Stories Like Me
The Year I Flew Away
The Year I Flew Away
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Synopsis
In this magical novel for fans of Hurricane Child and Front Desk, ten-year-old Gabrielle finds out that America isn’t the place she initially imagined when she moves from Haiti to Brooklyn. With the help of a clever witch, Gabrielle becomes the perfect American—but will she lose herself in the process?
It’s 1985 and ten-year-old Gabrielle is excited to be moving from Haiti to America. Unfortunately, her parents won’t be able to join her yet and she’ll be living in a place called Brooklyn, New York, with relatives she has never met. She promises her parents that she will behave, but life proves to be difficult in the United States, from learning the language to always feeling like she doesn’t fit in to being bullied. So when a witch offers her a chance to speak English perfectly and be “American,” she makes the deal. But soon she realizes how much she has given up by trying to fit in and, along with her two new friends (one of them a talking rat), takes on the witch in an epic battle to try to reverse the spell.
Gabrielle is a funny and engaging heroine you won’t soon forget in this sweet and lyrical novel that’s perfect for fans of Hurricane Child and Front Desk.
Author
Marie Arnold was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and came to America at the age of seven. She grew up in Brooklyn, NY, alongside her extended family. Marie enjoys creating stories full of adventure and wonder that center on girls of color. When she’s not writing, she’s adding to her insanely long Netflix queue and trying not to order pizza. The Year I Flew Away is her debut middle grade novel. She lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Praise
"This refreshing middle-grade story offers a 'new kid' narrative that defines the heart of what it means to be American in today’s world. Arnold champions the beauty and complexity of Gabrielle's culture, which is intensified by Caribbean mysticism, an unlikely (yet highly influential) character, and the bustling backdrop of the City of Dreams. The beauty of this book lies in its depiction of not only the joy and excitement but the sacrifice and weight of immigration for young people. Arnold is thorough and intentional in fleshing out what it means for Gabrielle to support her family back in Haiti, which heightens the stakes of her choices, making readers even more deeply invested into her success. This book will shift the notion of what exactly it means to be Black, to be an immigrant, and to fit in and be accepted." -Booklist (starred review)
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