Amelia Unabridged was one of my favorite books of 2021, so when I had the opportunity to read the new Ashley Schumacher book as an ARC, I jumped at the chance. That said, this one took me a lot longer to get into than I expected it to, given how I felt about Schumacher’s previous book. I even put it down for a long time about 100 pages in, wondering if I would ever feel attached to this story. I picked it back up again largely because I was reading to review, and I’m glad I did.

Not a lot happens plot-wise for the majority of this book. It’s very much a character study of two teenagers, Anna and Weston, and how their feelings about themselves and each other change due to their friendship and eventual relationship. The slow pace was why I had difficulty sticking with this one for the first part of the book. In a way, it reminded me of how I felt about We Are Okay by Nina LaCour - the pace was too slow for my preference, but I understood what the author was going for and could see how it would really work for a reader who enjoys slow character-based stories.

For the last 100 pages or so, and especially the last 50, I couldn’t put this down. I finally felt that the book was grasping me, the same way I had during Amelia Unabridged. Ashley Schumacher has a way of absolutely devastating you and giving you hope all at once.

I really hate that a major event in the book is given away in the description - an event that happens in the last 50 pages. In my excitement to read this book, I actually hadn’t read the description carefully, so it was more of a surprise to me (although I’d started to suspect soon before it happened). If I’d read the description first, I would have felt that the whole climax of the story was completely spoiled for me.

Overall, I don’t think this book is for everyone - it requires a patient reader willing to be taken on an emotional journey that they may not anticipate from the beginning. For those who it works for, though, it will resonate strongly and leave them thinking long after it’s over.

I literally knew what was coming and I STILL cried. If that doesn't tell you all you need to know about my feelings on this book, I don't know what will. But here's a little more anyway:

I'm a band kid at heart so I absolutely adored all the band references. It made me feel like I was part of their marching season and I was obsessed with it. (and as a band kid, i am perfectly qualified to ask that out of every instrument, why the heck did weston play MELLOPHONE? that's literally the worst one. every band kid i had a crush on was either a trombone player or a drummer. and one time a sax player. BUT NEVER A MELLOPHONE! just saying~)

The relationship between Anna and Weston was to die for, and I loved all of their friends too. Shoutout Ratio.

GREAT BOOK! I enjoyed. Just wish it had a happier ending :')

Will you cry? YES. Do you know it's coming? Yes. Does it make a difference? Not at all.

After falling hard for Ashley's writing style with the masterpiece that is AMELIA UNABRIDGED, and knowing she had a forever fan in me, my teen AND my book club crew, I obviously HAD to read Full Flight as soon as possible. I'm not sure how I was still surprised by Schumacher's ability to grasp the emotions and nostalgia that live in my heart, making me remember walking those school halls, first loves and how life could revolve around Friday night football games. All the cliche high school moments come together in this beautiful story that will steal your heart and remind you why you love to read.

Written in a way that made me want to devour the pages and simultaneously savoring the pages, I fell in love with Weston and Anna and the Enfield Marching Band. Even if Ashley broke my heart, leaving me bawling to her in her DMs in the middle of the night (the AUDACITY of her making us all cry AGAIN) I cannot shout from the rooftops enough that her sophomore novel is just as good as the first. If you're a young adult reader and have yet to read one of her books, pick them up, IMMEDIATELY.

A sweet and heartbreaking point about first love and grief. And now to live beyond that. It is set in high school and with members of the band, told in alternating perspectives of Anna and Weston, we grow to care about them and in her learning to live beyond her love

“The thing about being a band kid is that either by intense study or osmosis, you pick up a lot about music. It never sounds the same after you play it for yourself. Songs you’ve heard your entire life suddenly burst into full color—the intricacies of bass lines, of countermelodies, the way two totally different set of notes can come together to make something brand new.”

I adored Ashely Schumacher’s first book and when I saw she was writing another one…I knew I had to read it. While Amelia Unabridged was a love story for the bookworms, Full Flight is a love story for the band kids. The story follows Anna James and Weston Ryan whose lives are thrown together when Anna barges into Weston’s practice room begging for help with their duet. Weston reluctantly says yes and what starts as an acquaintance-ship turns into something more.

This story was super sweet. Anna and Weston’s relationship was so open and honest and I loved how they brought out the best in each other. I also liked how Weston’s friends accepted him for who he was. This is very much a band kids book and though I was in band for a very brief time my life…it was not marching band so most of that storyline made no sense to me. However that did not distract from the book at all. This wouldn’t be an Ashely Schumacher book if she didn’t make you cry and I 100% cried reading this book (and I never cry reading) so warning that his book will break your heart.

I so enjoyed this book (heartbreak and all) and I can’t wait to read what the author writes next!

Thank you so much to the publisher & NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book!

*I received a advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

This is a beautiful told, beautiful intimate YA with a central romance trope I adore (misunderstood boy/sunshine girl). I love the dual POV and how it lends such a sense of dramatic irony to the story, with readers knowing what Weston and Anna think of each other well before they do, while also compounding the agonizing sense of loss towards the novel’s conclusion. Sweet, soft, and written to break your heart, this is the first book by Ashley Schumacher I’ve read and I look forward to reading more.

Schumacher wrote another one that pulls the heart strings. She smeared my emotions all over the pages. The story pulled me back to being an angsty teen and falling “in love” for the first time. I should have known better than to finish reading it in public because I had the weird wide-eyed, I’m not crying your crying, look on my face.

