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Fly Me
A nation on the verge of a new era-and a girl caught between her past and the ever-expanding present.
Now a Los Angeles Times Bestseller!
The year is 1972, and the beaches of Los Angeles are the center of the world. Dropping into the embers of the drug and surf scene is Suzy Whitman, who has tossed her newly minted Vassar degree aside to follow her older sister into open skies and the borderless adventures of stewardessing for Grand Pacific Airlines.
In Sela del Mar, California-a hedonistic beach town in the shadow of LAX-Suzy skateboards, suntans, and flies daily and nightly across the country. Motivated by a temporary escape from her past and a new taste for danger and belonging, Suzy falls into a drug-trafficking scheme that clashes perilously with the skyjacking epidemic of the day.
Rendered in the brilliant color of the age and told with spectacular insight and clarity, Fly Me is a story of dark discovery set in the debauchery of 1970s Los Angeles.
Now a Los Angeles Times Bestseller!
The year is 1972, and the beaches of Los Angeles are the center of the world. Dropping into the embers of the drug and surf scene is Suzy Whitman, who has tossed her newly minted Vassar degree aside to follow her older sister into open skies and the borderless adventures of stewardessing for Grand Pacific Airlines.
In Sela del Mar, California-a hedonistic beach town in the shadow of LAX-Suzy skateboards, suntans, and flies daily and nightly across the country. Motivated by a temporary escape from her past and a new taste for danger and belonging, Suzy falls into a drug-trafficking scheme that clashes perilously with the skyjacking epidemic of the day.
Rendered in the brilliant color of the age and told with spectacular insight and clarity, Fly Me is a story of dark discovery set in the debauchery of 1970s Los Angeles.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2017
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2262 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
July 6, 2018
Fly Me by Daniel Riley is a 2017 Little Brown publication.
This is one strange, trippy book-
Sisters, Grace and Suzy both work as ‘stewardesses’ during the early 1970s. Grace loves her job and is content to continue on doing it as long as she can. The hitch is- she’s married- which stewardesses are not allowed to do. So, she must keep her marriage a secret.
Suzy, however, is Vassar educated and looks at the job as being temporary, but when the girl’s father becomes ill, Suzy finds herself sucked into a lucrative drug smuggling scheme. Suzy raced cars as a kid and appears to thrive on adrenaline, compelling her to learn to pilot a plane herself.
But, life’s curve balls put her in an untenable situation, trapping her into a life she will have to take drastic measures to free herself from.
Full disclosure- I think I stumbled across this novel in the book review section of the New York Times, a while back. I honestly can’t remember what it was that piqued my interest about it. Maybe it was because it was set in the seventies and I thought it might be a little nostalgic, with a feminist slant, maybe a little quirky- which is something I’m always on the lookout for, and I seem to remember thinking it might be humorous- maybe in a dark way- but, funny nonetheless. Regardless, I thought I might like it.
However, my library did not have a copy, so I put it on a wish list and requested a copy. After a while, I went through my wish list and noticed that the library had never purchased the book. I wondered why- so I looked up a few reviews on GR and discovered the book had mixed reviews. I decided the library would be better off skipping this one.
So, I took it off my wish list and promptly forgot about it. But, I neglected to remove it from the ‘request’ list and so, out of the clear blue sky, over a year later, I get a notification that this book has been purchased and automatically checked out for me.
Naturally, I felt obligated to read it, even though I was not all that excited about it. But, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
First of all, I had to adjust to the writing style. The story is very dialogue driven, and jerkily moves from one scene to the next without much tethering. At times the story is absorbing, with a number of emotional punches served up, but I never could relax into it.
The rules stewardesses were required to adhere to were just ridiculous- but I was aware of many of them because I had an aunt who worked as a flight attendant in this exact same time frame. So, I wasn’t as shocked as some readers might be. The attempts at high-jacking planes was so commonplace, it was mind boggling, and the ease in which the drugs and money were exchanged was astonishing.
But, at the end of the day, the nostalgia didn’t carry any weight, the feminist statement fell flat, the story was not at all humorous- dark or otherwise. However, if the ending had been different I might have been mollified. However, I was left thinking- WTH??? Um- no- just- no.
UGH- I think the NYT should give my library a refund. They clearly steered me in the wrong directection with this one. But, hopefully other patrons will find some merit in it, so it won’t be a total loss.
1.5 stars
This is one strange, trippy book-
Sisters, Grace and Suzy both work as ‘stewardesses’ during the early 1970s. Grace loves her job and is content to continue on doing it as long as she can. The hitch is- she’s married- which stewardesses are not allowed to do. So, she must keep her marriage a secret.
Suzy, however, is Vassar educated and looks at the job as being temporary, but when the girl’s father becomes ill, Suzy finds herself sucked into a lucrative drug smuggling scheme. Suzy raced cars as a kid and appears to thrive on adrenaline, compelling her to learn to pilot a plane herself.
