Recent Reads: Fly Back, Agnes by Elizabeth Atkinson

Source: From the publicity agent in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Fly Back, Agnes by Elizabeth Atkinson
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Publication Date:  March 3, 2020

 

Format: Hardback

Rating:






Goodreads Synopsis: 

A story that tackles the everyday inner turmoil of growing up and staying true to oneself.
Twelve-year-old Agnes hates everything about her life: her name, her parents' divorce, her best friend's abandonment, her changing body . . . . So while staying with her dad over the summer, she decides to become someone else. She tells people she meets that her name is Chloe, she's fourteen, her parents are married, and she's a dancer and actor--just the life she wants.
But Agnes's fibs quickly stack up and start to complicate her new friendships, especially with Fin, whose mysterious relative runs a local raptor rehab center that fascinates Agnes. The birds, given time and care, heal and fly back home. Agnes, too, wants to get back to wherever she truly belongs. But first she must come to see the good in her real life, however flawed and messy it is, and be honest with her friends, her family, and herself.

Review: 
Fly Back, Agnes is a coming of age tale about a girl right when puberty strikes, trying to understand herself, the world around her and this new phase of her life. When she has the chance to live with her dad for the summer she decides to take on a new persona, one that is more confident and appealing that her normal self, but she comes to find that lying is difficult when you make genuine friends and now they have no idea who you really are.

Agnes is a typical teen, angsty, hating change and going through it in so many ways regardless. She is stubborn, but real and that made this book very refreshing.  Agnes is a little annoying on her journey, pretending to be someone else when her new friends are spilling themselves to her honestly and truthfully. It really bothered me that she had SO MANY opportunities to come clean and did not, but the build up was very well done. 

The story overall is a really wonderful tale about changing bodies and minds and growing up and what it means to grow up. This book will be really relatable for young teen readers and I think they will really enjoy it, I know I have.

Overall, this was a great coming of age story with a very real female main character, additionally the book has some very nice touches of diversity that are very well placed.