Basically, as soon as I finished Flight 171, I wanted more. Author Amy Christine Parker's story of such real characters struggling with which line they are willing to cross to survive kept me riveted. The creep factor was HIGH, too! I'm not sure I will ever be able to hear a set of knitting needles again without glancing around nervously.

As a school librarian, I will be purchasing this title for my library, and I feel it is appropriate for grades 8 and up. (Depending on your students, this could work for 7th grade as well.) I definitely recommend this book.

Devon and her classmates have boarded a plan for a school trip away, but soon after take-off, an old lady with more than her fair share of creepy vibes, causes a scene that ends up with all the adults unconscious and the students left to make a terrible choice. As they try to decide who they’re going to choose, their very worst secrets are revealed one by one.

I read exclusively horror books when I was a teenager and I was obsessed with Christopher Pike. Flight 171 took me right back to those days in a brilliant way! Spooky, creepy and bringing in all the teen horror vibes, this one was a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed that the characters weren’t all the usual cookie cutter suspects we usually get in a YA thriller (the athlete, the popular pretty one, the nerdy one, the not-like-other-girls one etc), they were portrayed as just a bunch of pretty typical kids. There was plenty of supernatural happenings, so be prepared to suspend belief entirely, but that was all part of the entertainment for me.

Pick this one up for a Halloween read!

Honestly, I thought it was just ok. I was a little let down at the identity of Emily's killer. I honestly found it more intriguing that my original thought was that Devon did it and this was her reckoning. Like she had PTSD/drunkenly blocked it out and had to be told.

I wasn't really into the demon either, I felt like it was really just a background figure in the book and the book was more about pressures people feel and what they'll do when faced with a crisis.

Flight 171 definitely piqued my interest after reading the synopsis. And while there were some interesting parts in the end I just wasn't a fan. I found myself losing interest several times throughout.

Flight 171 is a 100% must read if you’re into campy horror movies such as Scream and Final Destination. The plot follows a group of high school teenagers who board a flight for a school trip. Once the plane takes off, however, they find themselves in a dark and horrific situation in which a dangerous supernatural being forces them to make the following choice: choose one of you to sacrifice, or you’ll all die. The clock is ticking and they have only have until the end of the flight to make their choice. As tempers flare and secrets are outed, there is no doubt that their relationships will be changed forever.

Based on how many horror movie cliches are thrown into this one novel, I can only assume that the author did this on purpose. We have an identical twin main character (who lost her twin before the book started), jocks who are hyper-masculine and bullies, over-achiever good girls, and even a character who spends the entire flight filming everything in peak mocumentary fashion. The entire time, it really did feel like I was watching one of those semi-trashy horror movies that are halloween classics. The type of film where all of your friends would come together every October and watch it either while absolutely wasted or while playing a drinking game.

If you’re into this type of story, definitely pick this one up! Leave your expectations about “good” writing at the door and just sit down and enjoy the ride. This adventure will provide you will chills, thrills, and many of laughs.

Rating: 4

I wanted to read this because growing up I really enjoyed the movie Final Destination and the synopsis of this one reminded me of that movie. I also never fly so I knew reading this would not make me too scared. I first want to say I would never board a plane with any of those kids! Oh my gosh, they all brought so much bad luck to that flight and I would have been miserable if I was forced to listen to what they were discussing.

I thought this was a good YA thriller and will do well with teens. It might take a chapter or two to really feel invested but stick with it because it was definitely worth it. Once you get hooked you will want to speed read to the end. At about 25% the pacing starts steadily increasing and does well until the end. I loved how the author handled all of the different aspects included in this book. Some might feel like it was too much but I thought it fit the story and the way it was written was well done. There was a nice mix of characters and some if not all are your typical teens. Overall, I would definitely recommend this one. It was a quick read that held my interest the whole way through and kept me engaged. I am definitely going to purchase this for my library and I think the teens will really enjoy it.

Thank you so much @getunderlined & @randhousechildrens for the gifted copy on Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was Final Destination on steroids.

If you watch it as a teen, well this book is for you. It's gory, it's bloody. full of secrets and has a very paranormal ARC right off the bat.

Slasher - so expect a lot of blood. And definitely not realistic. It is one that will make you rethink getting on the plane with a big group of people. and especially old ladies.

Predictable? Kind of. But still fun. Enjoy the blood bath.