But, life’s curve balls put her in an untenable situation, trapping her into a life she will have to take drastic measures to free herself from.
Full disclosure- I think I stumbled across this novel in the book review section of the New York Times, a while back. I honestly can’t remember what it was that piqued my interest about it. Maybe it was because it was set in the seventies and I thought it might be a little nostalgic, with a feminist slant, maybe a little quirky- which is something I’m always on the lookout for, and I seem to remember thinking it might be humorous- maybe in a dark way- but, funny nonetheless. Regardless, I thought I might like it.
However, my library did not have a copy, so I put it on a wish list and requested a copy. After a while, I went through my wish list and noticed that the library had never purchased the book. I wondered why- so I looked up a few reviews on GR and discovered the book had mixed reviews. I decided the library would be better off skipping this one.
So, I took it off my wish list and promptly forgot about it. But, I neglected to remove it from the ‘request’ list and so, out of the clear blue sky, over a year later, I get a notification that this book has been purchased and automatically checked out for me.
Naturally, I felt obligated to read it, even though I was not all that excited about it. But, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
First of all, I had to adjust to the writing style. The story is very dialogue driven, and jerkily moves from one scene to the next without much tethering. At times the story is absorbing, with a number of emotional punches served up, but I never could relax into it.
The rules stewardesses were required to adhere to were just ridiculous- but I was aware of many of them because I had an aunt who worked as a flight attendant in this exact same time frame. So, I wasn’t as shocked as some readers might be. The attempts at high-jacking planes was so commonplace, it was mind boggling, and the ease in which the drugs and money were exchanged was astonishing.
But, at the end of the day, the nostalgia didn’t carry any weight, the feminist statement fell flat, the story was not at all humorous- dark or otherwise. However, if the ending had been different I might have been mollified. However, I was left thinking- WTH??? Um- no- just- no.
UGH- I think the NYT should give my library a refund. They clearly steered me in the wrong directection with this one. But, hopefully other patrons will find some merit in it, so it won’t be a total loss.
1.5 stars
July 6, 2017
Recent graduate Suzy goes off to California to become a stewardess like her older sister Grace. Unlike Grace, Suzy has always been a high achiever and struggles with her new life choices, also upset at the fact that Vassar has decided to become co ed the year after she graduates. She finds herself drawn into the 70's drug scene in Cali after meeting Billy at a party. When Billy tricks her into trafficking drugs with her to New York and Suzy is horrified at first. Then when she finds out that her father is sick she can't help but reconsider her refusal to move the drugs, especially when considering the amount it pays. Eventually Suzy gets herself in too deep and when an unexpected tragedy occurs she eventually unravels.
The writing in the book was really good but the pacing felt a little slow. I understand the author was trying to capture Cali in '72 but a lot of the scenes in the book felt unnecessary. A lot of things could have been cut out of the book to make it flow much smoother. I just couldn't get any emotional connection with the characters either and I didn't feel sad just caught off guard. I can appreciate the ending though and how it tied back into Suzy's trafficking and love for racing. The book is god for those who want to get a better idea of the 70's and is really well written but the plot is pretty slow and I'm not sure how well everything tied together at the end to culminate in Suzy air jacking the plane.
The writing in the book was really good but the pacing felt a little slow. I understand the author was trying to capture Cali in '72 but a lot of the scenes in the book felt unnecessary. A lot of things could have been cut out of the book to make it flow much smoother. I just couldn't get any emotional connection with the characters either and I didn't feel sad just caught off guard. I can appreciate the ending though and how it tied back into Suzy's trafficking and love for racing. The book is god for those who want to get a better idea of the 70's and is really well written but the plot is pretty slow and I'm not sure how well everything tied together at the end to culminate in Suzy air jacking the plane.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2017
I was enjoying this immensely until the end, seriously what the hell was that ending ??
totally ruined it for me.
totally ruined it for me.
June 25, 2017
Terrible ending
I read this book because I am a GQ reader and they recommended it. Their recommendations are usually reliable, but in this case they were clearly biased because it is a first novel from a GQ staffer. The book was overwritten throughout with endless similes and metaphors - sometimes 3 or 4 in the same paragraph - like it was written by someone who just took a writing course and they were trying to practice the technique as much as possible. The character development was well done and you did feel like you really got to know the main characters. The big letdown - and the reason for the 1 star rating - is that the ending is just terrible. It is implausible and incomplete - like the author didn't know how to end it so he just stopped. Very frustrating after powering through the over use of similes and metaphors to get there.
I read this book because I am a GQ reader and they recommended it. Their recommendations are usually reliable, but in this case they were clearly biased because it is a first novel from a GQ staffer. The book was overwritten throughout with endless similes and metaphors - sometimes 3 or 4 in the same paragraph - like it was written by someone who just took a writing course and they were trying to practice the technique as much as possible. The character development was well done and you did feel like you really got to know the main characters. The big letdown - and the reason for the 1 star rating - is that the ending is just terrible. It is implausible and incomplete - like the author didn't know how to end it so he just stopped. Very frustrating after powering through the over use of similes and metaphors to get there.
