Mayday: 07/12/17

Mayday by Karen Harrington is set in the weeks and months after a plane crash. In other middle grade books I've read, the plane crash is something that happens to someone else in the book. This time, though, the protagonist, Wayne Kovok, and his mother experience it first hand.

The flight should have been a simple one — a time saver to get Wayne and his mother home from the funeral for his uncle, killed overseas. Instead, something happens as the plane approaches the airport. Wayne had been holding onto the flag given to survivors of servicemen and women. Wayne learns that the flag cannot be replaced even if its lost in extraordinary circumstances.

Besides the lost flag, Wayne loses his voice. Rather, he injures himself in such a way that he has to remain quiet and go through speech therapy. In Wayne's mind the loss of one is compounded in the loss of the other. He believes he can make things right if he can find his uncle's flag.

Wayne's help in all of this is his grandfather — a stern, hard to like former military man. While reading the book, he was the person I disliked most but I've warmed to him in the time between finishing the book and writing the review. The grandfather is despite his orneriness, the voice of reason in the family. He's the one who has been through personal tragedy and has learned how to survive it. He's trying to help Wayne and his mother do that too.

Three stars

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 07:43:05

herding cats

That's interesting. You don't see plane crashes too often or characters that can't speak for one reason or another.

Comment #2: Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 22:29:00

Pussreboots

It was an interesting combination of elements.