This is How We Fly

by Anna Meriano

A loose retelling of Cinderella, about a high-school graduate who--after getting grounded for the whole summer--joins a local Quidditch league and finds her footing.

17-year-old vegan feminist Ellen Lopez-Rourke has one muggy Houston summer left before college. She plans to spend every last moment with her two best friends before they go off to the opposite ends of Texas for school. But when Ellen is grounded for the entire summer by her (sometimes) evil stepmother, all her plans are thrown out the window.

Determined to do something with her time, Ellen (with the help of BFF Melissa) convinces her parents to let her join the local muggle Quidditch team. An all-gender, full-contact game, Quidditch isn't quite what Ellen expects. There's no flying, no magic, just a bunch of scrappy players holding PVC pipe between their legs and throwing dodgeballs. Suddenly Ellen is thrown into the very different world of sports: her life is all practices, training, and running with a group of Harry Potter fans.

Even as Melissa pulls away to pursue new relationships and their other BFF Xiumiao seems more interested in moving on from high school (and from Ellen), Ellen is steadily finding a place among her teammates. Maybe Quidditch is where she belongs.

But with her home life and friend troubles quickly spinning out of control--Ellen must fight for the future that she wants, now she's playing for keeps.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT, Fiction, Sports, Audiobook

480 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2020

About the author

I grew up in Houston with an older brother and a younger brother and a large but close-knit network of aunts, uncles, and cousins spreading across the state of Texas. I graduated from Rice University with a degree in English, and earned my MFA in creative writing with an emphasis in writing for children from the New School in New York. There I was lucky to meet CAKE Literary founders Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra, who started me on the Love Sugar Magic journey.​

I live in Houston with my dog Cisco. I have taught creative writing and high school English and currently work as a tutor for students of all ages across Houston. In my free time I love knitting, playing full-contact quidditch, and singing along to songs in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

Reviews

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 Stars rounded up to 2 because Quidditch y'all.

CW: homophobia (well challenged), misogyny

Well I am sorry to say this was not an enjoyable experience for me.

It was written in first person which, for the record, I have enjoyed before. However, the writing was so simple that this is what it felt like:

I thought about what I wanted to eat. I went to the fridge and opened the door. I looked through the shelves trying to find something I wanted to eat. I sighed when I saw none of it was vegan friendly. I closed the fridge door. I opened up the pantry door....

That was not a direct quote but gives you an idea of the style of writing. Also, nothing much happens. There is just a lot of thinking about what everyone else is thinking. Here is another example of what I mean but again this is not a direct quote:

I wonder if I should be kissing him. I don't even like him. I wonder if he likes me. I hope he likes me. What will people think of me kissing a guy I don't even like? Will my Quidditch team be mad?

I thought the author did an excellent job of portraying how big changes, like going to college, can make once solid friendships feel loose and fragile. Ellen and her friends were each trying to make sense of what their connection to each other would look like when they were in different colleges.

So the only positives for me were the Quidditch competitions, the excellent rep, and the portrayal of friendships.

[Danika at The Lesbrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you still have complicated nostalgic feelings for Harry Potter, but you also want to read a book that says "Fuck TERFs" (literally--that's a direct quote), This is How You Fly is for you.

This is a story that's a little bit messy, which I loved. It deals with a lot. The dynamic between her and her family is complicated and feels realistic. Ellen is also a main character I don't see very much: she's a feminist teenager who is passionate about social justice. She is vegan and tries to call out people for casual sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism, etc, even if it's her friends or family. Usually those characters are dismissed as annoying or a joke, but I (unsurprisingly) felt very sympathetic for Ellen.

Although this book doesn't have a sapphic main character, there are multiple sapphic side characters, including one that is a major subplot. I'm going back and forth on whether naming it is a spoiler, because clearly the book means it to be a surprise, but a) identity is not a spoiler and b) I definitely saw it coming several hundred pages in advance. Suffice to say that there is significant F/F content, though not with the main character. Ellen is also questioning her gender and continues to do so by the end of the book. As for Ellen, I appreciated that her romances are also messy and complicated. It shows that you can be attracted to people you don't necessarily like, and it allows Ellen to explore her feelings and attractions.