March 4, 2017
FLY ME took me completely by surprise! Three hundred pages in, I would have said it's a book about sisters, the meaning of family, the debauchery of a California beach town in the '70s and a fascinating portrait of the airline industry at the time. After finishing the book, it still is all those things, but the twists and turns of the last quarter of the story made it something else entirely as well. I didn't see the ending coming, but looking back, it all ties together. A fascinating, intense, beautifully written book that reminds me a bit of Emma Kline's THE GIRLS.
October 11, 2017
Welcome to Suzy’s World
Fly Me is a novel that captures the world of the early Seventies as a pair of sisters move out into the world, becoming stewardesses and making their home in the laidback Beach communities around LAX. Suzy is the younger sister and she quickly is recruited to mule cocaine in her flight bag across the country. And planes are getting highjacked with increasing regularity. And Jim Jones has also started recruiting for the People’s Temple.
This book captures a time and a place where Time sort of stops and melts into brilliant sunsets. These two young girls and their jetset lifestyles and funky record-playing, hard partying beach shanty life. It also goes on to capture family crisis, shocking events, once more jarring Suzy’s world and disconnecting her.
Particularly in the beginning, there’s lots of beautiful prose and the action picks up again at the finale. But it’s a long 400 pages that maybe have a little too much California mellow that you get lost in as it drifts along. A pretty decent read overall, but there’s a point where you stop hanging on every word and start turning pages.
Fly Me is a novel that captures the world of the early Seventies as a pair of sisters move out into the world, becoming stewardesses and making their home in the laidback Beach communities around LAX. Suzy is the younger sister and she quickly is recruited to mule cocaine in her flight bag across the country. And planes are getting highjacked with increasing regularity. And Jim Jones has also started recruiting for the People’s Temple.
This book captures a time and a place where Time sort of stops and melts into brilliant sunsets. These two young girls and their jetset lifestyles and funky record-playing, hard partying beach shanty life. It also goes on to capture family crisis, shocking events, once more jarring Suzy’s world and disconnecting her.
Particularly in the beginning, there’s lots of beautiful prose and the action picks up again at the finale. But it’s a long 400 pages that maybe have a little too much California mellow that you get lost in as it drifts along. A pretty decent read overall, but there’s a point where you stop hanging on every word and start turning pages.
May 7, 2017
The perfect literary beach book—one part Joan Didion, one part Don De Lillo, with shades of Emma Cline's The Girls. It's beautifully written, with a plot that accelerates like the airplanes that fill the novel. The protagonist, Suzy, is the most well-developed female character written by a man that I've found since Norman Rush's narrator in Mating. Great for book clubs.
August 11, 2017
I'm needing to write a book review on "Fly Me" for my blog. But this book made me so mad. It is tempting to just skip the review all together.
One of the first books I have ever given 1 star to. I actually feel as though I wasted my time reading it. And these are the feelings I still have a week after I finished reading the book and let myself cool off!
One of the first books I have ever given 1 star to. I actually feel as though I wasted my time reading it. And these are the feelings I still have a week after I finished reading the book and let myself cool off!
May 25, 2017
I loved this book. The author did a great job writing a badass, complicated female lead who I grew to love while reading. The writing is top notch, transporting you back to 1970s LA and making it easy for you to imagine what it might have been like back then. It's a love letter to California and a beautiful coming of age story. I can't wait to read more stuff by Dan Riley.
June 30, 2017
I read a glowing nytimes review of this debut novel announcing a remarkable new voice to be heard. Needless to say I was caught. I read the Times reviews constantly and especially those of debut novels. I got the book quickly from the library and began reading. Within 20 pages I was certain about 3 things: this book wasn't even close to the remarkable read depicted in the review: Books with the 70's as a backdrop are no good: Something is radically wrong with me. Nevertheless, I persisted for another 30 pages, and then I closed the book with great disappointment. What made this fail in my estimation? Perhaps excessive dialogue and description with disinteresting characters and in the 50 pages I read, a less than interesting main character-Suzy. Sadly, although I boarded the flight, I found it necessary to leave. I so wanted to fly even more as I watched the plan soar gracefully into the sky.
August 5, 2017
Actual rating: 4.5
It took a while, but I came to like it a lot particularly Riley's choice for most of the book to unceremoniously leave a scene a beat or two before most authors would have done so. In other words, he'd jump out before it was even clear sex would happen, or before the point at which the cops might have come, or before the conversation toward which it seemed the scene had been building. This almost anticlimactic approach served to make the story and its events feel more routine and matter-of-fact, as if nothing surprising was actually going to occur. Needless to say, this something which made the ending that much more jarring, because it marked a change in both storytelling and content. I understand why people hated that ending, but for me it had been built toward reasonably effectively for the last 1/4 of the book and I appreciated how carefully it overturned everything Riley had been doing to that point, including stylistically.
