If it's fall in Texas, it's football season! With football season comes marching band and Anna James works hard to fit in. Weston Ryan is also in the band, but he seems to be her opposite: he knows he's different and he doesn't try to fit in. When they are assigned a duet together in the production number for the competition, they are thrown together to practice and they fall hard. But, Anna's strict parents don't want her spending time with Weston.

A novel of first love and coming-of-age, this one is a hard one for me to rate. I enjoyed it every time I picked it up, but I found myself going days without picking it up and finishing a couple other books while reading this one. I appreciated the different POVs - both Anna's voice and Weston's voice felt authentic. The ending was abrupt, but still hopeful and uplifting.

If you enjoy YA lit, realistic fiction, or emotional stories, give this one a try! 3.5 stars.

Disclaimer: I recieved a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

DNF Review (I have to review every book or it won't count to my NetGalley percentage)

I loved the author's first book, Amelia Unabridged, but the romance in this was far heavier than I imagined and it just wasn't working for me. Thank you though!

Thank you for my early review copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I believe this book will be a huge bestseller.

I really enjoyed this book though I felt like the first third was a bit slow. The writing is so lyrical and I really enjoyed the characters. The ending ripped my heart out - and wasn't completely necessary - but it was gripping and emotionally heart wrenching. The only change I would make is to reduce all the band background, it was more detailed than I needed for the story.

This story starts as an ode to high school marching band. If you were in the band or wanted to be, you'll become immersed in rich musical details and feel a part of the the competition, the friendships, and the music. As the story progresses you'll get lots of emotional first love angst and better bring your tissues. You'll need them! 3.5 stars

Talk about sending me for a whirlwind of emotions. The characters were flawed and so different from each other. It came together so well. The idea that band brought them together and then they fought to stay together. I can totally understand how family can be a huge factor when having a partner and if they don't give that person a chance, it leads to other things that aren't particularly healthy in that family relationship, like lying. I loved that struggle being explored in this book. I also really enjoyed the plot and the spacing. It did seem repetitive at times, but Schumacher made sure to add new elements that built off of one another. It was refreshing.

4/5 stars! Totally recommend for a band nerd at heart and the romantic that roots for all the relationships!

**Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy, I am leaving this feedback voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press/ Wednesday Books for allowing me to read and review this book!

FULL FLIGHT is about Anna James, a saxophone playing teen on the school marching band. When she is assigned to Weston Ryan, a fellow band mate, she is intimidated and curious about the boy who is rumored to being trouble and very strange. Wrongly accused of destroying a memorial, Weston is given a bad reputation and is shunned by most classmates for acting weird and staying to himself. Anna and James work together on a musical duet to help win during contest season. Anna learns more about Weston and realizes the town is wrong about him and understands the loneliness he is feeling.

If you loved The Fault in Our Stars or A Walk to Remember, you will love this book.

I seriously have no idea what I'm going to read next because of this book. My heart hurts and I'm now in a book slump from those last few chapters. Like crap,... how am I supposed to move on from that, Ashley Schumacher?!

I love every moment and chapter of this book. I felt the story was written in such a realistic way that I could relate to both Weston and Anna. I fell in love with them both and their personalities. The story is super well-written and I am definitely going to get Amelia Unabridged very soon. Like probably after I post this review.

Thank you Schmacher for such a beautiful, bittersweet, and emotional book.

5 stars

Calling all band geeks! If you've ever been in marching band, you'll love (LOVE) this book. I participated in marching band in high school and this book was one of the most nostalgic things I've ever read. It put me straight back into high school (in a good way) and back into band, which is a place, a family, that made some of the best memories of my entire life. Band has a very special spot in my heart and reading this book felt like coming home.

This author did her research. I hadn't heard some of the technical terms used in marching band in years, but when they were used in this writing they popped right back into my head as if they'd never left. From dot books to marking time to shakos and entire-band-sing-alongs-on-the-bus, I was transported. Not only were the technical terms on point, but the general life of a teenager with their first love was exacting. I really felt like a high schooler again (in the best and worst ways). Also, I'm pretty sure Schumacher must have been interviewing people who know my past band director, because the one in this story sounded just like mine and it was great!!! "If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late!" I can't express enough how lifelike this entire book is.

Yes, there is the love story and it has some really great moments, but that wasn't the only point in the book. It is also a heartbreaking story and I sat here sobbing on my lunch break for a good 20 minutes today as I finished the last few chapters. Schumacher really knows how to make a person cry, but I love feeling all ranges of emotions when I dive into a book. I'll read anything she writes at this point. The little way she sneaks an animal into her stories is also interesting and even though I didn't quite associate deeply with the bird reference for most of the story, it slapped me in the face at the end.

