great vacations or multi-level marketing schemes utterly fucking up your mom's life.

I also loved Karina and the relationship between her and Linda was literally the heart of this book. I'm always looking for good platonic relationships in my reading and this one really worked for me.

So yeah, to set your expectations, this is absolutely hilarious (for instance, Linda compares every man she meets with the nose of a specific plane model), but you can feel from the beginning that there's something deeper and sadder at the core, that's depicted in a highly specific, but very recognizable way.

//

Talk about the mile high club, right?

//

Just realized this comes out the day before my dead dad's birthday, which is... weird.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did, but I felt its airplane theme bogged it down. I love an in-depth exploration of grief, loss, and trauma, though so much of the writing was focused on the main character’s flying obsession that there wasn’t enough exploration of deeper themes. One could say that the airplane obsession represents avoidance or is a coping mechanism, which I would concur with, though that still didn’t salvage the narrative for me. The protagonist’s voice also felt too deliberately quirky for me to get invested; I felt disconnected instead.

Appreciated the theme of friendship though even my overall take on the novel was more negative. For a more immersive exploration of grief and loss I'd recommend Sea Change by Gina Chung!

[WURLD · Rating 3 out of 5]

clearly i’ll read anything without flinching because what the hell was that

[Sunny Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole book is straightforwardly weird in its conceit and totally delivers on its premise. A woman feels she is destined to marry a plane, by which she means die in a plane crash. Her anthropomorphization of planes as male figures was consistent throughout the narrative, as well as her desire and need to hide her true self from everyone in her life. But ultimately, this is a book about friendship, acceptance, not fitting in, karma, and whether people really do reap what they sow. How do we cope with the crushing weight of existence? What makes life worth living, especially when we've wronged others? How do we hold ourselves accountable to those we care about and who care about us? Somehow, a book about a woman named Linda who is sexually attracted to planes manages to ask and answer these questions.

Excited to talk about this one with book club!! https://www.instagram.com/lesbianfemi...

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audaciously imagined. Slyly executed. Surprisingly tender. Deliciously weird. Linda is the sort of character I find delightful and riveting, not despite but because of her oddity. Ultimately a book about female friendship.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t mean to downplay the seriousness of genocide or human trafficking or Hawk Tuah Girl’s cryptocurrency scheme. But I am convinced that this book is possibly the worst thing that has ever happened to humanity.

Someone should probably check on the editorial team at Random House because they are, collectively, deeply unwell.

[Jan Agaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. i never wanna read a book about airplanes ever again.
2. the fact that my bb brain could come up with several better ways to end this book in a heartbeat (and I stated them in my upcoming spoiler-filled vlog that will be on YT July 10th) is crazy.
3. everyone was annoying

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎]

I love the way Kate Folk enters into the psyche and soul of her protagonist, where every sentence feels like it springs from the head of someone who believes she is fated to die in a glorious orgasmic ball of fire when the plane she is in, one day, goes down with her inside it.

Because the premise of this novel is so absurd, I think it's easy to overlook the mastery of the writing. The odd turns of logic. The perfection of a sentence that flips in a surprising and revelatory way with the addition of an unexpected verb or adjective. The entire immersive wonder of Linda's obsession. The way the story gallops forward to such a completely satisfying conclusion.

Now I'm going to contradict myself, maybe, and say that in spite of loving all these things about the novel, it's also true that I wish Linda's mind had been a little more refined, a little more contemplative and philosophical, a little less shallow in its preoccupations, and a little less on-the-button immersed in social media. I mean, why did Linda need to be such a ditz? Her obsessions deserved more respect, somehow, than they got in the pages of this novel. The novel would have been all the more hilarious if it had also reached for the deeper meanings that the story implies, instead of disarming them with quips and gags along the way.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all - I liked this book so much I made a playlist:


https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2X0...


I loved this extremely original, hilariously poignant/poignantly hilarious book so, so, so much. As someone who has seen every episode of Air Disasters and all similar shows, lives very near to an airport and routinely watches planes all the time, and is obsessed with Flight Radar 24 and has even been known to listen to air traffic control channels, this novel details exactly the kind of nervous breakdown I plan to have if ever I have one. Kate Folk is a genius and I want her to be my best friend. I would use all my flight miles and status to upgrade her seat and get her into the very best airport lounges where I’d buy her a spicy Bloody Mary.

[Meagan (Meagansbookclub) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
One of the most bizarre books I’ve ever read. How do you review a book that’s strange and dark but endearing and entertaining????

Very strange premise, but in a weird way, enjoyable to read? The writing was well done, the development had a nice arc, and the ending had a glimpse of growth from the main character. I think for me, I needed growth to happen earlier to make sense of Linda. If your book club wants something out of the box, pick this one up.