It took a while, but I came to like it a lot particularly Riley's choice for most of the book to unceremoniously leave a scene a beat or two before most authors would have done so. In other words, he'd jump out before it was even clear sex would happen, or before the point at which the cops might have come, or before the conversation toward which it seemed the scene had been building. This almost anticlimactic approach served to make the story and its events feel more routine and matter-of-fact, as if nothing surprising was actually going to occur. Needless to say, this something which made the ending that much more jarring, because it marked a change in both storytelling and content. I understand why people hated that ending, but for me it had been built toward reasonably effectively for the last 1/4 of the book and I appreciated how carefully it overturned everything Riley had been doing to that point, including stylistically.
May 31, 2017
For some reason, I thought this book was going to be more humorous than it actually was. While I had a tough time getting into it, the book did get better and I finished it.
This was a more serious story telling the trials and tribulations of being a stewardess. The story was set in the early 1970's when there were several planes crashing and skyjacking was the new popular way to get to Cuba.
The story is told through the eyes of Suzy and details a lot of emotions while deciding whether or not to keep "stewing" and also about her second job, running drugs to help pay for her father's needed surgery.
Give this one a little bit of time to get going and I think you will find it to be a pretty good read.
Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
This was a more serious story telling the trials and tribulations of being a stewardess. The story was set in the early 1970's when there were several planes crashing and skyjacking was the new popular way to get to Cuba.
The story is told through the eyes of Suzy and details a lot of emotions while deciding whether or not to keep "stewing" and also about her second job, running drugs to help pay for her father's needed surgery.
Give this one a little bit of time to get going and I think you will find it to be a pretty good read.
Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
May 26, 2017
A tremendous and soulful book that is the definition of a (literary) beach read. Dan Riley's power of empathy and prose makes you want to jump on a skateboard, grab a burrito, and fly.
August 16, 2022
“Where is it you wanna go?” This wonderfully simple line is the through-line for this wonderfully in simple novel of sun-saturated dreams and the darkness that lurks around the edges of the drowsy, dissolute Southern California of the early 1970s.
It’s 1972, and Suzy Whitman, fresh out of college, signs on as a “stew” and moves to “Sela” with her older sister and brother-in-law to chase what seems like infinitive possibilities in a place where those possibilities seem as infinite as the horizon over the Pacific.
But bring a stewardess is a grinding job beneath the veneer of glamor, full of sexism and competitive and wali g up in strange hotels, and soon Suzy sees the stew life as a hamster wheel to nowhere. But what else to do? Suzy wants to fly planes herself, but while she chases that dream she’s got to do for her father, who races expensive cancer treatment. That isn’t exactly why she agrees to carry cocaine in her flight bag, but it’s the reason she chooses to admit to herself. But, like all things half-thought-out, she finds herself locked into her drift, and finds that even tragedy offers no escape. So she has to come up with an escape of her own.
FLY ME is written in dreamy, drowsy prose that perfectly mirrors the haze of everything inside and outside Suzy: a seemingly ceaseless spool of beaches and skateboards and bars and hijackings and drugs and dangerous men and depressing headlines and deepening unease. It’s a style perfectly suited to its time and place and characters, and it never oversteps or flattens out or drifts out of the reader’s comprehension. Nor does Suzy Whitman, who never feels male-gazey or reductive or stereotyped in Daniel Riley’s masterful hands. FLY ME is not the kind of novel that grabs you by the throat, but it does gently but insistently massage your mind as well as your heart. That is, if that’s where you wanna go.
It’s 1972, and Suzy Whitman, fresh out of college, signs on as a “stew” and moves to “Sela” with her older sister and brother-in-law to chase what seems like infinitive possibilities in a place where those possibilities seem as infinite as the horizon over the Pacific.
But bring a stewardess is a grinding job beneath the veneer of glamor, full of sexism and competitive and wali g up in strange hotels, and soon Suzy sees the stew life as a hamster wheel to nowhere. But what else to do? Suzy wants to fly planes herself, but while she chases that dream she’s got to do for her father, who races expensive cancer treatment. That isn’t exactly why she agrees to carry cocaine in her flight bag, but it’s the reason she chooses to admit to herself. But, like all things half-thought-out, she finds herself locked into her drift, and finds that even tragedy offers no escape. So she has to come up with an escape of her own.
FLY ME is written in dreamy, drowsy prose that perfectly mirrors the haze of everything inside and outside Suzy: a seemingly ceaseless spool of beaches and skateboards and bars and hijackings and drugs and dangerous men and depressing headlines and deepening unease. It’s a style perfectly suited to its time and place and characters, and it never oversteps or flattens out or drifts out of the reader’s comprehension. Nor does Suzy Whitman, who never feels male-gazey or reductive or stereotyped in Daniel Riley’s masterful hands. FLY ME is not the kind of novel that grabs you by the throat, but it does gently but insistently massage your mind as well as your heart. That is, if that’s where you wanna go.