The only reason I didn’t give it 5-stars was it got a little wordy, repetitive, and a bit slow in the middle which kind of made my eyes glaze over. Otherwise, Schumacher has written her way to my must-read author list.

I really wanted to love this one, as I did really enjoy Amelia Unabridged, but this was not the book for me. While FF is angsty in a similar way to AU, the stakes are so much lower with less interesting characters (almost caricatures of YA stereotypes).

I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, which it never did. The male character is a pariah because his parents are divorced (?!?!) and his classmates whisper about him because he wears a leather jacket. The female character is unique because she doesn't feel like she fits it (even though there is no reason for this) and her family grossly overreacts to everything in a very unrealistic way.

It felt like Eleanor and Park in modern times and without any of the things that actually make those characters' lives difficult. So... just the angst levels of E&P and that's literally it.

Some may enjoy this, and to be fair I am not a teenager anymore, but I just feel like there are so many more interesting stories for young adults out there. Basically, if you like marching band you'll like this. Wouldn't recommend to anyone else.

This book was so much fun and exactly the cute romance I expected from Schumacher after reading her debut last year. Weston made me swoon and Anna and Weston's relationship felt realistic and wholly-realized. The marching band element made it really unique and I hope YA publishers will continue to invest in books about kids involved in the arts. I could relate to how Anna felt and contended with her overly-strict parents and think lots of teenaged readers will feel seen as well. Each romantic and friendship moment felt earned and satisfying. Thank you for allowing me to read this book early.

This is more of an YA book so I enjoyed it but it’s not the kind of book I really love! The plot is good and centered around music which I love! The characters are enjoyable but I sometimes got bored from them. I think if you enjoy YA this would be a decent book to read!!!

This book made me ball my eyes out. I knew it was going to break but I could have never expected that. It was quite slow in some parts but overall I loved it

I ended up DNFing this book. I couldn’t connect to the characters and I was getting very annoyed with how whiny and self centered they were. I did like the plot and thought this would be a great book just by reading the synopsis, but it just wasn’t for me. I will be recommending this to YA fans though!

This is a book for band kids in high school. Ashley Schumacher really captures what its like to be in high school, where every little thing is the biggest thing to ever happen to you. Her writing is lyrical without being over the top. The characters are lovable, if a bit underdeveloped.

The quote, "I let myself feel disappointed, even though it's ridiculous to miss her when she's right in front of me," hit me like a punch to the gut.

I think Ashley is such a promising new YA author, and I am excited to see what else she has in store.

Arc provided by NetGalley.

After loving Amelia Unabridged, I was excited to read Ashley Schumacher new novel.
At first it was hard for me to be completely into the story, I though it was a bit slow....I enjoyed the last half of the book way more!
The plot is nice, I love the two pov narrative and the music centered story. I feel like it's really a YA story and should be read by young adult readers but adult readers can find enjoyable and closure to some characters/scenes.
I wish I had this book a few years back, I kinda related to Anna a lot. She's one of these characters I want to hug and be her friend so much.

Ashley Schumacher has such a beautiful written style, it's poetic, deeply moving and enchanting.
While reading, I wasn't expecting the ending it was really surprising and touching.

Ashley Shumacher is an amazing writer, with some well-done characters. I personally could not get into this novel because of how young it reads. That may be my bad, YA is a hit or miss with the age range it reaches.

Marching band book!! I did color guard for eight years, so this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

I don't want to talk about how I read this book in public and cried profusely in a Starbucks, but that's exactly what happened. I adored Ashley's debut and this book hit me in all the right places - beautiful, poignant, and sweet! Anna's such a fun narrator and her voice really brought me back to high school and nonstop rehearsal. I also loved how earnest she was - unapologetically willing to give Weston a chance despite his reputation. I love complicated bad boys, but I also love characters who remain kind and open in a tough world.

I received an ARC of Full flight by Ashley Schumacher, and I was instantly swept up in the story. It’s ultimately a love story about an unlikely pair of high school students, Weston and Anna, who build a deep connection while practicing a duet for their ultra competitive marching band. Their relationship is intoxicating, even though their friends and family don’t approve. Its that special young love that consumes them and feels bigger than anything else. It’s a beautiful love story, but this book will break your heart. I was happy that my kindle is waterproof because it was drenched in tears.

What I loved most about this one was that it centered two kids in the band. So often, stories like this are across cliques, and sometimes we just want a stand-alone band kid love story. I will say that this one had so, so, SO many feels. I didn't see that part coming, and whoa. This was just a good ol' high story story, and I loved that it was focused wholly on kids in the band. More stories like this, please - Orchestra kids are a great subject, too!

There’s not much more I can say about FULL FLIGHT by Ashley Schumacher outside of “it will absolutely break you” *sobs uncontrollably*

Much like AMELIA UNABRIDGED, this book is packed with thoughts on life and love, and embracing the things that make each of us unique. I found myself beaming, full-on ugly crying, and relating so much to the pressures of high school.

Not only are the characters in this book so incredibly lovable, but Ashley writes in such a poignant way, that I just *swoon*

I will forever pick up whatever she writes, and this one is no exception.

Huge huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review - I’ll definitely be picking up a physical copy on release day!

Publication Date: February 22, 2022

This book wrecked me. Beyond 5 stars. It was absolutely heartbreaking yet full of love and joy and just...everything. I really enjoyed the marching band aspect as that was something my school didn't have and I knew zero about, and it was a perfect setting for this story. The way music was used as a theme was really well done. Even though I knew it was coming, when Weston died I literally cried, which never happens to me. I absolutely loved this story and will be recommending it to everyone.