[CJ Alberts]

Stuck the landing. Fun

[jocelyn • coolgalreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

when the title, cover and entire book all live up to its potential >>>>

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know of Kate Folk’s writing from Out There, which I liked a lot less than many of you, feeling it very much conformed to the currently fashionable template for a debut short story collection: modern disenchantment combined with speculative elements and/or light body horror, listless narration and stuff about dating/sex. I've read loads of these books (and probably abandoned even more), and Folk’s didn’t stand out from the crowd. Approaching Sky Daddy, I thought: this has a hell of a hook, but it too seems like typical short-story material, far too gimmicky to build an entire novel around. I’m happy to say I was very wrong about this.

Sky Daddy’s narrator, Linda, has much in common with the protagonists of countless 21st-century urban-ennui novels. She lives in undesirable conditions (an illegal windowless bedsit housed in a family’s garage) in a prosperous city (San Francisco) and has a depressing, low-paid job (moderating offensive comments posted online). But it doesn’t take long for her particular quirk (kink?) to become apparent. Linda is attracted to aeroplanes – not just aesthetically, but sexually – and more than that, she is convinced she will one day marry her ‘soulmate plane’ by... dying in a plane crash. When she discovers her colleague Karina is part of a group who make vision boards to ‘manifest’ the things they want out of life, she sees an opportunity to make her dream a reality.

Like I said, I initially feared the plane-sexuality of it all would overwhelm anything else the book had going for it. In fact, Linda’s obsession – how it infuses her whole personality and being – is exactly what makes it so strong. Her voice is flawlessly honed (I’d love to know how many times this was redrafted; it is unusually smooth and consistent). Folk perfectly marries the story’s innate deranged irreverence with just the right number of heartfelt moments. Also so zippy it’s difficult to believe this thing is 370 pages in print.

Even though the plot hits all its marks – a trigger, a sort of quest, at least some character development for Linda, a couple of heartfelt moments and a really well-crafted ending – it’s still difficult to find anything to compare Sky Daddy to. I mean, can you imagine a combination of Convenience Store Woman and The Necrophiliac? (Probably not.) Linda’s delusion and obsessiveness also reminded me of The Paper Wasp and A Touch of Jen.

I received an advance review copy of Sky Daddy from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[Savannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so sorry to say this but nothing about this was enjoyable. For the first time ever I feel bad giving a 1⭐ review because the story was well-written and more or less easy/fast to read, but nothing about this made me WANT to keep reading (even though I did). Not only was this book bizarre, it was BORING. You simply have to pick a struggle.

Look, I like My Strange Addiction as much as the next person, but this was weird for the sake of weird. I get that Linda was living in a strange, unhealthy, and mentally unwell state of life, but like.....reading about her getting off to planes is so?? She didn't do anything in this entire story except fly on planes, think about flying on planes, and talk about plane numbers (N82D47G which is a fake name but that's the gist).

At first, the story seems like it could be going somewhere when you're introduced to her, but the longer it goes on the more pointless it becomes. Straight up nothing of substance happens in this story after the first 30%. It's just various scenarios in which Linda orgasms on a plane, sometimes with someone she knows next to her and sometimes not.

In addition, none of the side characters are good people or people worth rooting for. Karina is an asshole who's constantly projecting her insecurity and Dave is a sad and jealous old man. I don't need to really relate to the characters, but I do feel like I need to like some of yall! To that point, Linda wasn't even that good of a person either. She does some shitty stuff, extorting money from the company and Dave even though she willingly engages in sexual activity with him but I guess we're supposed to be fine with it because it's all in the name of marrying this plane? and it's like.......she needed to be slapped so she could get the picture.

I'm not really sure what the bigger message was supposed to be here, if there even was one. Like at least in My Strange Addiction the people have some type of trauma and that's why they're engaging in these behaviors but no Linda is just a freak with no other redeeming qualities.

Personally, this probably would've been better as a short story because at least then being bizarre or ending vaguely can be excused because it's open ended, but this was just 350 pages of nothing that ultimately had no point in the end.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this over the course of two long international flights was an experience.

for me, the thing about so-called weird girl fiction is that it feels comforting to read about protagonists' unusual worldviews and hear them relayed with such surety. here, linda has no doubts about her off-kilter perception. it's refreshing, because in reality all of our perceptions are funky in their own ways.

it's also so very compelling to slip into the intensity of a character's socially unacceptable obsession. this reminded me of a less bleak version of one of my favorites, one's company. in both novels, a remarkably lonely woman goes to unbelievable lengths to try to insulate herself from her own grief. very powerful avoidance tactics.

also, while it's deeply sad and often cringy, this book is also disarmingly funny. i was delighted by linda's off-the-cuff delivery of absurd (or absurdly true!) statements.

i don't think there's any way this novel could have finished except with ambiguity. it's all about the struggle to embrace the unknown, whatever fate the universe holds for you, and accepting that you ultimately cannot control it.

