Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ugh, how do I give an honest review without spoiling any of this beautiful plot? Full Flight won me over the second I read that it was about band kids in Texas. Although I was never a band kid in high school- I was a theatre kid and the theatre kid/band kid adjacence is real- I knew I would enjoy a love story about two performing arts kids. But what I wasn’t prepared for was Ashley Schumacher‘s gut-wrenching emotion and sincerity with these characters. Full Flight reads like watching your two best friends fall in love with each other, but neither one of them wants to admit it, so you become the omniscient observer to what will be a beautiful love story. Weston and Anna’s love was so pure and earnest the way all first love is, but with a consideration that lets the reader know it was more than just first love. It was two people who truly understood each other. A few criticisms for the book were that Anna and Weston’s relationship moved incredibly quickly. Whether this was intentional or not, I thought the story could have benefitted from more scenes of their relationship developing. Another, the ending felt too rushed. Without giving anything away, I wish we could have seen more of Anna processing what happened and learning how to heal. Criticism aside, this was a wonderful book. I’d recommend it to people who enjoy YA romance and tragic love stories.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Full Flight in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this so much. I loved Amelia, Unabridged and Ashley Schumacher's writing is still gorgeous here. Plotwise, this should have been the more emotional, impactful of the two. But something about our protagonists always felt more like artful depictions of teenagers as a concept instead of actual depictions of teens. Sometimes that can really work but in this case, for me at least, it made the characters consistently feel fake and impossible to get personally invested in so while a lot happens here that should have been massively impactful, I found myself feeling too distanced to care.

Thank you to St Martin's Press for providing me with an arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

This was a lovely story. Full Flight is a story about your first love, and I enjoyed reading it. As a once upon a time concert and jazz band kid (performing arts school vibes), I liked how music was incorporated into the story. I could definitely relate to that aspect of life and although I never did marching band myself I know how tight-knit those communities are.

Sometimes I felt as though the romance between Weston and Anna moved a little bit too quickly. But, I think that's because they are teenagers and so I can't really discredit or criticize that area of the book since that was probably the intention. I cannot say I expected the book to end the way it did (I was definitely caught off-guard), and I was heartbroken while reading it. The writing was lovely and beautiful, and I would definitely recommend if you like YA romance novels (and wish to cry).

This book was so unbelievably beautiful. If you cry for books, you will be 100% sobbing while reading this. The characters were written so well, I almost felt their emotions with them. Most books can’t be a perfect mix of happy and sad, but this was.

Ashley Schumacher won me over years ago with her Amelia Unabridged and with this new book, she continues to amaze me. With her fleshed out characters, stand out story lines and heartfelt writing, she is an author I count on to give me a good story.

This is a book that will wreck you to the core. I don't want to give any of the plot or romance away, because it is so beautiful that if should be experienced first hand, but just know that once you start, you won't be able to stop.

If you love YA, emotional romance stories and deep characters then definitely pick this one up!

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books and Netgalley for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC.
This book is so beautifully heartbreaking. I instantly fell in love with it and could not put it down. The way the author tells the stories of the two main characters and how they come together is stunning. I truly felt a deep connection to them and their experiences. It’s left a huge impact on me.

Anna James is a saxophonist in her high school marching band. She lives in a small Texan town where everyone knows everyone and gossip spreads like wildfire. At the beginning of Junior year Anna is partnered for a duet with Senior Weston Ryan, a boy who everyone thinks is trouble. The two bond over their love for music and discover that there might be someone else who feels as alone as they do. Anna’s overprotective parents warn her not to see Weston, but she begins to lie and sees him in secret. The two are separated when Anna's parents find out about her betrayal and then the unthinkable happens.