January 31, 2022
Just no. No. I stopped after page 4, he really mastered the whole tell don’t show thing.
September 4, 2020
One extra star, since the author and I went to the same college! Excellent novel, except that I had to re-listen (this was an audio-read) to the ending a few times, to see if I’d missed anything. I’m still thinking, “What!?”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2017
(3). What an interesting book, certainly not my usual read. This is somewhere between chick lit, coming of age and total weirdness. Suzy Whitman is as good a character as you will find. Her battles with life, from her New York heritage to her new California culture are pretty epic. We have all the early 70's stuff going on, with drugs, some sex and even a Little rock and roll. As the title implies, Suzy is a stew, and she sure takes us for a bumpy flight. Much better than I had anticipated.
June 2, 2017
One of my favorite essayists. I can't wait to read this!
June 6, 2017
Fly Me by Daniel Riley (debut)
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release Date: June 6, 2017
Length: 400 pages
Original review at: http://www.novelvisits.com/fly-me-dan...
Single Sentence Summary: 1972 Vassar grad, Suzy Whitman, reluctantly signs on as a stewardess, and quickly finds the job has some hidden benefits.
Primary Characters: Suzy Whitman – Suzy has always been a high achiever, expecting a lot of herself. Following in her older sister’s footsteps was not in her plans. Grace – Suzy’s older, more free-spirited sister. Grace loves flying and living in Southern California. Mike – Grace’s “secret” husband, since stewardesses had to be single.
Publisher’s Best: In Sela del Mar, California-a hedonistic beach town in the shadow of LAX-Suzy skateboards, suntans, and flies daily and nightly across the country. Motivated by a temporary escape from her past and a new taste for danger and belonging, Suzy falls into a drug-trafficking scheme that clashes perilously with the skyjacking epidemic of the day.
Review: Fly Me by Daniel Riley gets its title from the 1971 ad campaign run by National Airlines in which a gorgeous young stewardess looked in the camera saying, “I’m Cheryl. Fly me.” In Riley’s debut, our heroine, Suzy, turns down an opportunity to star in a similar campaign. Fly Me is more than a book about a pair of sisters flying in the early 70’s, the heyday of aviation. It’s also a book about the quintessential (but fictional) California beach town of Sela del Mar. I grew up in the Bay Area and spent my college years in Southern California, in an era not all that distant from the 70’s, so the setting of Fly Me was a big draw. In a good way, Riley squeezed every possible Southern California/1970’s cliché into his story: skateboarding, surfing, slathering on baby oil, sex, coke, rock & roll, Jim Jones, airline hijackings, drug-running and more. Being from California I loved and appreciated Suzy’s observations about the citizens of Sela del Mar.
“So many of them have only Sela. Apparently, they grew up only learning California history – and bad California history at that. They have no sense of what’s going on anywhere else. What the rest of the country and world are about – some of them haven’t even ever left California before.”
Yup!
The story itself started out a little slow. Riley worked to build a viable background for why Suzy found herself in Sela del Mar working for an airline. She was a very smart girl, one year too young to have been admitted to Yale. Suzy did get to do a semester there as part of an exchange with Vassar, but seemed to have a lot of anger about her missed opportunity. While that might have been interesting in another story, I’m not sure it was important to this one.
Fly Me was at its best in the middle of the book. It “took off” when Suzy started smuggling drugs for the local supplier. What at first was a one-time thing rapidly bloomed into more when Suzy came to need cash, and quickly! As one might expect in a book filled with clichés, getting out of the drug business was not going to be an easy task. I found everything in the middle of the book to be fun, compelling, and at times even heartwarming.
For me, the big problem with Fly Me came in the end. The resolution of Riley’s story was so unlikely, so unreasonable, so (dare I say) ridiculous that it left me disappointed. I acknowledge that Riley may have been going for some humor with a sort of tongue-in-cheek nod to yet another cliché, but if so, it didn’t work for me. Instead it felt like the author had backed himself into a corner and couldn’t find a way out. Still, I liked more about the book than I didn’t and think it will make a perfect beach read this summer! Grade: B-
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release Date: June 6, 2017
Length: 400 pages
Original review at: http://www.novelvisits.com/fly-me-dan...
Single Sentence Summary: 1972 Vassar grad, Suzy Whitman, reluctantly signs on as a stewardess, and quickly finds the job has some hidden benefits.
Primary Characters: Suzy Whitman – Suzy has always been a high achiever, expecting a lot of herself. Following in her older sister’s footsteps was not in her plans. Grace – Suzy’s older, more free-spirited sister. Grace loves flying and living in Southern California. Mike – Grace’s “secret” husband, since stewardesses had to be single.
Publisher’s Best: In Sela del Mar, California-a hedonistic beach town in the shadow of LAX-Suzy skateboards, suntans, and flies daily and nightly across the country. Motivated by a temporary escape from her past and a new taste for danger and belonging, Suzy falls into a drug-trafficking scheme that clashes perilously with the skyjacking epidemic of the day.