I had a great time reading this book. Multiple times, I found myself staying up hours later than I meant to because I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this for former or conflicted current Harry Potter fans who denounce JK Rowling's transphobia or for anyone who is or was a loud-mouthed teenage feminists (I mean that as a sincere compliment).

My full review is at the Lesbrary.

[Isabel ✰]

i added this to my to-read almost a year ago and since then my weird quippy excited review of this book became one of the top reviews on the book and of my account, so i felt an odd obligation to actually check this book out when it pubbed

i shouldn't have.

a lot has happened since last february -- my tastes have changed and the world has changed and jk rowling has almost entirely ruined harry potter for me. what would have been a fun concept has been soured by no fault of meriano's.

beyond that, the book features overly simplistic writing and plot and i lost interest very quickly.

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS HOW WE FLY is a fun, coming of age YA read that is focused on Ellen during the summer after graduating high school, as she finds quidditch as the lifeline she may need as she grapples through friendships and identity.

This was a fun one I enjoyed!

[Ta || bookishbluehead · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book leaves me a little baffled. How can every single character be this unlikable? It starts with our main character, Ellen, who is so clingy, it stressed me out. This gets a little better over the course of the book, but honestly, all the fear of being left behind, while her friends make new friends was exhausting. Aside from that, Ellen's only personality trait seems to be that she’s a vegan and a feminist. Also, she’s super boring.

Ellen’s family is even worse. I hated them and their attitude. I think you’re supposed to, they basically are homophobes and they treat Ellen and her sister so bad.

The writing was okay. It had flow but seemed very simple.

I enjoyed reading about the real life sport of Quidditch, which seems to be a very fun sport. I’d love to watch a game in real life.

[Sophia Dyer • bookishly.vintage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Booksparks for the finished copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start out by saying that I do not support JKR or anything relating to THAT universe, but in the start of this book that was also noted. So it is nice that the author herself does not support JKR and her "TERF" views. Actually, the amount of representation itself in this book was absolutely amazing, and the main character did a lot of self-questioning throughout. Mostly with her gender identification, but she was also quick to call people out for political correctness and then explain to them why they are being wrong (and sometimes insensitive).

My husband laughed at me when I told him how much I loved the representation in this book. I mean, not only with gender identity but also sexuality and racial identity too. The characters were well informed without this book reading like a research essay, and it tied in well since the actual (irl) quidditch game enforces inclusivity.

The one part I relate to the most in this book is Ellens relationship with her stepmother. I mean, the author herself said she wishes everyone can relate to one part of the book, and that relationship is it for me. This story is a loose retelling of Cinderella (aka the evil stepmother), and the experience I went through is so similar to the one in the book it felt like my own story was being told! I mean, minus the ending where Connie apologizes and promises to do better (I just stopped talking to my stepmother).

After that awful relationship and diversity, this is a coming-of-age story that includes sports, teenage angst, lots of drama, and good ole fashioned friendships. I am still lost on how the quidditch games are actually played, but I felt the same sense of exhaustion and accomplishment just reading about the matches, and I do think Ellen had some great character development from the start to the end. The summer after high school and before college is challenging for everyone, and I do think every teenager can kind some way to relate to this story.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and it did end on a high note. I like how in-depth the explanation of the quidditch game was, and how this book discussed more than that as well. I think it was just really well rounded. It is also a good example of enjoying the HP universe without accepting the words and actions of JKR; because, as many have seen recently, it is hard to separate a writer from their work but there are still ways to enjoy such universe in ways that said author does not profit from. Despite this book revolving around something in the HP universe, this book is very inclusive and diverse, and in no way, shape, or form follows the awful views and beliefs of JKR. In a sense, this book is a safe place.

