The Closest Thing to Flying

by Gill Lewis

Present day: Semira doesn't know where to call home. She and her mother came to England when she was four years old, brought across the desert and the sea by a man who has complete control. Always moving on, always afraid of being caught, she longs for freedom.
1891: Hen knows exactly where to call home. Her stifling mother makes sure of that. But her Aunt Kitty is opening her eyes to a whole new world. A world of animal rights, and votes for women, and riding bicycles! Trapped in a life of behaving like a lady, she longs for freedom.
When Semira discovers Hen's diary, she finds the inspiration to be brave, to fight for her place in the world, and maybe even to uncover the secrets of her own past

Genres: Middle Grade, Family, Historical Fiction, Friendship, Historical, Childrens, School

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2019

About the author

Before she could walk, Gill Lewis was discovered force-feeding bread to a sick hedgehog under the rose bushes. Now her stories reflect her passion for wild animals in wild places. She draws inspiration from many of the people she has had the fortune to meet during her work as a vet, both at home and abroad. Gill Lewis has a masters degree in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University and won the 2009 course prize for most promising writer. Her first novel was snapped up for publication within hours of being offered to publishers. She lives in Somerset with her young family and a motley crew of pets. She writes from a shed in the garden, in the company of spiders.

Reviews

[Book Gannet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gill Lewis is an expert at tackling important issues in her books, packaging complicated and upsetting situations in a way that’s perfect for children. Usually this comes in the form of wildlife conservation, and this book is no exception – travelling back to when the RSPB (or the SPB as it was then) was just starting out – but it also tackles the problems and abuse asylum seekers and refugees can face trying to live in a new country.

Semira is a great main character. She’s smart and brave, determined to help her mother and find a way out from beneath the control of Robel, while also dealing with a new school, making new friends and facing down bullies. Yet there are good things in her life too, especially cycling and the diary she finds by accident.

I loved how Hen’s diary wove in and out of the story, giving Semira courage and showing her that all kinds of people can face hardship in many different ways. The connection she feels to Hen is very understandable and I loved that through Hen she learns so much – about herself, what she can do and what she should expect from life.

Despite dealing with some dark issues, like domestic abuse and bullying, and touching on serious subjects, like women’s suffrage and immigration, the story is told with a light hand. Both Semira and Hen are wonderful characters, surrounded by equally wonderful women (and a few good men), whose stories are both as gripping as they are inspiring. A great read for all ages, but especially young girls in need of stories of courage, hope and the incredible power of friendship.

(Review copy provided by the publisher via Amazon Vine.)

[Colin Garrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Semira and her mother have nowhere to call home. Controlled by bad-tempered Robel, they must pretend they are part of his family to stay out of jail. But what if Robel is lying? Samira keeps to herself, avoiding difficult situations, but when she finds a diary from 1891, she discovers a kindred spirit whose life strangely mirrors her own. Can Henrietta’s story give Semira the courage she seeks?

Gill Lewis tells a thoughtful and clever tale of two girls, a feathered hat and a collision of opportunities, hope and courage. Though aimed at girls, this is a book for everyone who has a dream. The writing is superb, witty and sensitive, and Ms Lewis creates two distinct but well-crafted worlds, populated by characters that are endearing and believable.

This is a truly lovely book that everyone should read.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fittingly fused chronicles of young women mounting courage and pushing back against some very different (or are they?) oppressors.

In a timely account of an illegal immigrant, Semira is living with her mother in a shared house ruled by a man who won't allow her mother to learn English, who controls their money and their movements. Finding a hat one day, for sale in the market, she discovers a hidden diary in its box, the secret thoughts of another adolescent girl, more than a hundred years ago - Hen. Caught up in the strait-laced Victorian world, her aunt Kitty shows her a new way of thinking and what women could possibly achieve.

Birds connect the two stories, the birds on the hat, and Hen's discovery of the women trying to protect the small creatures providing the decorations for so many wealthy ladies heads, in the form of the burgeoning RSPB. The idea of freedom links in of course, with Samira desperate for her mother to break out of her confinement, and Hen starting to view the larger world outside her small domestic one, and what her place in it could possibly be.