Review: Fly Me by Daniel Riley gets its title from the 1971 ad campaign run by National Airlines in which a gorgeous young stewardess looked in the camera saying, “I’m Cheryl. Fly me.” In Riley’s debut, our heroine, Suzy, turns down an opportunity to star in a similar campaign. Fly Me is more than a book about a pair of sisters flying in the early 70’s, the heyday of aviation. It’s also a book about the quintessential (but fictional) California beach town of Sela del Mar. I grew up in the Bay Area and spent my college years in Southern California, in an era not all that distant from the 70’s, so the setting of Fly Me was a big draw. In a good way, Riley squeezed every possible Southern California/1970’s cliché into his story: skateboarding, surfing, slathering on baby oil, sex, coke, rock & roll, Jim Jones, airline hijackings, drug-running and more. Being from California I loved and appreciated Suzy’s observations about the citizens of Sela del Mar.
“So many of them have only Sela. Apparently, they grew up only learning California history – and bad California history at that. They have no sense of what’s going on anywhere else. What the rest of the country and world are about – some of them haven’t even ever left California before.”
Yup!
The story itself started out a little slow. Riley worked to build a viable background for why Suzy found herself in Sela del Mar working for an airline. She was a very smart girl, one year too young to have been admitted to Yale. Suzy did get to do a semester there as part of an exchange with Vassar, but seemed to have a lot of anger about her missed opportunity. While that might have been interesting in another story, I’m not sure it was important to this one.
Fly Me was at its best in the middle of the book. It “took off” when Suzy started smuggling drugs for the local supplier. What at first was a one-time thing rapidly bloomed into more when Suzy came to need cash, and quickly! As one might expect in a book filled with clichés, getting out of the drug business was not going to be an easy task. I found everything in the middle of the book to be fun, compelling, and at times even heartwarming.
For me, the big problem with Fly Me came in the end. The resolution of Riley’s story was so unlikely, so unreasonable, so (dare I say) ridiculous that it left me disappointed. I acknowledge that Riley may have been going for some humor with a sort of tongue-in-cheek nod to yet another cliché, but if so, it didn’t work for me. Instead it felt like the author had backed himself into a corner and couldn’t find a way out. Still, I liked more about the book than I didn’t and think it will make a perfect beach read this summer! Grade: B-
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.
March 13, 2018
This is the perfect book to read in the dead of a Canadian winter. Fly Me by Daniel Riley is a novel that’s set mostly in the beach community of Sela del Mar, California in the year 1972. Think bell bottoms, big sunglasses, surf culture and young kids unconcerned about skin cancer. Sounds quite heavenly, doesn’t it? Riley does this wonderful place justice by constantly describing the landscape, in fact, it’s probably the most developed and consistent character in the whole story. Through his words, I could easily picture myself digging my toes into the sand, basking in the warm, constant glow of sunshine they seem to enjoy year-round.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://ivereadthis.com/2018/03/13/bo...
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://ivereadthis.com/2018/03/13/bo...
May 27, 2017
Adverse circumstances fly around in this throw back to 1972 story. I love that it included the USC vs Ohio state football national championship game.
June 9, 2017
Thank You to Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an advance copy of Daniel Riley's novel, Fly Me, in exchange for an honest review.
PLOT- The year is 1972, Suzy Whitman has just graduated from a prestigious college and is planning her next move. Grace, her older sister, is loving her life working as a stewardess and living in the beach community of Sela Del Mar. Suzy decides to join her sister in California and applies to be a stewardess at Grand Pacific Airlines. At first, her new career and city seem exciting and glamorous, but then she meets Billy. Billy is charming, slick, and a drug dealer. He tricks Suzy into trafficking drugs on her flights to New York. Quickly, Suzy finds herself caught up in a world that she never asked to be a part of and one that she is finding it increasingly difficult to leave. Can she get out before she gets caught?
LIKE- The strongest aspect of Fly Me is the setting. Riley has clearly done his research to recreate the era when commercial air travel was still glamorous. As we now live in a time where flying is a necessarily evil, rather than a pleasure, there is a longing for the way thing used to be. This evident with television shows like Pan Am and attractions like The Pan Am Experience in Los Angeles, where you can experience a vintage mock flight, that includes menus of the era. Riley has written a glimpse into that world. Additionally, I'm from Los Angeles, so I loved the local references and beach city setting. Fly Me is rich with historical and geographical details.
The ending is outrageous and not necessarily believable, but I was happy that Riley tied together some seeds that he had been planting throughout the story. I had been worried that certain elements wouldn't pay-off, but they did.
The title is great, it's a play on a vintage aviation advertisement for National Airlines. It's a sexist ad, but something straight from the era. Suzy is a strong female character, who bucks tradition, and when she is asked to participate in the campaign, she's appropriately appalled.