Please read this book. If you have any nostalgia about being in band during your life, you enjoy young adult novels, or stories about first love and loss, I think you'll like this one. I look forward to buying the book when it comes out next February.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for allowing me the honor of reading an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sure this book will be a hit with a certain type of reader; that type just isn't me. I'll also add that I've never read anything by this author, so I only have this book to form my opinion.

The three things that turned me off are: the insane amount of melodramatics, the lack of character development in Weston, and the insta-love. I'll admit, this reminded me of high school in a lot of ways, but not good ways. That "overwhelming, can't-breathe-if-I-don't-see-you-in-five-minutes" love you experience in your teenage years was very accurately portrayed - too accurately for my almost 30-year-old taste. Which is part of the problem - I'm not the intended audience here. But, my issue with character development goes beyond the melodrama. I never felt like I understood Weston fully. I wanted a lot more of his backstory than just "my parents divorced and I didn't handle it well and people decided I killed a tree." That all felt so trite to me.

The positive side of this book, and what kept me reading until the end, was the accuracy of the depiction of marching band life. I miss that life so much, so I really appreciated the attention to detail in the narration of what marching band life is really like. Just like the overdramatic love story took me back to high school, the scenes describing rehearsals and band director attitudes and bus rides, all that took me right back to high school and just had such a strong sense of nostalgia for me.

I really liked this book. I wasn’t in band, but it felt like the perfect description of high school band life. It was also such an accurate portrayal of that first teenage love.

A poignant and beautiful story of first love and heartbreak, Full Flight is an ode to everyone who spent high school feeling lonely and searching for someone who would understand them. Anna and Weston grab your heart and this book and don't let it go, making it easy to become emotionally invested in these characters and the relationship that blooms between them. This book feels so deeply alive, full of music and love, but also the suffocating feeling of small towns, and every feeling in between. I really enjoyed it and it definitely had me crying by the end. I highly recommend.

I might be broken now, this book chipped away a bit of my heart. I expected this might happen after reading the author's previous book, but I was not prepared. The amount of emotion in this is amazing and cuts right into your heart. The story takes you on a rollercoaster and I'm glad to have been along for the ride.

Our main characters feel adrift, separate from those around them and struggling with loneliness. When Weston and Anna come together to work on a duet for marching band, they recognize something in each other. Anna is able to open up about feeling alone and having to pretend everything is fine and Weston talks about his parent's divorce and how he's not sure about his future.

I loved the deep moments the couple had and the way they helped each other with their goals. Anna and Weston are stronger together, they're meant to be. There is tragedy in this story and I definitely cried, wishing for a different outcome but still glad I had a chance to read this. I can't wait for to see what else Schumacher comes out with!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy.

I'm really not sure how to feel about this one. Because I loved the ending, I really did. But for some reason, the first 2/3 of this really lacked an emotional connection. Stuff happened, but without any impact.

I think the main cause of this may have been the lack of connection between our two characters. I liked Weston and Anna separately, but I never felt the chemistry between them. They felt like two people who orbited the same area, not two people who were drawn to each other.

I also didn't love the twist at the end. For most of the book I had known it was coming, so it lost almost all impact. Sure, I found parts of it sad, but in entirety, it was a disappointment.

After loving Amelia Unabridged, I really expected better from this one. I'll still be on the lookout for Schumacher's writing, as I love the way she weaves emotion into her books, but my expectations won't be as high

Thanks to Netgalley and Ashley Schumacher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Full Flight follows teens Anna and Weston through a journey of first-love. When Anna is paired with outcast Weston in a marching band duet, they beginning practicing with one another. In these practices, the two grow close and begin a romantic relationship. They fall quickly for one another, and struggle to keep their relationship secret from Anna's overprotective parents. (Side note: beware that the description of this book contains an important spoiler that I believe should be excluded. If you do not want to read the full summary of the book in a description, I recommend sticking with my description or other reviewers).

Though I have been moving away from YA romance lately, something drew me to this book. Sadly, it was not a perfect read for me, but there was a lot that I liked about it. Ashley Schumacher's writing is gorgeous. If you are a fan of whimsical writing, I highly recommend you pick up this book because it is done so well. I also thought the romance between Anna and Weston was adorable. It felt a little too serious for a high school relationship at times, but that did not stop me from rooting for them.

To express some of my dislikes for this novel I will need to dive into some spoilers. If you have not picked up this title yet, and are planning to, I do not recommend that you read any further in this review.

