Flying High

Glitterwings Academy #1

by Titania Woods

Glitterwings Academy is the fairy school to go to, and Twink is so excited to be starting her first term. But she is also a little nervous. Will she make friends? Will she be able to find her way round the dizzying, huge oak tree that is Glitterwings Academy? And will she be able to pass the all-important test for new students - that of learning to fly? "Glitterwings Academy" is a lovingly created series by acclaimed author Lee Weatherly, writing as Titania Woods. Readers of the series can be assured of accomplished narrative, as well as stylish and exciting illustration.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Titania Woods has been born in 1967 and grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She lives with her husband in Hampshire, England, where she writes, goes on walks, collects frogs and has a cat named Bernard. Author location: Hampshire.
Titania Woods is the pseudonym for Lee Weatherly. Lee Weatherly also published books under the pen name L.A. Weatherly.

Reviews

[Short Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite fairy series of all time. Yes, I know it's for children. But I still loved this.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable fun and magical series! Meet Twink and follow her during her first term!


So, since libraries and everything is still closed, I decided to use the Online Bieb (Online library). Sadly, they don’t have a lot of new books, and especially the English section is just so so sad. But, while browsing this sad collection I bumped against this series. The cover looked super cute and the blurb just sounded adorable and right up my alley. So I downloaded the first book and will also be reading the rest of the series when I can.

In this one Twink is having her very first term and it is full of new things, new friends, new lessons, flying, and also some not so fun things.

As per the title, the theme of this book is flying, or at least trying. Something that Twink did a bit too well in the beginning which ended with her being too afraid to fly again. I just felt for the girl, especially since everyone else could fly with ease. It doesn’t help that the teachers aren’t helping a lot (you would think one of them would have some ideas, and whose bright idea was to announce a flying exhibition…), Mariella is a bitch (sorry, that is just the only word that fits her). But thankfully, Twink has friends, classmates, and also a teacher who want to help her. And I was rooting along and wondering what could help to make Twink relax so she could just fly! The story was well written, engaging. Sometimes sad, but also with rays of hope.

Sooze had a good start in the book… but as the book continued I just got less and less happy with her. Twink really said it later in the book: “Sooze is lots of fun, isn’t she? But having fun is all she cares about. If something isn’t fun, then – she doesn’t want to know.” Sooze needs to learn that not everything in life is easy or fun. Getting cross with your friend is just not the way to go. I am happy with Sooze in the end, but I do hope she learns to stick to her friends no matter what.

I wasn’t a fan of Mariella (or most of her lackies as Bimi really turned a sweetheart). I am frankly getting sick and tired of books having this trope. I could do with several books without the trope. There are just too many books with this. However, I am glad that the girls (at least Sooze and a couple of others) were tired of Mariella’s crap and called her out for it. Go girls!

I have to say that I was reminded of many books while reading this one. Not meaning it as a bad, but it stood out for me and so I want to mention it. New school/boarding school, first year, new friends, annoying/mean roommates that think they are better, special powers, and I could go on. In this one they learn to fly, but I have also seen similar books where the new kids get unicorns, sea horses, or other things to help them as they get through school/life.

I loved the small illustrations that were dotted throughout the book! It is just a shame that my library has a terrible quality (seems it was just scanned and put online) of the illustrations. I would love to see these pretty illustrations in better quality!

The ending was just such a glittery and happy thing! I loved it and I cannot wait for the next term to start!

I would recommend this book to all! So much fun! It made me really happy and that is something I can definitely use these days.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Suvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kultasiipien keijukoulu: Siivet kantavat

Tuikku on aloittamassa ensimmäistä vuottaan Kultasiipien keijukoulussa, ja häntä jännittää kovasti. Varsinkin lentäminen tuntuu pelottavalta, ja lentotunnit eivät menekään niin kuin hän olisi halunnut. Oppiiko Tuikku lentämään vuoden aikana, ja mitä kaikkea muuta keijukaveruksille sattuukaan.

Kakkosille, jotka rakastavat glitteriä ja keijuja.

[Arabella Stone👑 · Rating 4 out of 5]

yes i am seven and a half

[Tiffany]

Parfais pour commencer la lecture si on est jeune ( ou pas ^^ )

[bennie]

i think this book was the reason snowdrops were my fave flower as a kid (iirc there was a branch in Glitterwings Academy called snowdrop)

[Chloé · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un des livres qui m'a donné l'amour de la lecture ! Toujours aussi fan des aventures de Twini 🥰

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice introduction to a fairy world where fairies have to go to school to learn how to fly. As the title indicates, this is exactly the primary focus of this first book in the Glitterwings Academy universe. It is a nice tale about friendship and learning to persevere and finding your own way to knowledge. The interactions with teachers, parents and other fairies is nicely portrayed. Fun, light read.

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flying High is about fairies beginning their first year at Glitterwings Academy. I enjoyed it because I like fairies. I liked it when Sooze and Twink became friends and noticed that they were opposites because Sooze had lavender hair and pink wings and Twink had lavender wings and pink hair. I also liked how the fairies were learning to fly. My favourite characters are Twink and Bimi because they are best friends.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rating this as my 9 year old self having re-read this recently when I found them on my bookshelf.
I loved these books when I was younger! I found them captivating as I'm a girl who played make-believe about fairies. Unfortunately, I only ever read the first 10 books and if I had the chance to read the rest (even as a 14-year-old)I would- for old time's sake! :)

[Tom Stallard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite obvious plots and profoundly girl-centric storytelling, I found this book had enough hooks to make you read on, far beyond the point you really wanted too. The book was also notable for the odd choice of the main character name. Twink, in a book about fairies.

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago,but I do remember that it was a good book.I didnt give it five stars because it was a very short book and the plot was obvious.

[Luciaperalta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que es un libro muy bonito sobre la amistad y no se si la autora se dio cunenta de que tambien habla de que nunca es tarde para aprender.

[Deirdre Johnston]

This was a great book I loved it

[Jagriti Panda]

Good!

[Aayushma Adhikari · Rating 4 out of 5]

It paints a picture of a different world but highly comparable to ours.