How one affects the other was actually quite moving. I loved the immigrant story, a very sympathetic tale and pair of characters, with the diary entries a perfect way of separating the two periods yet still enabling us to see the story-within-a-story but as its own plot at the same time.

It feels quite brief, I could have read much more about both Hen and Samira, but both time periods are well drawn, there is a lot of interesting detail about the women in Hen's time, their early struggles for animal protection, the vote, even the right to ride a bicycle. It will be quite illuminating for readers. As will Samira's story, the other side to the immigrant, and just what people go through to find a place of safety.

I loved how the two stories connected and how Hen's world fed into Samira's, the ending (though a little contrived in part) was also rather touching and poignant.

For ages 9-14.

With thanks to the publisher for the sample reading copy.

[Christina Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed this from my local library because Gill Lewis has become an auto-read author for me -everything she's written is amazing!
In this book, she has done it again!
The story follows Semira, a young refugee from Eritrea as she joins a new school and attempts to support her mother. Her life changes when she comes across a Victorian hat, decorated with a small green bird that brings back memories of the country she left behind. In the bottom of the hatbox, she finds the diary of a girl around her age as she becomes involved in the early movements leading towards women's suffrage and the founding of the Society for the Protection of Birds. Events in the past and the present overlap and intertwine, with the diary providing an escape and inspiration for Semira to change her life.
I was gripped - this is a must-read!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought Semira was very inspiring and Patric and his family very kind. The book manages to capture a very real problem in a family friendly way.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book and so great for the younger reader (10 +) as it covers a number of topics; refugees, feminism, domestic violence etc in an understandable way. Semira truly believes that her and her mother’s life is following that of the girl in the diary, Hen and her Aunt Kitty. Beautifully written with lovely vocabulary. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because it threw a few things in I thought it didn’t need like her father who was in prison and escaped, Robel - where was he making the mother work. Apart from that I read it in a day and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Domestic abuse
Child abuse

[Herdis Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Closest Thing to Flying" is the story of two girls, Semira and Henrietta, separated by more than a century, who connect in the present through Henrietta's old diary. Semira, an Eritrean refugee, lives a secluded life in England with her mother, watched over by a man called Robel, who controls and bullies them. Henrietta, more than a century earlier, comes from a relatively well to-do family, but is bound by the rules of her time and wishes to break free of her metaphorical shackles.

This could have been a nice little story, but it is far too simplistic to send an effective message. Simultaneously, the language is difficult enough that I think many children in the book's designated age group might have trouble with it.

As seems to be the case with so much modern children's and YA literature, build-up is one of the main problems here. Relationships between characters materialise almost magically, and the reader is supposed to accept that strong connections arise seemingly out of nowhere. Things also just happen, pieces falling into place without much story to back them up.

The main character, Semira, is mildly interesting, and I like her sometimes fierce determination, but she also behaves, on several occasions, as if she is a small child, devoid of reason. Her character is a mix of things needed to keep the plot moving, so that Semira herself, though she occasionally shines through, often simply becomes a vessel to drive the story.

The same is true for Henrietta, although even more so. She is a bland receptacle through which Lewis can tell a half-assed story about birds and feminism.

Don't get me wrong. I like birds and feminism.

Well, maybe feminism more than birds, but still. Birds are nice too.



But the characters are all such charicatures that it's difficult to become involved with the story.

Hen's father is a brusque, businesslike man who scoffs at the idea of women doing anything, and Hen's mother literally falls into fainting fits at the idea of female empowerment.



Hen's aunt Katherine is every single ballsy female rights advocate you've ever read about or seen in a period piece.

Robel, the man who pretty much holds Semira and her mother captive, is an extremely bland "bad guy" who shows no motivation for his actions and is simply unpleasant seemingly for the heck of it.

They have no. effing. personalities. and are as such frightfully dull to read about.

The story resolves itself way too quickly, and although it doesn't, to its credit, try to tie a pretty red bow around absolutely everything, it still allows far too much to work itself out in a very short space of time. If, for instance, it was that easy for Semira and her mother to rid themselves of Robel, why on Earth would they not have done so sooner? And are we actually supposed to believe that an entire school, including the teachers, were perfectly okay with a young student being mercilessly bullied until Semira said something?