A group of students board a plane for a school-sponsored ski trip. All seems normal…until things don’t. The mystery and intrigue start almost immediately, with a strong sense of doom and gloom courtesy of Devon and her dead twin. Devon is still dealing with the grief of losing her sister 6 months ago. She suspects one of the plane occupants of having something to do with Emily’s death, although she too feels an extreme amount of guilt about it. Her grief and the events surrounding it play a major part in the story. There’s an unseen, malevolent force on the plane that will make each person reveal their darkest secrets and by the end, one person will be chosen to die.⁣
⁣
Imagine being trapped somewhere with an unknown, sinister force playing with your mind. Now imagine that place is an airplane in mid-flight with no escape. Trapped horror and claustrophobic horror are two of my favorite things, and Amy Christine Parker knocked both out of the park with this one. My palms were certainly sweating, my heart was racing, imagining being trapped on a plane with no way out unless you wish to plunge to your death. It’s an uncertain vs a certain death in this book, and both options suck. ⁣

This was a fun, spooky read that’s perfect for lovers of claustrophobic, no-escape horror. It’s also perfect for readers who are terrified to fly (it’s me!), those readers in particular will get an even bigger delight out of this book. Easily one of my top reads of the season, and certainly one I recommend. 4 stars. Many thanks to the @netgalley, the publisher, and @tbrbeyondtours for providing a digital copy for review.

Thank you to @netgalley, @tbrbeyondtours & @amychristinepar for the #gifted copy of the book.

Can you imagine being on a 4 hour flight and having to decide which one of your friends was going to be made a sacrifice? I am a big time knitter and never imagined knitting needles being used as a murder weapon! Plus they allow them on planes!!! I don't think I will ever look at them the same again.

Devon is chosen to decide the fate of one of her friends shortly after her sister is killed by a hit and run driver. Devon channels her inner Emily, but she is feeling so guilty about something that she did. This book is perfect for thriller and horror fans. I loved the twist at the end!!

I was intrigued by the blurb and wanted to read it right away. I loved the plot of this story so much that I didn't put it down until I had finished it. It was the perfect combination of relatable characters, an unsolved murder, and supernatural elements. The characters were all kids we knew (or were) in high school. It also shows that we all are hiding something bad or worse underneath our "perfect" veneers and our "healthy" relationships. Guilt, lies, deception can all grow inside of everyone and fester. The first twist was not predictable, but I could see it before it was revealed, but the very end made me smile, but also made me want to look over shoulder and/or take a second glance at anyone with knitting needles.

Book Review

Title: Flight 171 by Amy Christine Parker

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Horror

Rating: 5 Stars

I didn’t really know anything about this book before requesting it but the premise of a horror like final destination with an equally creepy supernatural, paranormal element seemed really appropriate for the spooky season. The opening to the novel was definitely creepy as we are introduced to Devon Marsh as she heads on a senior ski trip five months after her twin, Emily was killed in a hit and run. Devon since then has been actively trying to become Emily even dressing like her, hanging out with her friends and denying who she was before. She also seems to have issues with a boy named Jack, her former boyfriend after she accused him of being the person who killed Emily and she still believes that even though she doesn’t have any proof and she is working hard to get it believing that will be the only way for her to get closure. As they board the plane and take off it is filled with same anxiety in the opening of Final Destination which is also referenced in the first few chapters.

As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Devon gets a strange feeling about an old woman abroad the plane and she can’t seem to shake it even though she is trying to focus her energy into staying in her Emily persona and trying to figure out who killed her sister. However, Devon’s feeling that something is wrong with the woman is proven right when she attempts to use the bathroom and is stopped by a flight attendant because the seat belt sign is still on and she threatens to expose him. She reveals Carlos’ secret about drugging and raping young woman before stabbing him to death, while she is arrested by the air marshal she soon reveals herself to be something supernatural in nature. The creature inside the woman gives the kids on the plane a taste of what it can do and explains that they are going to play a game. It needs a new host because the current host is getting old and it wants one of the children but that person has to be chosen by them it won’t just take one of them. It gives them just over three hours to decide who that person is going to be and if no decision is made it will kill everyone on the plane including the children and Devon’s mother. It also explains that over the course of these three hours it is going to reveal their deepest and darkest secrets in order to “help” them make their decision.

