In 1976, forty eight years ago, people looked at things differently and were less excepting. Now Greer Johnson is single and pregnant with her married bosses’ child. Desperate to keep her condition a secret, he packs her off to live with his wealthy older friends in Key West, the Benders. Even though living in a tropical paradise, Greer feels isolated, sad, and longs for anything meaningful. The host family is nice enough, although prone to passive aggressive manipulation.
Greer’s only sources of solace are the Benders’ Cuban gardener, Pablo, and a strange but sweet little girl from the 1920s that Greer dreams about.

This graphic novel has amazing illustration and the most expressive faces.

I didn’t want it to end where it did. I want to know more about the future of Greer.

My favorite part was absolutely the art. I have never seen art like this before and the earth tones really added to it. Interesting story and I can't wait to dive in and read it again.

4 stars

I looooooved the art style of this so much, it perfectly fit the setting and tone, however some of the male characters looked too similar for me to figure who was who sometimes. But I love the subtle themes of breaking toxic cycles (generationally and within ourselves) as well as healing our inner child, it was blended it to the overall storyline, which was intriguing on its own, so well

**Disclaimer: I received a free eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.

The Girl Who Flew Away by Lee Dean is a historical fiction graphic novel.  It would likely be appropriate for upper YA and adult audiences.  The book is set to be published on February 4th, 2025.  I rated it 4 stars on GoodReads.


Here's the summary from NetGalley:

It's 1976, and Greer Johnson has found herself pregnant, single, and packed off to Florida. Bunking with total strangers to await and hide the birth of her boss's child, she finds herself unmoored and friendless in the sun-and-fun-obsessed Key West.

While searching for something, anything to give her comfort, Greer does have a few things going for her: She’s surrounded by an unusual parade of singular advisors, neighbors, and allies in a strange new environment, and a wild imagination run amok. But will her flights of fancy be her salvation, or her ultimate undoing?

A beautifully illustrated, nostalgic, and timely graphic novel about fate and making a life from scratch.

This was a really fascinating graphic novel.  I haven't read too many stories in this particular vein, but it handled several really important topics quite sensitively and well.  Greer was a fascinating protagonist.  While she hasn't always made the best choices, you do really feel for her as the main character.  She has complicated relationships with the people she is staying with, with her boss, and the best friend she left behind.  She does her best as she navigates this new and unfamiliar situation, and it's hard to read about how she was left behind by the people she cared about.  The historical aspects were interesting with how pregnancy was looked at. 

It was also interesting to read about how she was mixed race and how that effected her throughout her life.  She clearly felt unmoored, and all I wanted for her was to find people she could trust.  I liked watching her friendship develop with the gardener who cared for the lawn of the people she was staying with.  He served as an excellent voice of reason, and after wanting someone for her to trust that was really great.

The art in this graphic novel was really good.  I liked the character design.  They each came across fairly unique, and it was easy to differentiate who was who.  I also really liked the use of colour, and the overall muted feel.  It felt very appropriate for the story being told and for the time setting.

If the plot intrigues you, I would definitely suggest that you check this one out!