Writer Wednesday: The Girl Who Flew Away

I’m pleased to share my latest young adult novel with you.

The Girl Who Flew Away continues my love of young adult literature. As a high school teacher, I have seen the power of literature to inspire young readers and empower them to take control of their lives by accepting who they are and living authentically, rather than allowing themselves to be bullied or coerced.

In some ways, the novel is inspired by my father’s joking around when I was little about how I always seemed a little different from the rest of our family. Sure he was joking, but his words were enough to make me consider the definition of belonging and what it meant to be part of a family. I wondered: what if a young person had to confront identity issues while trying to balance everything else that comes with being a teenager?

I have also been watching over the years as technology makes it easy for students to ignore each other, even when in the same room. It allows human beings to detach themselves from others. Taken to an extreme, I wondered, how far might a teenager go to ignore the existence of another human being if that existence were somehow dangerous or inconvenient?

And, of course, the book was in part inspired by my mother, who used to sing a little melody to me and my sister: friends and sisters… In the novel, the main character learns the true meaning of what it is to be a sister.

So I present to you: The Girl Who Flew Away. Following the link here, you can receive a free four-chapter preview as well a coupon for 35% off. It’s also available for Kindle or your favorite e-book platform.

No good deed goes unpunished when freshman Steffie Brenner offers to give her awkward new neighbor a ride home after her first day at school. When her older sister Ali stops at a local park to apply for a job, Steffie and Madison slip out of the car to explore the park—and Madison vanishes.

Already in trouble for a speeding ticket, Ali insists that Steffie say nothing about Madison’s disappearance. Even when Madison’s mother comes looking for her. Even when the police question them.

Some secrets are hard to hide, though—especially with Madison’s life on the line. As she struggles between coming clean or going along with her manipulative sister’s plan, Steffie begins to question if she or anyone else is really who she thought they were. After all, the Steffie she used to know would never lie about being the last person to see Madison alive—nor would she abandon a friend in the woods: alone, cold, injured, or even worse.

But when Steffie learns an even deeper secret about her own past, a missing person seems like the least of her worries…

Thank you, as always, for your support, and happy reading!