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, things begin to get even stranger since all the adults and children are unconscious leaving only the teens awake, they decide to make Devon the person in charge purely because her mother is a pilot and she knows more about the plane than anyone else and she takes it on even though it isn’t something she would have done. They try and apply logic to their situation but the creature soon makes it clear that trying to see this as anything other than supernatural isn’t going to work which we see when she targets Rebecca and makes her knock out some of her own teeth while Spencer is in the toilet. Throughout this whole experience, Devon has felt a strong connection to the locket and frequently hears Emily inside her head when she needs it most almost like she and Emily where sharing a single soul and this creature is allowing Emily to project herself within Devon in ways she couldn’t before. Despite the tension and anxiety I was excited to see the creature begin spilling the secrets of the teens as that is going to cause chaos between them and I am not sure how Devon is going to cope with that.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, everyone is beginning to believe that there isn’t a creature and it might be a form of mass hypnosis and they create a plan to sedate the old lady to see if this is true and it is better than the alternative. However, in creating their plan more or more things are beginning to go wrong since the air marshal’s gun and some drugs have gone missing, presumably taken by one of them. In the chaos that is building things are falling apart and this is brought to a climax when they do sedate the old lady and learn that it really is supernatural and the plane isn’t on autopilot like they thought but being controlled by the creature. When the creature breaks the hold of the drugs it is obviously very upset and begins punishing them and Devon gets the blame for this even though she was following a logical thought process. Afterwards, she realises that she can’t be the hero in this story as she isn’t willing to sacrifice herself for these people because she wants to live as much as they do. There also seems to be another supernatural element with Emily since she is able to communicate with Devon briefly a few times which might help them out later on. We haven’t seen the secrets element come into play properly yet and I am hoping that is going to happen soon since it will really cause the group to descend into chaos especially now that Yara has told Devon and Jack that the being’s power isn’t limitless and it needs to regain its energy by feeding on their fear.

As we cross into the second half of the novel, the secrets are coming into play now as the creature makes them sit down and watch their sins. This is played out as little movies taken straight from the minds of the people involved and at first these start small and seemingly innocent. There is Rebecca framed Kiara for taking the money from the school fundraiser, Billy cheating on Jeanne with her best friend Mai but things get worse from there. We briefly see the night Emily was killed but the creature is taunting Devon with the killer’s identity and then we get to see shy Wes crippling Spencer which makes Wes the new candidate for the sacrifice. However, Devon has worked out that the sins are getting worse and Emily’s killer will be revealed if they wait long enough which is what she wants more than anything. I think I have already worked out who the killer is but I need to wait and see if I am right and if I am why this person choose to act the way they did fleeing the scene of a crime when it doesn’t seem to be in their nature to do so.

As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, we get to see what Devon’s secret is and it is the fight she had with Emily the night she died and how she made her sister walk home in the freezing cold which led to her getting hit by the car and dying. Devon has carried around so much guilt because of this moment and this prompts Carter, her best friend to explain that it was Emily who told her parents she was skipping school but him because he was worried about her. However, Devon has learned in the months since Emily died not to hate people for little concerns like Carter’s at the time and she forgives him for it the same way she has forgiven Jack because she is being honest with herself now. She knows it wasn’t Jack who killed Emily and has probably always known but she needed someone to blame for her sister’s death and he allowed it because he had a drinking problem at the time and realised how easily he could have been the person to kill Emily. Now, we come down the final sin who really killed Emily and then there will a vote on who gets sacrificed to become the next host of the creature but now I am not sure who the killer is as there seems to be more than one possibility.

As we cross into the final section of the novel, literally so much happened but I don’t want to give away that ending since it really made the book for me but my guess was right for Emily’s killer but there is so much more to this book than that. I literally felt like I was reading Stephen King for the first time all over again and I will most definitely be checking out Parker’s backlist if she has one and I will be insta-buying anything else she comes out with in the horror genre. Solid 5 stars!

Flight 171 is a terrifying tale of high school students suddenly trapped on a plane mid-flight as it makes its way from Philadelphia to Denver for a senior class ski trip. The story is told from the perspective of Devon Marsh; an anguished young woman gripped in grief over the recent death of her twin sister, Emily. Devon blames herself for her sister’s death, though it had been determined to be a tragic accident. Devon had been handling her guilt by slowly remaking herself into her sister, wearing her clothes and jewelry, and even abandoning her own friends for Emily’s. She also focused on tracking down the hit-and-run driver who never came forward or was identified. The stress she’s put on herself on top of her grief is taking its toll.

Her classmates are a variety of personalities, athletes, partiers, and high achievers, but each one is also harboring secrets of their own. The use of the onboard television screens to reveal the students’ hidden sins was terrifyingly effective. I held my breath as each person’s big secret was exposed. I was on the edge of my seat at each attempt to overcome the onboard evil, and it was almost a gut punch at each failure. It was frightening as fear turned the passengers into a blind mob.