Additionally, some aspects of the ending just don't make sense, and are clearly written as they are simply because Lewis needed to finish her story. For instance, it makes no sense for Henrietta to stop writing a diary simply because she moves to Scotland. Actually, her new, freer life would seem an even greater enticement to write.

So, to sum up, this was a thoroughly underwhelming, boring read. A ballsy main character and important themes could not rescue this poorly written story.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Semira and her mum have had to flee their country, and the way not just this but the surrounding issues - the reasons they fled, the way they had to do it, the control and power someone else now has over them, the constant moving - are explored sensitively and age-appropriately.

This Victorian narrative - that we see through Hen's diary, found by Semira - likewise highlights issues of that time too, not least some very sexist and prejudiced attitudes, but also the very beginnings of change and a glimmer of hope.

The use of birds and cycling to draw parallels between the two times, and between the characters really drew them together as well as creating powerful metaphors for the feelings of being trapped and free was very cleverly done. And of course, there was the link between Semira and Hen. Both feeling trapped and powerless, both find the courage to do something about it - Hen drawing on the spirit of her Aunt Kitty and friends, Semira on turn drawing on Hen.

Another thing I thought was very clever about the telling of Semira's story was the way it drew on things both good and bad - ice cream, cycling, birds and homework; being an outsider, domestic abuse and bullying - that helped draw the characters together in spite of outward differences, and which in turn will help readers from all backgrounds relate to, empathise with and understand them.

Empowering and inspiring, this is a book filled with brave, determined and strong female characters. It is a book of solidarity, trust and friendship. It is a book about helping others, but also allowing others to help you. It is a book about standing up for your beliefs and for each other. It is a book full of hope, power and action in the face of adversity. It is a book about finally flying free.

[Mary Rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This is such a powerful story, told through the eyes of two brave girls, Semira and Hen. Semira is a refugee, living in London, who feels trapped, helpless and alone. When buying an old hat, she finds 'The Feather Diaries', the diary of a young Victorian girl. Her incredible connection to Hen becomes the catalyst for the changes that Semira is brave, and strong, enough to make in her own life.
Hen is surrounded by some remarkable woman, especially her Aunt Kitty, who is brave, fierce and determined enough to go against the norms of society. Her story is both heart-breaking and uplifting, and, I must admit, led to that 'lump in throat, eye-watering' moment when I know the story has 'got' me.
As Semira develops her friendship with Hen, so too she bonds with Patrick, Chloe and Holly, who all take her under their wings, although, in the end, it is Semira who frees them. There are lot of powerful messages in this story: having the courage to stand up for, and to, others; the choice to make a positive difference to the lives of others; and, the pivotal importance of dreams, living life and not being trapped by it.
The birds are a metaphor for the journey for both girls of entrapment to freedom. In their shared love of cycling, they experience 'The Closest Thing to Flying', both finding their inner strength and escaping their respective 'cages'. This book really was an emotional rollercoaster, but one I felt very privileged to ride.

[Siobhan Robus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story follows a dual narrative, starting with 12-year-old Semira, a refugee from Eritrea, who is accompanied by her mother, Hanna, and a man named Robel.
We first meet Samira at a London marketplace where she ends up buying a beautiful vintage hat decorated with a small green bird, complete with hat box. The little green bird brings back memories to Semira, and she is sure she has been it before back home in Eritrea. The memory is vague and leads to more questions than answers it gives about her family and why they had to leave Eritrea.
The way Gill Lewis writes Semira’s situation is brilliantly written, it shows a real sense of anxiety and fear her mother feels and their dependency on Robel for money and housing. Semira and Hanna are regularly moved from place to place, housed with those facing similar situations. Semira and her mother are under the “care” of Robel who makes Semira call him papa and doesn’t allow her mother doesn’t learn English to further ensure her dependence on him. Semira is angry at the injustice and furious at Robel as she realises how much he is exploiting them, but still not being able to convince her mother of what is going on. Semira and her mother are trapped in this life, with no hope for a way out until Hen’s diary sparks something inside of Semira.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story aimed at older children or young teens and I thought it was a wonderful story. The author cleverly blended two young girls' stories.

