Wow, this book packed quite a punch! There were so many themes explored in this book - identity, first love, blended families, anger, and more. But even though it explored all these themes, it never felt bogged down by them. It also had a beautiful amount of diversity that was so nice to see. It made the story feel so realistic. I absolutely loved the theme park setting - one of my favorites. All of the characters had a nice amount of growth throughout the book. I really enjoyed the writing style of this book, and look forward to reading more by this author. Readers that enjoy realistic fiction, theme parks, or are looking for LGBTQIA+ representation in a middle grade book will likely enjoy this one.

This is like a perfect middle grade book?? I love that this book deals with the difficulties of communication with parents and does not let them off the hook. It is also so rare to see older teen queer characters mentoring and providing a safe space for the middle grade aged queer characters, and I loved that aspect a lot. The VOICE was so authentic, too, and Dahlia was allowed to be complicated and messy.

Oh my goodness, ALMOST FLYING book was absolutely incredible! I can't even begin to describe in words how beautiful and authentic of a read this was. The thoughtfully written LGBTQIA+ brought tears to my eyes, and I truly couldn't possibly think of a more deserving book for the Stonewall Honor Award than this one. I'd easily recommend this book to fans of DRUMROLL, PLEASE, and anyone looking for a breezy yet heartwarming summery middle grade novel.

13yo Dalia has an obsession - watching POV roller coaster videos. Rani is on her summer swim team, and the two quickly become friends, watching POV roller coasters and makeup videos together. Dalia's parents are divorced - she doesn't see much of her mom and lives with her dad. When Dad wants Dalia to meet his new girlfriend Vanessa (what?) Dalia is none too pleased. Her dad has kept this from her for 6 months! Vanessa has a college aged daughter, Alexa, and Dad wants them to get to know each other this summer. Alexa has already planned a road trip to various amusement parks with her friend Dhruv, and hanging around for the summer to "bond" is out of the question. Wait! Amusement Parks? Dalia has never actually been on a roller coaster, maybe if she went along? and brought a friend?

The description of the Roller Coaster videos seemed so fun I looked them up on youtube. I can see why Dalia would love them! Most of the action in Almost Flying is the fun they are having at the Amusement Parks, but Dalia is also questioning her identity, as her friendship with Rani feels like it could be something else. Alexa has a girlfriend, and Dhruv is gay, so Rani has some good mentors to help her navigate these new emotions. Overall, I think my middle school students will love this great road trip story.

Dalia's not having a great summer. She hasn't spoken to her best friend in months, her dad springs her with not only one big secret, but two. Dalia's only sense of normalcy is the friendship she has made with Rani but she's worried she'll screw that up because she thinks what she feels is more than just friendship.

Almost Flying is about a girl on the cusp of teenage life and all the ups and downs that come with that. As she sets out on a roller coaster trip with her "new" sister, her sister's friend, and Dalia's crush/friend Rani, she learns that growing up sometimes means taking risks.

There are parts of the book where Dalia's reactions/thoughts don't match with her age. That being said, the author does a good job of showing the reader the confusing and sometimes contrary thoughts that impact a teenager. A few places the adults act like Dalia is way younger than twelve and that took me out of the story. Overall, it is a solid book about growing up, learning to live out loud, and discovering what family is all about.

Such a fun book about coming of age, roadtrips, and summer love! That first crush stays with you, and this book put me right back at that time in my life. so sweet.

Almost flying was a wonderful book about finding yourself and the unlikely friendship of two girls, of vastly different ages, thrown together when their parents have a very significant relationship. It soars.

The sweetest, queerest first-crush story. In the beginning, I was outraged on Dalia's behalf, which then moved into exulting on the rollercoasters with her and celebrating/squealing the budding friendship between these two reluctant soon-to-be stepsisters. The elder queer support made me sob, in the best of ways.

Altogether an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, all the way around<3

Almost Flying is a terrific debut novel that explores identity against a backdrop that feels fresh and unusual. The characters are complex, and the voice drew me in from the first page.

(This review is based on an advanced reader's copy.)

"Dhruv's been pretty quiet for most of the ride. And when he hopped into the car, he kissed Alexa on the cheek, so maybe they're dating or something. But then, I don't really know how people in college interact. Maybe everyone kisses on the cheek. It could just be the standard greeting."

3.5 stars? I didn't feel as strongly about it as my favorite queer girl middle grades like Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World or Drum Roll, Please, but I think it's solid and well-written and sweet, and it occasionally made me cry a little. And I did the thing where I was planning to just read for a few minutes and then it turned into a few hours. This book reminded me a little of the movie Eighth Grade and the book To Night Owl from Dogfish (both of which I loved).

Some things I really liked:
-the main character has a very specific obscure interest (I actually learned a surprising amount about roller coasters from reading this)
-the romantic conflict isn't a misunderstanding but a genuine disagreement that they have to work through
-there's a really nuanced portrayal of friendship and how it can change over time
-a lot of the book is about learning to work through interpersonal conflict in a healthy way, but it doesn't feel didactic or Pollyannaish or glib.

I found it interesting that various characters explicitly use the words "gay" and "queer" for themselves, plus the word "nonbinary" for other people, but the words "lesbian" and "bisexual" don't appear in the book at all. Not that anyone is obligated to identify with those labels (or with any labels), of course, but especially since there is a major character who says she's had crushes on boys and girls, I wish the word "bisexual" had at least been mentioned, even if none of the characters identified that way.

Rep: sapphic/wlw main character who describes herself as white and Jewish and is implied to be at least somewhat masculine-presenting; sapphic/wlw Persian/Iranian-American love interest; Colombian-American girl who has had crushes on boys and girls and has a girlfriend; Indian-American gay male character.

Content notes: Divorce and parental estrangement (kind of de facto due to the parent not staying in touch post-divorce, not involving any big parent/child fight or other incident). Some class anxiety (main character's family is middle- or maybe lower-middle class, love interest's family is wealthy). Not much, it's a pretty wholesome book overall.

I love this book with all my heart. It was so full of butterflies, the pacing was beautiful, the voice nailed the age. I'll be handing this to many a middle schooler.

This story really tugs at your heartstrings. The world needs more LGBTQ+ middle grade fiction & you could not go wrong in reading this one.

Almost Flying is a perfect summer read. Road trips, roller coasters, a first crush! Need I say more?

I just want to reach through the pages and give Dalia a big hug and tell her everything is going to be okay! She’s got a lot going on! Enjoy the bumpy ride!

"Almost Flying" is a joyful, queer middle grade read with a rollercoaster ride of a plot that explores what happens when a friendship starts to feel like something more.

Trigger Warnings: mild homophobia.

Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow is a contemporary middle grade centered around theme parks and rollercoasters, making it an ideal summer read.

It’s summer for thirteen-year-old Dalia and that means spending her days at swim practice, her evenings watching rollercoaster POV videos online, and trying to work up the courage to ask her dad to finally take her to an amusement park so she can ride one of her beloved coasters for real. This summer is hard for Dalia because not only is she dealing with her parents’ fairly recent divorce and the total absence of her mother, but her best friend Abby has started hanging out with the popular girls at school and no longer wants to hang out with her. The one bright spot is the arrival of Rani, a new girl on her swim team who quickly becomes Dalia’s new BFF.

Then, her dad drops a bombshell: not only does he now have a girlfriend, but he’s also been seeing her for six months and they‘ve recently got engaged. Suddenly, Dalia faces meeting a whole new family she never wanted, including college-age Alexa – Dalia’s soon-to-be stepsister. Their parents want them to spend time together but Alexa has a week-long road trip planned to visit theme parks with friends from college, however, after a flash of inspiration, Dalia finds herself along for the trip. She’s finally getting to visit many of the parks she’s only seen in videos (and she’s getting to bring Rani along too) but she’s also stuck with Alexa who is irritated at having to “babysit” her new baby sister for a week.

As the trip progresses, Dalia finds her connection to Rani growing in new and confusing ways that she doesn’t quite understand. Will Alexa and her friends be there to offer her the advice and support she needs, or are they destined to hate one another forever?

Almost Flying is a fun story that combined many of my favorite elements including road trips, first love, and theme parks, so it was almost inevitably going to be a winner for me right from the first page. Dalia is a great main character and while the others are somewhat two-dimensional (for instance Rani is rich, athletic, and loves makeup – we learn little more about her except that she has moved from Minnesota) this doesn’t detract from the story. The parks and rides have been well researched, and reading about the trip made me want to recreate it myself, although I might skip the morning funnel cakes!

The LGBTQ elements in Almost Flying were strong with not only Dalia herself who is starting to question her sexuality, but lots of representation from the supporting cast as well. There is some mild homophobia that is hinted at but never explored in a deep way, and one incident that might be upsetting to anyone who was bullied in middle school however, for the most part, everyone around Dalia is supportive, making this a great first book for those beginning to ask similar to questions to those Dalia finds herself exploring.

There were a few events that happened for the sake of the plot that would almost certainly never happen in real life and that did have me raising my eyebrows somewhat. Not least amongst these were the parents of two young teen girls allowing them to take a week-long road trip with some college students they barely even know, and at one point everyone being OK with the two thirteen-year-old girls sharing a room with a male college student. Of course, this is middle-grade fiction so everyone is lovely and nothing untoward happens, but I did find myself questioning the wisdom of this book normalizing such behavior.

This was a hugely fun, summery read that made me itch to be back walking around a theme park in the sun with a sugary treat and a bunch of friends.

GeekMom received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Almost Flying is a story to encourage living and experiencing instead of just sitting on the sidelines. Delia, a middle schooler who lives with her dad, is on a swim team and loves watching roller coaster POV videos. She has had a falling out with her best friend Abby and starts the story alone. That is until she meets a new friend, Rani at swim practice. While navigating this new friendship and new feelings, Delia also gets the shocking news that her father has not only been dating someone seriously for the past six months, but that they are engaged! Not only that, the woman he is engaged to has a college aged daughter. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions to process! Between the real life rollercoasters and the emotional roller coasters, this book has plenty to keep you reading! The characters are strong and supportive, and their stories are well crafted.

Main character Dalia can't stop thinking about two things: roller coasters, and her new friend Rani. So when she gets the chance to go on a road trip to amusement parks with her future stepsister and Rani -- and also escape the awkwardness of being around her dad and his new surprise fiancée -- Dalia leaps at the chance. What follows is a sweet story of Dalia sorting through her confusing feelings about Rani, told in a strong middle grade voice, with a whole lot of roller coasters along the way.

Almost Flying centers around one of my favorite themes--the family you choose. It’s a really sweet story, and a great exploration about the difficulties of entering adolescence, and trying to navigate whether you like someone as a friend, or something more. Dalia's internal struggles are really well written, and will remind many people of what it was like to have their first crush. Alexa’s character arc was also nice. I did find it a little long for a middle grade read, but the story and characters are engaging enough that I think it will still appeal to many middle grade readers.

This was a phenomenal middle grade novel, especially as a debut. Full of heart, humor, and the authentic intensity that comes with being thirteen, Jake Maia Arlow crafted a lovely story about Dalia's journey with family, sexuality, her first crush, and emotional validation. Dalia's internal narration feels perfectly voiced, always balancing her naivety in concepts like love and relationships while building toward her firmer understandings of her romantic feelings for Rani and the older queer relationships surrounding them. I especially loved how Dalia and her new, future step-sister Alexa's relationship grows as they spend more time together, showing the genuine ups and downs of sibling dynamics even long before they accept their roles as sisters. This book also deeply validates feelings of anger or frustration preteens and younger children can feel toward their parents and the guilt tagged onto it. Dalia is encouraged to express her frustration with her father's choices instead of repressing them, even though it comes at the potential cost of their close bond. I obviously loved the queer aspects of the book and how Dalia's journey recognizing her own queerness unfolds, but it was the added elements with Alexa and Dalia's father that rounded out this book so perfectly. I cannot wait to see children get their hands on it because there's not a doubt in my mind that it will transform many of their lives. Absolutely looking forward to reading more of this author's work in the future.