DISLIKE- I felt a lack of urgency, even though Suzy is experiencing issues (might be caught trafficking, father with cancer, et) that should create a natural tension in the story. Even thought situationally, the stakes are sky-high, I never felt that Suzy was overly worried. I just watched an episode of Better Call Saul, where there was a scene with a lower-level drug dealer who has stolen his bosses pills and has replaced the medication with aspirin. The scene in which he has to make the switch with the pills was so intense that my stomach knotted up. It was hard to watch. The tension in Fly Me, should have been like this scene.
I didn't understand the relationship between Suzy and Billy. They hang-out a lot, even though he is slimy and continues to put her in a dangerous situation. He isn't quite charming or attractive enough for that to be a solid reason for Suzy to keep coming back. For goodness sakes, he's an adult who lives in his parent's basement!
RECOMMEND- Riley is a solid writer and this story is well-researched, but I didn't love Fly Me. I'd be inclined to check-out Riley's future novels, but unless you're very interested in the era or aviation, I can't recommend this book.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
PLOT- The year is 1972, Suzy Whitman has just graduated from a prestigious college and is planning her next move. Grace, her older sister, is loving her life working as a stewardess and living in the beach community of Sela Del Mar. Suzy decides to join her sister in California and applies to be a stewardess at Grand Pacific Airlines. At first, her new career and city seem exciting and glamorous, but then she meets Billy. Billy is charming, slick, and a drug dealer. He tricks Suzy into trafficking drugs on her flights to New York. Quickly, Suzy finds herself caught up in a world that she never asked to be a part of and one that she is finding it increasingly difficult to leave. Can she get out before she gets caught?
LIKE- The strongest aspect of Fly Me is the setting. Riley has clearly done his research to recreate the era when commercial air travel was still glamorous. As we now live in a time where flying is a necessarily evil, rather than a pleasure, there is a longing for the way thing used to be. This evident with television shows like Pan Am and attractions like The Pan Am Experience in Los Angeles, where you can experience a vintage mock flight, that includes menus of the era. Riley has written a glimpse into that world. Additionally, I'm from Los Angeles, so I loved the local references and beach city setting. Fly Me is rich with historical and geographical details.
The ending is outrageous and not necessarily believable, but I was happy that Riley tied together some seeds that he had been planting throughout the story. I had been worried that certain elements wouldn't pay-off, but they did.
The title is great, it's a play on a vintage aviation advertisement for National Airlines. It's a sexist ad, but something straight from the era. Suzy is a strong female character, who bucks tradition, and when she is asked to participate in the campaign, she's appropriately appalled.
DISLIKE- I felt a lack of urgency, even though Suzy is experiencing issues (might be caught trafficking, father with cancer, et) that should create a natural tension in the story. Even thought situationally, the stakes are sky-high, I never felt that Suzy was overly worried. I just watched an episode of Better Call Saul, where there was a scene with a lower-level drug dealer who has stolen his bosses pills and has replaced the medication with aspirin. The scene in which he has to make the switch with the pills was so intense that my stomach knotted up. It was hard to watch. The tension in Fly Me, should have been like this scene.
I didn't understand the relationship between Suzy and Billy. They hang-out a lot, even though he is slimy and continues to put her in a dangerous situation. He isn't quite charming or attractive enough for that to be a solid reason for Suzy to keep coming back. For goodness sakes, he's an adult who lives in his parent's basement!
RECOMMEND- Riley is a solid writer and this story is well-researched, but I didn't love Fly Me. I'd be inclined to check-out Riley's future novels, but unless you're very interested in the era or aviation, I can't recommend this book.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
May 25, 2017
Great summer book! A quick read. Very vivid characters and descriptions. I really felt like I was transported to the period. Would love to see this as a film!
December 31, 2017
A lot of reviewers said this was a slow start but worth it... I found it painfully slow, and disappointing because the time period and location were of great interest. After 80 pages of slogging through, I just put it down.
May 20, 2017
This is the book I'm recommending to everyone this summer—a perfect blend of beautiful writing and gripping plot, with compelling characters and evocative atmosphere. I loved it!
January 18, 2025
DNF. I had hoped for something quality here but my god the plot moved at a glacial pace. Also, it irritates me when publishing companies push out poorly-written novels like this one and self-describe them as "literary." Long-winded passages filled with more similes and metaphors than a freshman-year creative writing course do not a literary novel make. But it's the kind of book I imagine a roomful of pretentious douches clomping themselves on the back over. Honestly, though, it's a fairly milque-toast book about drug trafficking in the 70s, which on its own should be exciting but the author manages to fuck it. How do you make drug-trafficking boring? There is no development to these characters, who can best be described as "tomboy," "surfer dude," "beauty queen," and "pretentious magazine writer." Guess which one represents the author? I'll give you a hint. He writes for GQ.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 10, 2017
www.thenextgoodbook.com
Fly Me by Daniel Riley
389 pages
What’s it about?
This novel is set in the early 1970’s in Sela del Mar- right outside of L.A. Suzy Whitman has recently graduated from Vassar and follows her older sister Grace out to L.A. to join her as a stewardess. Suzy meets Billy Zar, the quintessential California boy, and her life takes off in a direction she is not expecting.