One from around a hundred years ago when the suffragettes were fighting for the vote and the RSPB first started. Women were meant to be feminine and stay at home and be sociable. Henrietta's aunt was fighting the system and took Hen bicycle riding which was most unseemly but it was 'the closest thing to flying'

the other story was Semira who found Hen's diary in an old hat box. Semira was a refugee who came from Eritrea with her mother but they were being 'kept' by a controlling man who was using them to collect money they should have been given.

The stories are connected as Hen's gives Semira courage and inspiration, they both love cycling and were forbidden to do it but still did.

I liked the fact that both girls had character and were feisty and courageous. The stories were both interesting and well told.

I would recommend this to all young girls especially but boys could learn a lot from it too. t would open up lots of discussion possibilities in a school for year 6/7 children

[Barbara Band · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful tale!

Semira and her mother are refugees from Eritrea, being controlled by Ropel who sees them as an opportunity to make money. When Semira finds an old diary, written 100 years ago by Henrietta, a girl her own age who also seems trapped in her life, the diary entries seem to mirror her own feelings, hopes and fears - speaking to her across the years and encouraging her to be brave. To stand up to not only Ropel but also the bullies at school.

Both strands - that of Semira's plight as well as Henrietta's - make compelling reading, drawing the reader in and keeping them gripped until the conclusion. This is a wonderful book that touches on so many topics - from refugees to friendship, from women's suffrage to the formation of the RSPB, from courage to hope.

[Halima Alam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a thoughtful take on the predicament of refugees. Gill Lewis tackles some of the misconceptions about how and why people have to leave their own country to try and find a place of safety. The narrative here is made intense by being told through the experience of its young heroine and the reader is made to feel her fears and share her dreams. The 'flying' in the title refers to cycling, at speed! This is a challenging but very accessible story which tackles very current issues from a child's point of view.

[Darby Cupid · Rating 5 out of 5]

When refugee, Semira, finds a Victorian diary in a hat box on a junk stall, she could never know how the characters inside could inspire and change her life.
A beautiful story that was so fluid and easy to read, I could easily have read it in one go. The characters are captivating and beautifully crafted and the story is as fascinating as it is relevant, with facts and real life history woven into the beautiful tale.
A must read.

[I Read, Therefore I Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gill Lewis’s dual contemporary and historical novel for children aged 9+ is a beautifully judged affair that combines women’s rights, the treatment of refugees and animal rights in a well-balanced novel filled with courage and sadness and understanding and which is all the better for its bittersweet ending and the fact that it doesn’t offer pat solutions to difficult problems.

[Alyson Edenborough · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t realise this was a children’s/ teen book when I requested it from the library, and I’m glad I made that mistake or I might never have picked it up. A truly beautiful story which introduces to young minds to issues such as animal cruelty, suffrage, mental health, racism and immigration. Unpatronising and informative, would recommend it without age restrictions.

[Nichola Grimshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story which weaves together the lives of a Victorian girl involved in the beginnings of the RSPB and the suffragette movement and a modern day Eritrean refugee (Semira) living with her mother in London.

Semira’s experience feels really authentic and would make for useful discussion.

[Zinnia Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this on placement as it was the class book. I really enjoyed the contrast of the diary entries and the life of the girl, as well as the way the lives of the two characters were parallel of each other. It created some good links to the national curriculum for a Year5/6 class as well.

[ashortbooklover · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read & reviewed for The Bookbag:
http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/i...

[Janette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Not too long so accessible for most readers in Year 6. I loved both the characters and the background about the founding of the RSPB.

[Anwen Ricketts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy crap. I read this inbetween classes at college and it BLEW ME AWAY. very real with all the stuff going on about Brexit. This book is amazing.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting! It is a beautiful tale of friendship, passion and bravery.

[Ayatalkhalifah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really recommend this book. enjoyed every part of it. It's amazing.

[lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!

I absolutely loved this book. Read it all in one day. I saw this in the library and borrowed it on a whim because of the cover and it's title.

I absolutely love epistolary type books paired with one of my favorite historical eras. The premise of the book already got me from the start but what truly made me stay was the story of Semira and how she found solace in the diary of Henrietta. I don't relate to her story in any way and yet I understood much of what she felt and the courage she found in the diary to be brave and stand up against Robel.