[CW ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to make clear that despite its references to Harry Potter, This is How We Fly is not a story about Harry Potter nor does it condone the issues in Harry Potter. (In fact, the story does, very explicitly, state 'Fuck TERFs' during it.) If this was a 'Harry Potter book', then I think this would be a very different rating. I don't give a flying fuck about Harry Potter (read it years ago but there are far better books out there now) but I do care about how its issues have hurt communities, specifically the trans community. In saying that though, This is How we Fly is not a 'Harry Potter book'; I think there's so much that this book offers beyond that, so my rating and my judgement is based on that.

- Follows Ellen, a Mexican-American vegan feminist whose pretty angry about the world - and justifiably so. When she gets grounded, her summer plans are thrown out the window, until her best friend convinces her to give Quidditch a try. Determined to have some freedoms, Ellen joins her local Quidditch team, and therein meets an assortment of personalities and people and perhaps a sense of belonging as well.
- This is very much a character-driven story; it's about Ellen navigating her fraught relationship with her step-mother (hence the loose Cinderella retelling) and changing relationship with her father, her changing friendships with her best friends Xiumiao and Melissa, her feelings about gender and social justice and all the injustices in the world, and just... how growing up is hard.
- This story is messy. Ellen doesn't always make the best choices, she doesn't always say the right thing (in fact, she says the 'wrong' thing a few times), and her frustrations bubble up. Yet, I think Meriano has crafted a very relatable and 'real' character with a realistic lens of any teen angry with the world. I loved that the story leans into Ellen's mess, and has to grapple with her mistakes and choices too.
- Back to gender feels - Ellen doesn't explicitly state that she's genderqueer, but there are explorations into gender, questioning, and how she doesn't feel like a girl. So when she plays Quidditch, which is gender-neutral by the book, she finds a sense of belonging.
- Quidditich in this story functions as a context in which Ellen finds herself and her sense of place. Broadly, I felt like the story highlights how sport and community groups can be a place where people with common interests can come together and connect with one another in ways they normally wouldn't be able to.
- The story really got me with the family feelings. Ellen doesn't really feel at 'home' with her parents and she feels alienated by them and like the 'enemy' of the household; these feelings frustrate her, and I could really empathise with her complicated feelings about her family.
- In sum, I think this is a wonderful coming-of-age. I read the audiobook and was utterly engaged by the storytelling. There will be parts that readers will find challenging, especially if you struggle with 'unlikeable' characters, but I think there are some real gems that speak on how growing up for teens is tough and why having a place that you 'belong' is so important.

Content warning: references to Harry Potter, familial conflict, mentions of parental death (not explicitly described), physical sport-related injuries, anti-gay sentiment (challenged)

[Mora · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing I loved most about this book was the voice. It sounded so clearly sarcastic anxious teen and it was distinct and kept making me laugh. Ellen was very relatable. Her relationships to so many side characters were all well-developed and I loved how she found community!

cw JKR/HP: I understand completely why some people have too many negative associations with quidditch and thus would not be able to read this book, and I hate that JKR gave a negative connotation to this sport in which so many people, such as the author and the characters in this book, have found a safe space and community. However, the HP franchise and its author are condemned explicitly throughout and the book focuses on the sport and community of real quidditch (I am NOT attempting to dismiss anyone's 100% valid reluctance to read but rather attempting to provide some clarification for those wondering).

[Adri]

CWs: Numerous references to the HP franchise and its author (and some direct mentions of the author's harmful ideologies), some implied homophobia, toxic parent-child dynamics, near instances of assault, some descriptions of physical injury, allusions to parental death and mourning

First off, let me just be clear in saying that I will not be assigning this book a rating and I will not be speaking about or promoting this book on my various social media outlets. That is not to say it's not worthwhile or that I personally had a bad reading experience with it. In fact, Anna Meriano is one of my favorite authors and I think she continues to do tremendous work. But because the basis of the story can be triggering and harmful to a great deal of people, especially in my own communities, I will not be putting people in a position to engage with it if they choose not to. If you are reading this, it's because you have sought this review out, not because I have put it in front of your face.