The elements of horror pushed all the right buttons for me. The description of the old woman creeped me out from the start with her too-wide grin, the intense eye contact, and the constant humming. Just thinking about this character again gave me the willies. (And these attributes aren’t the worst of it!) I could feel the kids’ panic throughout the story as if I were among the passengers myself.

I recommend FLIGHT 171 to readers who enjoy the YA horror genre, especially those who like forced proximity, locked-room-type stories. Probably not the best bet to take along on your next flight, though.

TW: death, murder, violence, hit and run, self harm, suicidal ideation, sexual assault, drugging, blackmail, cheating

Flight 171 was a claustrophobic little nightmare of a book.

Rarely has a book had me so thoroughly gripped and glued to its pages. I genuinely flew through this book in one heart-pounding sitting. Just from that premise, I was ensnared. The hint of Final Destination meets I Know What You Did Last Summer and that classic horror movie curse thread woven in sounds like it’ll make for a frightening and challenging story, all of which was served up to me. This was an intense and incredibly atmospheric book, all hinging on that fateful and bloody Halloween night. The variety of secrets bubbling to the surface and other actions that increase the stakes serve to create a sense of constant paranoia and mistrust. When everyone around you is hiding something, who can you really trust?

At the centre of this book is Devon. Her grief and vulnerability instantly endeared me to her, even as she found herself still stuck in the image and shadow of Emily. There is a deeply entrenched sense of guilt at her survival and the true events of the night that cannot help but make you fall in love with her. Though her narration is heavily skewed by her emotional attachments and mismatched memories, you find yourself rooting for her and joining her as a fellow detective. Indeed, I enjoyed how all the surrounding characters were fleshed out beyond their various high school stereotypes. Everyone had a hidden layer or unexpected twist to their character that reminded you how messy and human they all were.

This emphasises the awful dilemma at the heart of the story that much further. There were some truly spine-chilling scenes here, tinged with gore and the horror both manifesting physically and emotionally. This is a book that expertly plays with the dark depths of the human psyche. In that sense, I adored how the supernatural elements came into play. They contrasted the sharp realism of this awful situation, becoming symbols of different facets of the experience of grief.

Flight 171 is a book that consistently defies expectations and reminds you of the deadliest, darkest secrets we hold close.

A perfect read if you like YA horror and slasher films. The story is all set in an airplane, so definitely don't read it before flying or traveling. Devon has recently lost her twin sister in a hit and run. However, there is a secret she has been harboring ever since that night. Devon was the rogue child while her sister Emily was the favorite and popular of the two. Following her death, Devon tries to change and become more like her sister. However, after she embarks in a trip to Denver with all her classmates the flight turns a bit supernatural and twisty.

The overall supernatural aspect of the story I didn't love because in ways it felt a little unrealistic. The whole scary story is that there is an old lady in the plan who is actually a demon looking for another host body and she tells the classmates that in order for them to survive they have to select a body for her to possess. This bit felt a little like Lord of the Flies where the kids really turn on each other and you can really see how being in an awful situation makes people tone into their evil nature.

The main reason I didn't adore the story is because I didn't love Devon as a main character. I did like the plot a lot and it read as a fast and spooky thriller. It reminded me a lot of the horror movies I love to watch that sometimes are a little terrible yet still very entertaining.

I knew who had killed Emily since the beginning, it seemed obvious to me. However, I do think that it was developed in a way that made sense and was thrilling to observe. Something that I did enjoy was the aspect of Emily coming back in spirit form to help her sister discover the truth and finally forgive herself.

The ending was also a favorite part of mine because it really reminded me of a horror film. When it ends and you really believe that the spirit is gone yet in those final scenes you realize that the evil presence is still roaming around and it leaves you with a scene of impending doom. The way the author plays this out was interesting and fun, specially with what we learn towards the end of the first possession of the demon and what ended up happening to everyone else on the trip.

* I received an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Overall rating: 3 stars

I love horror books, yet I never seem to read them enough. This one was part thriller and part horror to form a great mesh of genres. And how often is a little old lady that is knitting a cause to be scared? Maybe this is why you can’t bring knitting needles on flights??? I could easily see this as a movie. I don’t always see the book happening in my head like some readers do, but this one was vivid for me. I kept guessing where this one was going, and I was wrong. I was so sure I knew who Emily’s killer was and I did not. I wasn’t even close. And I love when you read a YA book about YAs and it doesn’t read as young. This is enjoyable for all of us slightly older than YA.

When you are choosing your next spooky read, you can’t go wrong with this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!
Flight 171 is a horror story about a senior class on its way to a sky resort, when the plane is taken over by a supernatural being who needs a new body. It is up to the class to pick a sacrifice among them for this.

“I am done trying to be a hero.”

I have been aiming to only read horror and/or spooky reads for October this year, and this story is a perfect way to start the month with! It is creepy, eerie, haunting and perfect for the spooky season!

The story starts off with the class at the airport about to board to place that will bring them to the resort. From the get-go the mysterious feeling is present, and it helps getting into the story a lot. You immediately notice some hostility and weird vibes between classmates and the big question of what happened on Halloween is also one that keeps popping up.

The way the feeling of being haunted and something being wrong is really a great way to start this read. I loved immediately getting that feeling and wanting to know what would happen. I kept reading the book while dark, in the evenings, to help along with the feelings haha.

The characters are quite different from each other, and you know all of them have something to hide. The way they all reacted when the woman made herself known and it really kicked-off showed that. I liked Devon a lot, but her trying to be more like her sister seemed like a struggle for her. Towards the end, when she is just herself and not pretending to be more like Emily, I liked her more. She was more authentic then. I couldn’t really get a good grasp on the other characters to be honest. I liked them and they were needed for the story, but somehow, they didn’t seem as well developed as Devon was.

Knowing it was partially supernatural really helped the story along. It gave it another dimension and not just a hijacking of the plane or something. It also made it very interesting, and I wanted to learn all the secrets. It made me really invested haha. The ending/solution did seem a bit straight forward and there are still somethings that I don’t understand. They seem a bit like plot holes, to be honest. I did love the very last few pages, as it really gave me an idea that the story isn’t over. A sort of eerie and ominous ending haha.

Overall, it was a good supernatural horror story with an overall eerie and creepy feel to it!

My Top 5 Reasons to Read Flight 171

1. Perfect book for October

2. The writing is so good! It’s as if I’m watching a scary movie! It’s an insatiable and hard to put down story.

3. It’s like watching a fast moving horror film about possession and demons. An old lady wants to possess a young new body?!

4. The suspense! Willingly choose a classmate to sacrifice within three hours or everyone on the plane dies?!🫣

5. Read this if you enjoy horror movies like Final Destination, Insidious, the Exorcist, Blair Witch Project

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this amazing YA horror novel!

What a wild ride this book was! FLIGHT 171 is the ultimate page turner about a four hour flight that very quickly turns into a nightmare.
I really enjoyed the paranormal use in this book along with the horrible atrocities humans are willing to commit as well. Nearly everyone seemed like the big bad monster of the story and I loved it! I think the writing of this book is very well done. I’ll be sure to check out the rest of the books written by this author. FLIGHT 171 is one of the best YA thriller books I’ve read in a while! Be sure to add this book to your ‘to read’ list! You won’t want to miss out!
Thank you NetGalley for an ebook arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book but I won’t be flying on Friday the 13th anytime soon, that’s for sure! 😂

Devon is flying out of town for her senior class trip. Her twin sister, Emily, was killed in an accident 5 months earlier and the boy Devon thinks was responsible is also on the trip. But then the flight takes a scary turn.

If you like thrillers, or mysteries, or paranormal or horror then this book is for you because it had all of the above! The story drew me in from the beginning and I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed that the mystery of what happened to Emily was intermixed with the drama of the flight. And when everyone’s secrets start getting exposed, the drama really amps up!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this e-ARC of Flight 171!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
✈️ like to fly
🧶 never considered knitting dangerous
👻 believe in ghosts
🤐 harbor deadly secrets

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

A group of seniors board a red eye to Denver and encounter an evil presence set on exposing everyone’s darkest secrets.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Devon and her friends are boarding Flight 171, a red eye, to Denver for their senior class trip. Devon’s twin, Emily, died 6 months earlier in a hit and run. Obsessed with finding her killer, and blaming herself for Emily’s death, these thoughts plague her as she boards the plane. As the plane taxis and leaves the ground, Devon can’t help but sense something is deeply wrong. And when a freak murder happens just 10 minutes in, Devon and her friends will come face to face with an old and evil presence, set on exposing secrets and possessing one of their bodies before the flight lands in just 4 hours.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

I was immediately enthralled with this YA novel! The setting was just right (aboard a plane with an evil presence you can’t escape?!) and I loved the premise. Devon has been trying and failing to discover who killed her sister, and tonight she’ll finally find those answers. This would be great as a movie (🤞🏻). The ending was a fun twist, too (but not totally unexpected). This is a great pick for young horror fans!