This book is a tear jerker! I bawled my eyes out the last quarter of the book. The entire book was bittersweet and the prose is beautiful. The characters were well developed and the first love between Anna and Weston was so pure. I could understand the anger Anna felt when her parents forbid her to see Weston, when they wouldn’t even give him a chance. There is a lot of band talk in the book and having never been in the band I was a little bored by that, but I can understand its importance in the story. It really is beautifully written and I think young adult readers would really enjoy it. It’s kind of reminiscent of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It has that type of feel to it. The religion talk didn’t bother me. It set the stage for the type of community these kids are growing up in. It didn’t have a “ hit you over the head'' religious vibe, but definitely helps the reader to understand the judgmental attitude of the community. **Trigger warning - Both of the main characters have suicidal thoughts, not in so many words, but it can be felt in the beautiful composition. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Ashley Schumacher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't put this book down. What a sweet read about two young people finding each other by necessity, experiencing first love, and then heartbreak. Brought together by their musical talent, Anna and Weston find a way to work together to create a duet for the marching band, endure homework struggles, work through life's problems, find ways around overbearing parents and fall in love. Don't they say it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved before? This book will explain to you why that is so. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read an advanced copy of this book.

Full Flight is a well written and entertaining novel by Ashley Schumacher. It especially appealed to me because it brought me back to my days of high school marching band, although my experiences were not as intense as described in the book. I like novels when teenagers are passionate about things instead of being cynical, so I really enjoyed this book.

The story is told from alternating points of view - Anna, the semi-popular saxophone player, seems to have it all - an intact family, friends, and a bright future ahead of her. She is drawn to Weston, a talented mellophone player who recently came back to their high school after an absence due to his parents' divorce. Weston has a reputation of being weird and maybe a troublemaker, but Anna sees through that to the emotional and caring person underneath.

Full Flight is well written - I don't want to say anymore for fear of spoilers, but I enjoyed this book and hope people read it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this truly remarkable ARC!!

Ashely Schumacher does a fantastic job of weaving together two teenagers narratives of parental expectations and high school pressures. Both characters are compelling and draw you into their story. They share their fears and heartbreaks in a way that makes the reader related and feel everything right along with them. I was a band kid in high school so it was also fun to read about band which I'm now realizing is an under represented community in literature! I highly recommend this book!

oh my god. oh my god. this hurt. it was so beautiful. instant 5 stars. Anna and Weston live forever in my heart. such a beautiful love story. heartbreaking. i didn't want it to end.

Let me start off by thanking Netgalley for letting me review this story early in exchange for a honest review. This story is one of my new favorites for the year. I honestly did not expect to love it as much as I did. It literally wrecked me in the best/worst way possible and I don’t want to give spoilers so I won’t but I will say I did cry a lot. Anna and Weston’s relationship was beautifully written and I will never get over it. Also I liked the fact the book had a plot surrounding band. I honestly thought it would be written with weird music/band references but it wasn’t and I loved it. This is definitely a 5/5 and everyone should read it. :)

I was very excited to be approved by Netgalley to read Ashley Shumacher's new book Full Flight. I used to be a band kid and I love anything dorky or goofy and the synopsis of the book seemed right up my alley.

The book is told primarily in dual POV. The book follows Anna and Weston.. Shy, quirky Anna enlists Weston's help to nail the music for the school bands' duet, ignoring the rumors that surround Weston. Before they know it both Anna and Weston uncover that they are more alike then they are different. Weston is struggling with his families public divorce and being the new social outcast at school. He ultimately feels like a lost cause to the world. But while Weston grapples with his feelings toward the world and towards himself, Anna is falling hard for Weston and is willing to ruin her reputation to be with him. Before anything can happen though something tragic happens leaving Anna all alone.

Ashley Schumacher is an incredible writer and has a way of bringing you into the story so much that you can picture everything perfectly. There was a lot of confusion with Weston's character and why it was so weird that his parents were divorced. I mean most of the people I went to high school had parents that were divorced and weren't publicly shunned like Weston.

Based on the synopsis I knew something heartbreaking was going to happen and I was absolutely right. It was a beautifully heartbreaking story of two lost teenagers finding solace in one another and I couldn't stop the tears from falling while reading this book.

Be warned that this book is a tough one to read but is beautifully written.

I cried. I choked. I sobbed. I felt like my inner organs were tearing apart. Oh boy! This is so sad! So unfair! So intense!