The story also offered, although only a surface-level amount, insight to what immigrants tend to face in new settlements. The very nature of abusive forces and their capability to manipulate people to do their whims was very apparent throughout the story. I held my breath as I read the chapters where Semira was standing up against Robel (I HATE THAT MAN). I'm glad for the direction the story went with Semira and her mother to eventually be emancipated from their abuser. While the story is fictional, I can only imagine how many are living it. I hope and pray for all victims to gain the strength to see themselves through to the time when they can finally be free. I pray for all abusers to die a painful death.

If anything, I am a sucker for stories that connect to women's empowerment and the suffragette movement. It might not have been a deep commentary about the concept of feminism but it still highlighted the fundamental workings of the movement and what was needed to get it off the ground and running. I'm sad for the end of Aunt Katherine and eventually Henrietta but it made it all legitimate about how often there isn't a definitive happy ending for the supposed 'good ones'. The only hope one can have is to have lit a torch that can be passed and made into a blaze.

Rest in power to all those who fought for the fundamental rights we have now.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Four and a half stars rounded up to five.

The Closest Thing to Flying by Gill Lewis is a dual-narrative story about two girls separated by a century: Semira, a modern-day refugee, and Hen, a Victorian girl. When Semira finds Hen's diary in an old hatbox, she connects with Hen's life and finds inspiration in her courageous fight for a better future, particularly through their shared love for cycling. The book explores themes of friendship, courage, and perseverance through their intertwined stories, which are linked by their struggles and their hope.

Since I'm so behind on writing my reviews, I'm going to do somewhat less than I would normally do when writing a review. Just until I catch up (just 20 or so more to go...) So what I am going to do now is just talk about what I think the best thing about the book is and what the worst thing about the book is. I'll start with the best thing: I loved the use of the dual timeline narrative here. Hen and Semira are very different and yet alike in surprising ways, and existed over a hundred years apart. The two timelines engaged me equally, and I cared about both girls just as much. I probably enjoyed the past timeline just a little more due to my love of history though! This also got me in my feels, which is when I know a book is a good one. I’m keen to get my daughter to read this when she is a little bit older.

The thing that I liked least about this: it’s not really something that I didn’t like about the writing or the plot or the characters. It was more that there were just certain events that happened that I didn’t like reading about. They were however integral to the story and moving it forward in the way that was important for other events. It just made me feel sad, though a book that makes one feel something is almost never a bad thing. Unless it’s just rage at how much I hate it haha. But that isn’t super common! This book really didn’t have much to dislike and was a beautiful read.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

TW: domestic abuse, incident of child abuse,

This was a gem and delight of a book! Such an easy read to fly through in a couple of hours with a real heart and soul to both storylines. The book is esentially set in present day with our main character, Semira, finding a diary written by Hen. I'm really glad the author decided to do it this way and not through setting the story in both timelines - it worked much better to have Semira reading Hen's diary and connecting to her that way - it gave you the heart of both storylines whilst strengthening Semira's bravery.

I really enjoyed the way that Lewis crafts this story together; Hen and Semira are both brave and inspiring girls in their own right. Both battling with struggles relevant to their time and yet it's evident how the struggles of Hen relate to Semira and how she can draw upon her courage. I loved Semira as a character; in fact pretty much all the characters in this book are delightful - I love the friendship she builds with Patrick but I also love that they don't go down the stereotypical route with the female friendships and actually showed good female friendships and how the bravery of one person can inspire another.

Definitely a book i'd recommend to young children to read and definitely one that will stay on my shelves!

[Bookgirl888 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is incredible. It's such a powerful story of friendship, hope and trust. Worlds 100years apart can share a story and they certainly do when Semira finds a diary written by Hen. Semira learns a lot about herself from this diary and it gives her the power to escape from the man who is controlling her and her mother. The 2 of them were brought across the desert and many miles by a man, but is he what he seems and is he actually helping? Semira learns how to make friends and how these friends can help her.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply stunning book that crosses centuries. Two girls, one who is alive at the start of the founding of the RSPB and the early suffragette movement and the other who lives now. A refugee from Eritrea, she and her mum are trapped in the spiral of exploitation. Both girls have to find their courage and their voice. Beautifully written and perfect for middle grade readers. Such a joy.