With that said, I think This is How We Fly is a story that beautifully explores growing pains, especially for young adults, like Ellen, who are straddling that line between childhood and adulthood. Ellen is living out her last summer at home before going off to college, and tensions are definitely high in her household and with her friend group. Her friends are trying to gauge whether their connection is strong enough to go long distance, her parents seem all but eager to ship her out of the house, and Ellen is still very much questioning who she is and where she belongs.

The family dynamics and cultural dynamics rang really true to me. As an outspoken vegan feminist, it seems like Ellen's natural role is to challenge her family's ingrained ideologies and make them uncomfortable. They don't like that she doesn't quietly and neatly fit into their little box—whether it's because they have to make her a separate dish for dinner or because she'll call them out on their latent homophobia in front of her younger step-sister. They clash often, and I think there's a good exploration of how people can love each other but still disagree with each other and disappoint each other in some ways. The journey Ellen's family has to take in this story is definitely one of healing, especially after the passing of Ellen's birth mother, which they have never fully processed together.

Ellen also feels a disconnection to her heritage, as a white-passing biracial Latinx person, and I appreciated how that was touched on in the story. Whether it's her teammates giving her grief about her hyphenated last name, or how her eating preferences seem to clash and "negate" cultural tradition, Ellen has to navigate her own fraught relationship with both Latinidad and whiteness as the story progresses.

There's also some great stuff in here about gender and Ellen questioning her own gender. That's, in part, why the sport of Quidditch really unlocks something within her, because it is one of the only gender-neutral, gender-inclusive sports out there that is not arbitrarily divided by gender or sex. So being part of that community really opens up Ellen's world and allows her to meet so many people with different experiences, backgrounds, and identities, and it gives her a safe place to explore those feelings and learn how to be okay with questioning things.

The marketing for this book has also dubbed it as "a loose Cinderella re-telling," and I think that fits. You have the contentious relationship between step-mother and step-child, you have a character who's grounded all summer and doing chores from sun up to sun down, a missed connection with a cute guy, and there's some stuff about shoes at the end that I won't spoil. Although "loose" would be the right term, because it's certainly not a one-to-one, beat-for-beat retelling of the classic fairytale, I think there are certainly enough references for the reader to make that connection.

No pun intended, I flew through this book. It was charming, it was funny, and I felt so deeply for Ellen and everything she was going through. That said, it's hard for me to see myself recommending this to people, not only because of the content influencing the premise of the story, but because it's also an emotionally challenging book that really puts Ellen through the wringer. She's on the outs with some of her best friends from high school, she's feeling alienated from her family, she's constantly being blamed for something by her parents, she's struggling to make heads or tails of this new sport and solidify her place on the team. It can be hard to stomach all of that at once, even though it's a very realistic experience. Even though the story is hopeful and working towards a happy ending, so to speak, it is definitely an uphill battle to get there. So if you're interested in this one, definitely keep that in mind.

As I said before, I love Anna Meriano and I appreciate her work so much. While this book is not going to be for everyone, it's definitely perfect for people who have complicated emotions about certain wizarding franchises while still appreciating the fandom. While that's not my experience, personally, I think the primary focus of the story is Ellen's journey to finding confidence and community over everything else. At the end of the day, I enjoyed this one and I look forward to reading more of Meriano's work.

[Luanne Ollivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

My latest teen read is This is How We Fly by Anna Meriano. Young adult reads have changed a great deal over the years. While marketed as teen reads, there is much to be learned for all ages from this genre. That's definitely the case with This is How We Fly.

This is the last summer before Ellen heads off to college. She and her two besties aren't headed to the same places, so she is looking forward to spending the summer with them. But, the best laid plans....

Instead, one friend wants to cut the ties now and Ellen herself is grounded - for the entire summer. Thanks to her stepmother Connie, Ellen will be doing a list of chores every day. And her dad backs Connie up. (A little bit of Cinderella there...)

I loved Ellen and her passion for her own beliefs, whether it's feminism, veganism or climate control, she is determined to make the world a better place. Connie and Dad really irked me. Connie is well, mean, and her dialogue had me fuming. We get to know bestie Melissa much more than Xiumiao, but both are well drawn with their own issues instead of just being a foil for Ellen.

