Why we fly by Kimberley Jones & Gilly Segal

Eleanor (aka Leni) and Chanel (aka Nelly) are in their senior year of school. They are long-time friends and together perform at a high level in the school Cheer-leading team with hopes of winning State championships. With the pressures of preparing for their post-school futures, life has taken a twist for Eleanor because of a serious concussion that has kept her on the sidelines for a season, and her hopes and dreams are under a cloud. It is when she becomes more than a passing acquaintance with the superstar football hunk that the friendship between the two girls wobbles. However, when the Cheer team decides to support a famous past student and football star from the school and to ‘drop the knee’ during the anthem at the school’s Friday night game, things go in directions they did not expect. For one of the girls, the consequences and school suspension that follows threaten to derail her life. Their friendship stumbles further under the pressure and the growing romance between Eleanor and Three (aka Sam) also is on uncertain ground. What will the future look like for them all, and can they stand up for what is right … for the right reasons?

Australian readers will know about the Cheerleading culture from USA movies (and this story is destined for the screen too) but there are many aspects that are foreign. The main characters are from diverse backgrounds – Jewish and Afro-American heritage. They have friends from different backgrounds, including LGBTIQ friends, the football jock arena, and even the Jewish Rabbi.  The activism issue, related to the ‘drop the knee’ practice for social justice, underscores the story of coming-of-age and the entry into College life in the USA. Were it not for the confusion of each character having multiple name references in the story, this would be a great easy-to-read teen-friendly story. With an eye-opening entry into the dramas related to a recent social justice movement and the life of the pom-pom wielding Cheerleaders, there is a definite teen appeal to this story. This story deals lightly, but thoughtfully, with serious issues.

Themes: USA school life, Cheerleading, Activism, Social justice, Race issues, Leadership, (LBGTIQ minor characters and drug taking).

Carolyn Hull