Thanks to my holiday book exchange, I had a chance to pick up Fly by Night by Tara O’Connor. I had started a sampler awhile back and thought it would be slightly on the slower side, but still it was a fascinating concept. Twin sisters, one who has gone missing, and spooky felt right. And yes, it was not super-fast pace, but kept things moving. The idea of true supernature never came into play for those few pages, but it quickly does once you get into things.
When your best friend is missing (your twin sister), your home is in danger (by greedy developers), and your only hope might not be human, what can you do? Fly By Night has those answers, but also creates more questions. Dee comes to stay with her mother, after her twin sister, Beth goes missing. Having lost their old connections, Dee struggles with trying to find a connection with her sister. When she becomes involved in helping her teacher and classmates fight the land developer that wants to create a pipeline in the forest where Beth was last seen, the forest the girls played in as children, the forest that has the only solid connection to each other, things turn quickly into something that might be more than Beth can handle.
The legend becomes fact, friends are not who they seem, and things are set in some mature themes (the divorce of Dee’s parents was rocky at best, possible runways, possible murder, the legend of the Jersey Devil comes alive and is cute in a might-eat-your-face way). Stronger ages 12 and up would be the audience I feel most comfortable recommending this too.
As author says, the art is stunning and sets the atmosphere. Triona Farrell created some light-hearted, but also darker images to set the tone. Things are sunny, but they are also in the dark. Perhaps things are a big stereotypical (if the villain is around, things are less rosy in details or color) but this makes the story familiar, comfortable and allows you to know the action.
Fun afterwards and the real facts behind the pipeline and protection agency are included.