When Melissa joins a Quidditch team (yup, you read that right - the Harry Potter game), Ellen gets reluctant permission to join as well. The team, the players and the game are a big focus of the plot. I thought it was a unique premise and a great vehicle to introduce so many topics, themes and situations. Friendship, gender identity, romantic relationships, sex, belonging, blended families, coming of age and acceptance can all be found in these pages. There are so many personalities introduced though the team and tournaments. I thought they were really well done and inclusive.

I've of course read all the Potter books and had a pretty good mental image of a Quidditch match. But I had no idea of how this would be played in our reality. Meriano provides great descriptions. And the title of the book is from that question...." If it's Quidditch....how do you fly?"

I thought the writing was great and I enjoyed This is How We Fly very much. I did think the 'resolution' at the end of the book was a bit quick, but it's the right ending.

[Jay G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*

It's the summer before Ellen is going off to college, and she wants nothing more than to hang out with her two bestfriends. But then, Ellen is grounded by her step-mom. With the help of her friend Melissa, Ellen convinces her father to allow her to join a muggle Quidditch team. As the summer goes on, Melissa starts to pull away from her, causing her to form connections with new people on the team.

This was a pretty average book, not much really happened in the long run. It just felt a bit lengthy and repetitive after awhile, it definitely could have been cut down and still gotten the same points across. I think that it had some great discussions surrounding homophobia, feminism, sexuality and gender. There is a lot of representation in this book, which I loved reading about. I also enjoyed how multiple characters were questioning their identities (sexual, gender and racial) and how much support they had from other people in the book. I also liked how the relationship between Connie, Ellen's step-mom, and her was resolved. I think the whole book wrapped up very nicely, but like I said, it just took so long to get to that point.

[Michelle Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Is How We Fly totally took me by surprise. It was pitched as "girl plays quidditch for the summer" and after everything JKR said this summer I was like hmmmm I dunno, but I'll give it a shot.
I loved the beginning, I love familial issues in contemporary books, because you explore more sides of issues than just "girl likes boy" and there are also bisexual/lesbian characters in this, so I was happy to see the representation.
I loved Anna Meriano's writing, it was so descriptive, but sometimes it lost me like, 'wait, where are we?' But other than the occasional confusing moment, I loved the verbiage and overall dialogue.
I was having problems getting into it after about 30-60 percent but then someone mentioned it's a "loose cinderella retelling" and I instantly flew into it in a new light.
I really enjoyed the exploration of gender politics, familial issues, and sports.
Thankfully, the other parts that involve Quidditch like HP/the franchise don't really play into this book, it's just about the character who just so happens to play the sport.

[Sabrina]

I played muggle Quidditch for a bit at university (Chaser) and I've never seen it feature in a book omg?!

I still remember when I showed up to my first taster session and was told to run laps around the pitch with the pipe in between my legs until it felt normal HAHAHA

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quidditch and teen angst are the perfect catalysts for this fun and entertaining read. This is How We Fly (TiHWF) has a bit of a Cinderella feel to it but Ellen, the quirky yet mostly loveable protagonist isn’t going to any fancy ball. Instead, she’s off to join a Quidditch team that teaches her more about herself and who she wants to be in life than any ball a pumpkin carriage could cart her to.

It’s the summer after senior year and the summer before college, Ellen is at odds with her friends, at odds with her wicked step-mother- who, of course, loads Ellen down with a never-ending chore list - and when Ellen acts out and ends up grounded for the summer, she has one thing to get her out of the house: Quidditch! Ellen follows her friend to a Quidditch practice and what she finds there is a level of acceptance amongst the players that she hasn’t found anywhere else.
I always say I love a good character driven story but TiHWF is both strongly character and plot driven. I have to say the Muggle Quidditch team gave me serious FOMO and oh man, how I wish there was a team by me! Aside from my Quidditch FOMO, Meriano addresses the issues that young women face in that in-between space between high school and college. That yawning abyss of being both a teen and an adult and the struggle to find the balance between who you want to be, who everyone expects you to be and who you actually are.