Sweet sunshine, alone in the crowd, quirky heroine Anna whose safe place in her mind is living in magical, shiny, peaceful Christmas world, trying to find her own voice in the high school jungle.

Our broken hearted hero who is outcasted by school crowd for living to attend the rival school for one year, returning back and attracting the gossipers’ full attention with his family’s divorce, his lethal jacket, his unique and different vibes. His name is Weston Ryan and he thinks he’s a lost cause. He may ruin anything he connects, anyone he’s getting close.

When shy, sweet, quirky Anna wants his help for playing duet at school band, he gets distracted by her smiling face and he says yes but he does everything to take it back including asking one of his best friend Ratio to help her. But Ratio realizes Weston started smiling again at the first time when she was around her and he rejects to help.

So Anna and Weston stuck with each other and even though Weston tries to keep his distance and the inner circle of Anna thinks he’s weirdo and she shouldn’t spend much time with him including her own family: their friendship blossoms against all odds.

Anna tells her mom she’s not gonna date with Weston but she cannot control her feelings. And she doesn’t even want to control them. She falls hard and she decides to let her emotions take control in expanse of lying to her parents and going against her friends’ opinions!

But… yes the blurb gives it away so much including unnecessary extra spoilers! But you may sense something extremely heartbreaking is coming from the beginning of my review, don’t you?

Anyways, I wish they produce windshield wipers for humans so I can apply them to stop my nonstop dropping tears right now. I couldn’t read the last pages of the book because of crying too much! My vision is so blurry. I’m looking like a raccoon fought with badger and lost her battle.

I loved the second book of the author as like I adored the debut : “Amelia Unabridged “ ( quick confession: I loved her debut more because this book hurt me so much! I’m still screaming “why! Why! Why!”) I’m looking forward to read next Ashley Schumacher book! I already became a fan!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I absolutely adored Ashley Schumacher’s debut, Amelia Unabridged (you can read my review here!) so when I got approved for Full Flight on Netgalley, you can only imagine my excitement. Full Flight, in its core, is a love letter to band, and band kids. I’ve never been a band kid, but a lot of my friends were, and I spent a lot of time hanging around the band room during lunch, and after school, so reading about Anna and Weston’s band brought a huge smile to my face.

Primarily told in dual POV, Full Flight follows Anna and Weston, two teenagers who are paired together for a duet in band, and couldn’t be more different. With Anna desperate to prove herself with this duet, she enlists Weston to help her master the music, despite the rumors surrounding him. As the two of them spend more time together, they realize that they’re not so different after all. Until the unthinkable happens, and leaves Anna alone.

I found Full Flight to be an incredibly fast read. Ashley Schumacher’s writing has a way of drawing you in that just makes it easy to visualize. While I struggled to connect with both Anna, and Weston, I found myself really empathizing with Anna, especially near the end of the book. I think I just had a lot of confusion around Weston himself — I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal that Weston’s parents were divorced, or why (or how) he was socially shunned. He gave off Jughead from Riverdale energy, and not necessarily in the best way. I enjoyed Anna’s love for Christmas, and found her wholesome.

I will say that I loved Anna and Weston together, and loved reading about these two lonely souls finding one another. Their connection felt like a lifeline, and while I’m not a fan of insta love, I found their dynamic to be sweet. I think what got me most of all, was the events that unfolded after the unthinkable. Anna’s grief was palpable, and I truly felt for her.

I’m going to be completely honest — I made it about 5% through the ARC, before I stopped and said “I should probably reread the synopsis”. I think if I hadn’t stopped to reread the synopsis, I wouldn’t have spent the entire book stressing about when the unthinkable would happen. I think if the book was longer, or if the unthinkable happened earlier, the pacing wouldn’t have felt as off, especially since the synopsis made it seem like this was a book centered around grief.

Overall, I found Full Flight to be a heartbreaking read, but it took me a while to get invested. I wonder if it’s because of personal expectations, and think if I went in knowing it was a story about two lost teenagers finding one another, I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC!