Not what I expected. The writing felt elementary, and the narrator felt too soft spoken in the audiobook. Made it about 20% through.

When I saw the blurb for The Discovery of Flight I was instantly intrigued. Not many books, especially aimed at YA/Teen, spotlight life as, or with, a person with a disability. As someone whose sister is non verbal autistic (as well as she is missing a leg/has a prosthetic) I was SO excited to dig into this tale told by two sisters.

The story starts with 12 year old Sophia, the younger typically abled sister, writing in her journal as an assignment for class. Her entries are very much so the typical 12 year old, full of malcontent and sassiness. I found some of the language used a bit off putting (referring to her sister as “a stick figured strapped into a wheelchair”), when she also often advocates for people not treating people with disabilities differently. But she is 12, and lets be real, one cannot always be perfectly politically correct. I especially loved the parts where Sophia was questioning religion and found that to be very insightful. I also related so much to parts where she talked about being invisible in comparison to all her sisters' ailments, and how hard that can be even though she loves her sister more than anything.

The alternating parts in this book are in the perspective of 16 yr old Libby who was born with cerebral palsy. Her parts however don't ever speak from personal experience so we do not get to know her at all, which is slightly disappointing, but only momentarily until her story unfolds. She uses a computer controlled by her eye movements (the only part of her body she can control) to write Sophia a novel for her 13th birthday. Let me tell you what, the novel inside this novel is a true gem and I wish the author Susan Haracka would make a full length book from it later on. The story Libby writes unfolds in a beautiful way that almost mirrors Libby and Sophia's relationship in a very A-typical way.

This is a beautifully told story of sisterhood in a messy real life situation, with an ending that will leave you speechless.

Sophia's narrator did an excellent job portraying a young adolescent which I really appreciated, and Libby’s narrator has a silky smooth voice that was perfect for her part as well.

Thank you to NetGalley, Susan Haracka and Inanna Publications for an ARC in return for my honest review.