Girl on the Fly

On your marks, get set … and prepare to take your time over this unusual, uplifting story about a young girl learning to find her life rhythm.

Kam is a talented sprinter and, with her best friends Alexis, Neeka and Luce, determined to win the relay race in the State championship. The pressure is particularly high as Luce is moving, this is the team’s last chance to be champions. In the midst of this, Kam’s Aunt Rose arrives to stay from Tanzania. She’ll be sharing Kam’s room and Kam, who admits she doesn’t cope well with change, is initially unsettled. Adding to her worries, Kam and her oldest, closest friend Odie have fallen out. He’s not speaking to her, and she doesn’t know why. In fact, Aunt Rose, cheerful, loving, wise, funny, understands Kam and the issues she’s facing better even than she does herself. As the two get closer, her aunt’s stories of Tanzania and the family’s life there enable Kam to see things differently and to find the calm, the resilience – the rhythm – she needs.

The excitement and drama of track meetings and descriptions of the girls’ lively friendship are balanced with these quiet scenes between Kam and Rose, allowing readers the space and time to connect with the stories and the truths they reveal.  Set in Philadelphia in 1992, details of the time and in particular the music the girls enjoy (on CD!) add extra layers to a rich and rewarding story.