[John Caleb Grenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the surface of this, it’s a quirky, plotty romp about a woman with a plane paraphilia. But this book has so much beneath. Look, Linda is a freak, but, like, me too ok. She’s all of us. How many people do you know who put their hopes on the wrong side of death? Is this book also a sort of critique on religion and religious experience? Temporary flights into ecstasy in association with a big man in the sky who very well may not be thinking about you at all, who may be as mechanical a thing as they come? When you focus on the afterlife what’s to bother you about life at all? Why make close connections? This book is hilarious, perfectly entangled in itself, and ingenious.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cool finishing my reread on the night I was in a zoom book club meeting w Kate. She's genius. Additional review to come

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

"She shimmered like a healthy trout"

I was WAITING for Folk to publish something new and yet I heard about this book from a random TikToker (thank you @sophies_little_library) and now I see that plenty of my friends here have read AND reviewed this book and yet I hadn't seen any of their reviews until just now, what gives Goodreads?

I love stories of unhinged girls doing unhinged things and stories that reveal how in one way or another we're all a little closer to our own unhinged selves than we would like to think so in that regard I had a great time. See the thing is Folk knows how to write a believable unhinged girlie. She also knows how to write the insecure men who try to manic pixie dream girl them, I think that folk did a particularly good job with how she wrote Dave, an insecure, maybe a little stupid, definitely clueless middle-aged recently divorced dad that isn't necessarily ill-intentioned but definitely infuriatingly sticky, you might have met one just like him, if you were unlucky he didn't have the resources for therapy. I also like how seemingly unfair Linda (the MC) was to her friend's boyfriend who seemed like a genuinely nice guy who cared about her it made the friendship so much more cute.

The prose was simple with the occasional stylistic flourishes that let the actual story do the heavy lifting.

If you're looking for something about social media moderator this one was as much about social media moderation as We Had to Remove This Post was.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

in the same category as big swiss and MYRR in the sense that you’ll either love or hate this absolutely unhinged story. a car crash (plane crash?) in slow motion that i could not look away from. read if you need to be talked out of “locking in” to manifest your goals!

[Mo]

Uhmmm, Ima need to know who said this was heartwarming!? Cuz ain't no way someone's heart felt all cozy and gooey and snuggly-comfy while reading this, lmaooo... LIES!

Anyway soooo… I’ve read books about motherfuckers, brotherfuckers, monsterfuckers & even unclefuckers, just to name a few… But this is my first time sittin’ front row w/ a prime view of the FMC who is a boneyard fuselagefucker….👁️👁️
Linda, that psychopath, well she popped my airplane wreckage cherry.
Sorry to be so crass. But such is the subject matter at hand…🤷🏻‍♀️

Cockpit lovin Linda is certifiably & irrevocably unhinged. And that’s me being kind.

But if I was being harshly honest, I’d say she’s straight fucking crazy. That eggs hatched, cracked, fried & chewed the hell up! Woof. That poor thangg. She delivers such grandiose 2nd hand shame, I would have been impressed, had I not been so got damn mortified, squatting under my desk & cringing till my face was like: STOP DAT, you foolish old woman!💀

Yea. So, anyway... This maniac, who is as I expressed, deluded to the nth, what with all the gas fumes she’s been huffing, is deeply sexually aroused by airplanes. So much so that she buys a chunk of plane rubble from an old 737 on ebay! And USES IT TO….?

You might’ve guessed correctly if you thought any of the following - To:
RING THE DEVILS DOORBELL! FLICK THE BEAN! DING THE DONG! TICKLE HER TACO! Whatever.

All WHILE SEATED on every one of her maniacal & obsessive plane rides. Rubbing elbows WITH her seat mates! Who are apparently none the wiser. & All while buttering her muffin with some old crusty piece of metal, all in the name of love!😩
She just wants to marry an airplane, ffs!

Alas, marriage to her winged beau means death. And she & her beaver are both very eager. Anything to be in her lovers economy class cabin when the engine stops mid thrust & slowly begins its amorous descent to earth, when she can finallyyyy be Mrs. Linda N92823.🙌🏻✈️👰🏻‍♀️

Seriously though. She’s so over waiting by the books end, she takes 22 back to back flights like a mfn terrorist, in hopes to beget the nuptials of death.

Honestly. The story has many poignant & powerful statements, dialogue, etc. Hands down one of my favorites was: “Go after your dreams, you crazy bitch’.
I mean, come on, that’s some solid advice, right there.🤜🏼🤛🏼

So does Cockpit Linda get her HEA?👁️👁️
Welp, don’t look at me. I ain’t telling you💨💨✈️



{I can’t suss out a star rating for the life of me rn, but I’ll gladly give this summbitch 2 🫱🏼 ✈️✈️}

[Delaney Butterfield · Rating 1 out of 5]

idk maybe i’m not woke enough for this book but i genuinely miss the person i was before i read it

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sky Daddy is one of the most unique books I have ever read. Admittedly, I was apprehensive about reading a story of a woman who is sexually attracted to planes. My curiosity was fully piqued and outweighed any apprehension. Well written, relatable (not that part) and heartwarming. Perfect for anyone who has ever felt like the black sheep...unapologetically.

4/5 ⭐️
1/5 🌶️