Firstly, I did not believe in the fact that there was something separating these characters from being together. I understood the Weston had kind of a bad rep, but it was forgotten after a single conversation with Anna's parents. I got tired of the sneaking around very quickly.

What bothers me most about this book is that it made a somewhat lazy choice. Weston dies suddenly in a car crash towards the end of the book. I do not always call killing off a character lazy, but Weston's story is never fully explored. One chapter he was alive, then suddenly in the next he wasn't. If this book was longer I think it could have gotten away with it, but I really felt nothing after his sudden death. It seemed to me that the author did not know where to take the story after Weston and Anna were finally content in their relationship, which resulted in this choice. While I did really like other aspects of the book, this ruined it for me.

A stunningly soulful novel that takes the reader inside the poetic minds of two lonely band nerds.

Weston feels like his parents' divorce burned down everything good in his life, tainting his childhood memories and condemning him to the outskirts of life in his gossipy, holier-than-thou small town. He identifies with a bird he did a report on that was the last of his kind, singing his part of a duet and waiting for a mate to fill the blank spaces.

Anna has a great friends group and a loving family, but still struggles with what she calls the shadows when she feels like she may not measure up to everyone's expectations. When she's struggling with a duet in band, she convinces Weston, against all his instincts, to help her with it. The two find themselves drawn to each other, filling in the missing spaces in the duet of each other's lives.

I adore this author's work so much! This book captures your heart with lyrical writing, then takes you on an emotional roller coaster. I wasn't expecting to end this book crying, but I did. Prepare to have your heart shredded and put back together by the end of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance review copy of this book.

I read Ashely’s other book Amelia unabridged and actually cried, so I knew that this one would make me cry too and I was RIGHT. I don’t know why I do it to myself but maybe is a guilty pleasure. This book was so emotional and heart wrenching. The development between Anna and Weston was amazing and I loved the way they cared for each other. Thank you Wednesday books.

Schumacher’s sophomore release was a strong one. From the very first scene, I was entranced in the pull between the two main characters, Weston and Anna.

I really enjoyed the buildup, the feelings, and culmination of the heroes’ relationship. While the side characters fell somewhat flat and faded into the background until a big event in the story, this even worked due to the vibrancy of Anna and Weston’s relationship. They are obviously the beating heart of the story, from top to bottom.

Anna’s flashback chapter openings also appeared extraneous and unnecessary for the majority of the book, but eventually they clicked. The same can be said with the the ongoing extinction analogy

While my attention waned a bit after the “event,” Schumacher tied things up in this new directed world.

Schumacher has a way of orchestrating words like the loveliest of lyrics to your new favorite song. I could see myself in the characters in the spectacular imagery she shares in each page.

I will be eager to read anything from her in years to come.

First of all, i want to thank Netgalley and de publisher for the privilege of getting an arc!
Full Flight is my first book from Ashley Schumacher and god it was good. Anna is the kind of girl who everyone wants as a friend. She is so sweet that seeing her sad makes you sad too. Wes is the kind of boy who everyone think’s angry but he is such a big softie. Their romance is beautiful and heartwarming and at the same time heartbreaking. There’s a quote from a book i really love who says : Love and loss, are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be.
And that’s the true about their story. They had everything to avoid each other but they didn’t do it. And that’s what makes their journey so beautiful.
•3,5 stars

“Full Flight” is the first book I read by the author, and I am in tears. Be sure to have a box of tissues ready because this book will take you on an emotional rollercoaster.

Anna and Weston are breathtaking as individuals and also terrific in their scenes together. They are the stars of the book and make it so wonderful to read. You can see how reserved, and self-critical Anna can be when she scolds herself for getting bad grades. Yet, when she is with Weston, she decides to go with the flow, irrespective of what others like Lauren, etc., might think. Similarly, Weston is excellent as the contrasting cool guy, and how Anna sees him past all that and gets to know him. The two share many memorable moments, like when they go for the season’s first performance or compare the kiss to a duet. On a side note, I didn’t even know what a mellophone was until I read this story.

Moreover, there are also some beautiful passages that the author inserts into the conversations. You see Anna asking questions like ‘what does a kiss taste like’ or ‘how the tide works when it decides to move in different directions.’ The author makes you ponder over life and warms your heart about the beauty in the world just by reading some of the conversations. The story will have you in tears, especially towards the end, and it is one of those books you love immediately.

Overall, “Full Flight” is an unforgettable young adult contemporary romance, and I feel it is a perfect example of what a tear-jerker should be for the genre. I loved reading this one.

what a joy of a book! I'm very picky with the YA I read but I really loved this one! Such an emotional wreck of a book and I adored every minute of it. Can't wait to read other books from Ashley!