While Ellen is certainly a flawed character, she is much like many teen girls and faces the same struggles with acceptance, immaturity – especially with relationships, and the restlessness of that last summer before adulthood takes over. I didn’t always like Ellen but I did understand her. This is a coming-of-age story that really gave me all the feels. Fighting for what you believe in and learning to be unashamedly proud of who you are is an important message that everyone needs to hear.

My thanks to Penguin Teen and author Anna Meriano for providing me with a DRC of This is How We Fly!

[Jaye Berry]

This turned out as god awful as I thought it would be.

[Anya Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book by accident but ended up really enjoying it! A YA book with a bit of feminism, activism, LGBT+ themes and a love of Harry Potter all combined - winner! It even addresses JKs transphobic and troublesome views. What more could you want from a light read?

[Maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quidditch looks really fun :D

[Sue (BeautyBookCorner) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. There were aspects I loved and others I didn’t. I really found the Quidditch element fun. I think it’s provides Potterheads a way to enjoy the fandom again without feeling like they are supporting JKR. The characters are playing Quidditch, but there are only a handful of references to the book. There are a few times JKR’s anti-trans stance is mentioned briefly. It is always in a negative light .

At its heart, this book is a sports fiction novel. We follow the main character as she devotes her summer to learning and playing Quidditch. The characters are very much playing a sport. The practices and games get rough, sweaty, and competitive. There’s a lot covered from the technical aspects of the game, skirmishes, matches, to team drama. I enjoyed seeing Ellen fall in love with the sport.

It’s also a story about growing up. Ellen is in that time in life where she’s straddling adolescence and adulthood. Ellen and her friends are in a transitional time in their life. Friendships are changing. Family dynamics are changing. And there’s a lot of insecurity and hurt Ellen is feeling towards her friends and family. She’s also raising a lot of questions about gender identity in herself. She’s not quite ready yet to dive deep into those questions though. I thought this aspect of the story was handled well, but as a cis woman I am not the right person to make that call. It felt like an important truth Ellen will eventually explore when the time is right.

Ellen does come off as a SWJ which made the character feel more immature in the way where young people believe they know best. She has strong opinions about how she wants to live her life and she’s very black and white about these issues. She’s vegan, feminist, environmentalist, and more. Perhaps that was the author’s intent? To show how teens are often looking for a label/group/cause to align with to better understand who they are. She rages at her stepmother for putting cheese into the salad, but never helps with the cooking or prepares her own meals.

It also felt like the author was ticking off boxes in some kind of liberal issues list. I personally agree with a lot of the issues Ellen fights for but I think the way the issues were written into the story felt weak. I felt the author tackled gender identity and sexism in sports very well. LGBTQ+ diversity was great to see. But animal rights, environmentalism, and homophobia were mostly brought up during fights when Ellen was yelling at her stepmother in an argument. I think the author should have stuck to fewer social issues so that the discussion about them, and their relevance to the plot, could have been stronger.

Ellen also acts immaturely in her friendships. Her focus is almost entirely on herself at all times. When her friend pushes her away, she’s understandably hurt. And yet, instead of giving her friend, who she’s been friends with for years, the benefit of the doubt or talking to her, Ellen turns her back on her. She retreats into herself and acts out in petty ways without thinking that maybe her friend is going through something.

As far as the “loose retelling of Cinderella” marketing pitch, it’s really unnecessary. The only thing that is Cinderella-like is the fact that she has a tumultuous relationship with her stepmother and that she is assigned a lot of chores during the summer.

Overall, this was a fun read that I think a lot of teens will be able to relate too. I’ve always been curious about Quidditch when I heard about it in college. My classmate played Quidditch and showed me photos of his team. I love that we got to know about the culture around Quidditch players. I especially liked how we learn about the sport’s history of supporting all genders, and the players’ right to resubmit their pronouns to ones they identify with at the time.

[Marya DeVoto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't going to review this but there seem to be a lot of polarized reviews of it, so here are some observations that might determine whether you want to put the time in:

--it isn't any sort of defense of Rowling, in fact it explicitly addresses the issue of how fandom can redeem the HP universe without endorsing her.