What did it make me think about?
This book is as much about Southern California in the 70’s as it is about Suzy Whitman. Mr. Riley does a great job of portraying a particular time and place.
Should I read it?
Some critics loved this one- I have to wonder why? This book is so wordy you just become exhausted. The plot gets lost in all those words! “And the whole two-shot with this saltwater towhead, and even that silly mustache, a separate entity in itself; the picture seems too dim at the edges, a Vaseline lens, the effect of motion blur.” It is as if Daniel Riley took a descriptive writing class and decided to show off his prowess. Not only is the writing too much but the plot goes off the rails as well. I loved the promise of this book much more than the final product.
Quote-
“Just imagine how that view might register in the body of someone still getting used to living at the ocean. How it might bleach her judgement, boost her nerve, and lead her to places she never meant to go.”
If you like this try-
The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney
Fly Me by Daniel Riley
389 pages
What’s it about?
This novel is set in the early 1970’s in Sela del Mar- right outside of L.A. Suzy Whitman has recently graduated from Vassar and follows her older sister Grace out to L.A. to join her as a stewardess. Suzy meets Billy Zar, the quintessential California boy, and her life takes off in a direction she is not expecting.
What did it make me think about?
This book is as much about Southern California in the 70’s as it is about Suzy Whitman. Mr. Riley does a great job of portraying a particular time and place.
Should I read it?
Some critics loved this one- I have to wonder why? This book is so wordy you just become exhausted. The plot gets lost in all those words! “And the whole two-shot with this saltwater towhead, and even that silly mustache, a separate entity in itself; the picture seems too dim at the edges, a Vaseline lens, the effect of motion blur.” It is as if Daniel Riley took a descriptive writing class and decided to show off his prowess. Not only is the writing too much but the plot goes off the rails as well. I loved the promise of this book much more than the final product.
Quote-
“Just imagine how that view might register in the body of someone still getting used to living at the ocean. How it might bleach her judgement, boost her nerve, and lead her to places she never meant to go.”
If you like this try-
The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney
June 26, 2017
Goodreads, I really wish we could give stars on a .50 basis, because I would rate this a very solid 3.5 or even 3.75.
(Spoiler alert) What I liked: main character Suzy Whitman was quite interesting: ambitious student who missed the Ivy League co-ed switch by a year. Suzy: smart, race car driving, skateboarding, stewardess and adventurer. Also liked her sister, Grace as well as dad, Wayne. Loved the time period (early 70s) and setting, an LA beach town. Love stories of the glamorous age of air travel. I was both surprised and saddened by the sudden death of Suzy's sister in an accident on a small plane in Hawaii.
Less fond of: the way I could never grasp or really feel the relationship between Suzy and Billy Zar—were they romantic, brother/sisterly? I was never sure. The ending, with Suzy hijacking a plane full of passengers seemed like the author did not know how to end the story. A day after finishing the book I cannot make sense of this plot twist, though there is ample foreshadowing if you are paying attention. I read this book on the beach, the perfect place to enjoy this compelling yet imperfect story.
(Spoiler alert) What I liked: main character Suzy Whitman was quite interesting: ambitious student who missed the Ivy League co-ed switch by a year. Suzy: smart, race car driving, skateboarding, stewardess and adventurer. Also liked her sister, Grace as well as dad, Wayne. Loved the time period (early 70s) and setting, an LA beach town. Love stories of the glamorous age of air travel. I was both surprised and saddened by the sudden death of Suzy's sister in an accident on a small plane in Hawaii.
Less fond of: the way I could never grasp or really feel the relationship between Suzy and Billy Zar—were they romantic, brother/sisterly? I was never sure. The ending, with Suzy hijacking a plane full of passengers seemed like the author did not know how to end the story. A day after finishing the book I cannot make sense of this plot twist, though there is ample foreshadowing if you are paying attention. I read this book on the beach, the perfect place to enjoy this compelling yet imperfect story.
September 4, 2017
My dad worked for an airline while I was growing up and we flew a lot!! That was the main reason that this book interested me. While I liked this book, I think in parts it was evident that this was the author's first novel. This book takes place in 1971-73ish in Southern California. A story of two sisters who are both stewardesses for the same airline. The plot takes us through flying in the 70's, parties, drug trafficking, hijackings, beach, sand and sun. I really liked Suzy as a character and I was interested in her and what was going to happen at the end. Also, I really liked how both she and Mike love to read and there are several books mentioned throughout the story. The part about Mike and his possible magazine article on Jim Jones could have either been explored more or left out. However, I understand the end and what Suzy was thinking but I didn't like the ending (no spoliers). Really, I was thinking how is she going to get out of this one?! Entertaining quick fun read. I like picking up different kind of books, books that I haven't read or heard about and this is one of those books. It was worth the daily deal of 1.99 on my Nook.
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