--it isn't high-literary whatsoever. It has funny and wry observations, but there's nothing stylistically interesting. The characters are as well drawn as they need to be for a compelling story, but there aren't enormous Insights lurking here, or unforgettable personalities. The teens are ordinary teens with slightly better than real dialogue.

--what I thought it did enormously well was capture the difficulties of late adolescence and how it feels to be fumbling around figuring out identity, and sometimes only knowing what you're against, in a world where there's so much to BE against but the "who are you" answers may be years away. The main character is pretty woke and most of what she/they does with it is to react against their (pretty difficult, somewhat fractured) family. And gradually figure out how to get more joy and less friction in life while working around other people's priorities.

--as a result we have a plot that's pretty static. The narrator is stuck. (I guessed the Big Plot Twist many chapters ahead, but there isn't much motion toward it, just a bunch of quidditch games and friend/family disagreements that don't necessarily move anything along.)

--nevertheless this is cute and its heart is absolutely in the right place and it's not afraid to represent how some really ugly stuff can exist in a family that's more or less functional and loving, how friendships have terrible patches, and yet people go on.

--the team sports angle is surprisingly fun and not overly whimsical despite being, y'know, Quidditch.

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is How We Fly felt like the perfect book for me. A theatre kid protagonist! Harry potter! Queer rep, feminism AND a loose Cinderella retelling? I think that's why I was so let down.

This book isn't bad, it's just very average. Ellen as a protagonist came off more whiney then relatable, none of the other characters felt super developed since we only got to see them through her eyes, and the plot's the kind of thing you see over and over again. I think this could have been really good if it were a lot shorter, but there just wasn't enough here to fill the page count and a lot of it dragged.

[Michael Anthony Araujo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on The Fandom.

Anna Meriano scores multiple goals in This Is How We Fly, and even catches her own snitch while doing so.

Ellen somehow manages to get herself grounded through the whole summer. No friends, no phone, no going out. The only thing that manages to give her some freedom, is Quidditch practice. A sport created for a series of fantasy books that in our world, doesn’t actually include flying. But with actually having to participate and work out, and having to deal with a family who doesn’t care for her, can Ellen actually survive the summer? Or will she crash into the ground before college even begins?

This Is How We Fly offered me a view into a world that was once my safe space. It’s no secret what’s happening in the literature world with JKR, the creator of Quidditch. And I think it’s important to note that I do not support her, no matter how big of a hero she was once to me, and neither does the author. The book in fact talks about her view points. And while it is fair for everyone to have their own opinion, we must all remember that some opinions are extremely hurtful especially coming from someone with a large audience. With that being said, it’s time for Quidditch!

In the beginning, I had a bit of a hard time trying to remember the large cast of characters that we’re introduced to. It’s not because the author does a bad job at it, because they were pretty self-explanatory, especially with their Quidditch positions. It’s just a personal problem that I need to work on. The main character, Ellen, obviously stands out as well as her best friends and family.

But there was one character that stood out to me more than Ellen. Her step-mother Ellen was truly the wicked step-mother, and made me dislike her more than any other character I’ve read in a long time. I know her intentions were good and she only wanted the best for her family, but the lady was truly out for blood. Not literally, but I’m sure if given the chance there would be some. Aside from her, I thought the entire cast of characters was great. Everyone had their flaws that made us dislike some more than others.

The story itself was one of my favorite parts. Ellen has to deal with her step-mother and what she feels like is her control over her own father. She has a summer left before she moves to college and she feels like she’s not being treated fairly. Through Quidditch she’s able to escape her family drama and find a new found love of sports. I’ve only ever seen Quidditch through videos but reading about it was a whole different experience. Even though Ellen finds drama within the Quidditch community, playing it was one of the best parts of the book.

It felt so action packed that I found myself wanting more Quidditch and even hoping that we could get a sequel with more Quidditch scenes. I thought it was very well done, and that the author did an amazing job at making sure the reader knew exactly what was going on and how it worked. Especially since it’s a complicated sport.

Aside from all that, I found Ellen’s story to be a true story about what it means to grow into an adult and leaving behind your younger years. We see the dangers that come with growing up as well as the good times that are promised. We see her interactions with wanting to fight for social justice and help her younger sister turn out into a good person. We see her want to feel the love from her father and friends. And we see her grow into a new person, one that believes anything is possible.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Good YA fiction about a high school student just trying to survive the summer before senior year without her stepmom melting down at her and leaving again. Her best friend gets her into real-life quidditch.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the quidditch parts of the book, but everytime I read the scenes with the step mom and dad, I got so angry. The step mom is such an asshole and her dad is terrible too. Ugh.

Not too bad of a book, just an easy breezy little thang.

[eleanor :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda loved it but I think the daughter and her parents needed better communication. 😁

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I might be hitting my limit with YA realistic fiction that's the crossroads of major decision-making. Unless the characters are intensely creative or personable, I get distracted easily-- putting the book down and picking it back up but not really invested in it.

This one did not have a strong opening so the reading was lackluster throughout. And I recognize this is my exhaustion with the tropes in this genre category. It's strengths are the themes of togetherness in friendship and the unease when friends branch out and leave someone else in a lurch, questioning what they really want to do or who they want to be. It's the crux of the story and includes a friend who must hide her sexual identity from her family by essentially living two lives in college and at home which provides a layer of depth.

It's a not-for-me book, but will have plenty of readers.

[BeyondTheVeilPod · Rating 5 out of 5]

With everything going on in the Harry Potter world recently, this is exactly the book I needed!
The Harry Potter fan community is the entire reason that I am still a fan, and this book feels like a love letter from a fan to the community.
Ellen is a wonderful character that takes us through all the traditional coming-of-age struggles like worrying about college, fear of growing apart from close friends and navigating new friendships and relationships. What's wonderful about this book though is that it doesn't stop there, Ellen also questions her gender, struggles with her cultural identity and family background, and has a lot of conflicts trying to be a vegan/feminist/environmentalist with parents who just want her to be "normal". I was honestly shocked in the best possible way by how inclusive and diverse this book is, in particular, this is the first time I've ever seen a character with Xe/Xyr pronouns in a book and it made me so happy to see something connected to Harry Potter be so inclusive of many different gender identities!
Also. QUIDDITCH. I've wanted to play Muggle Quidditch for years and this book made me even sadder that there is no local team for me to join, I am not an athletic person and I do not like to try to be athletic but WOW Quidditch sounds like a really good time. I've learned a lot about it over the years and this book had such wonderful scenes depicting the gameplay that I felt like a part of it, I honestly can not recommend this book enough to anyone who has ever felt or wanted to feel supported by the Harry Potter community.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. After several years of J.K. Rowling just flaunting her flagrant bigotry in the face of the Harry Potter fandom and queer community, it was nice to read a story about fans for the fans that was very pro-trans, pro-inclusivity, and anti-bigotry. It was really fun diving into this world of Quidditch teams and delightful, nerdy kids. Always a slightly tough read for me personally when the parents in YA act more immaturely than the teenagers, but I will say that there is some resolution to that storyline so it's not terrible.

[Katy O.]

DNF on page 92 because I just can’t wrap my head around what Connie’s motivation could possibly be for making Ellen stay home all the time - Connie wants Ellen out of the house and away from her, but she makes her be around her all the time??? Also, it just seems super improbable that anyone would treat a recent HS grad like a 14 year old with grounding and such for no apparent reason (they don’t need her to babysit so why???) but who knows.

And yes just call me the quitter queen because this is the third DNF for me today. That’s what I get for trying out all of my library books even when I’m not in the mood for them! I’m attempting to actually mark books DNF and why, so I don’t make the mistake of attempting to read them again, forgetting that I’ve already tried them!

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

I love the idea of a book about IRL Quidditch, but I struggled with disliking pretty much every character in this book—even the ones we were supposed to be rooting for.

Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.

[Rebecca Berinstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

First full book of this year and it was a DNF. I expected more of the Harry Potter/Quidditch angle and less of the teen angst.