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Summary
Summary
New York Times bestselling author Carrie Jones introduces sassy alien-hunting cheerleader Mana in Flying , the launch of a sparkling new YA Science Fiction series.
People have always treated seventeen-year-old Mana as someone in need of protection. She's used to being coddled, being an only child, but it's hard to imagine anything could ever happen in her small-town, normal life. As her mother's babying gets more stifling than ever, she's looking forward to cheering at the big game and getting out of the house for a while.
But that night, Mana's life goes haywire.
First, the hot guy she's been crushing on at school randomly flips out and starts spitting acid during the game. Then they get into a knockdown, drag-out fight in the locker room, during which Mana finds herself leaping around like a kangaroo on steroids. As a flyer on the cheerleading squad, she's always been a good jumper, but this is a bit much. By the time she gets home and finds her house trashed and an alien in the garage, Mana starts to wonder if her mother had her reasons for being overprotective.
It turns out, Mana's frumpy, timid mom is actually an alien hunter, and now she's missing--taking a piece of technology with her that everyone wants their hands on, both human and alien. Now her supposed partner, a guy that Mana has never met or heard of (and who seems way too young and way too arrogant to be hunting aliens), has shown up, ordering Mana to come with him. Now, on her own for the first time, Mana will have to find a way to save her mother--and maybe the world--and hope she's up to the challenge.
Author Notes
CARRIE JONES is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Need series, as well as After Obsession with Steven E. Wedel. She is a distinguished alum of Vermont College's MFA Program, and a part-time police dispatcher in Maine because she likes cop stories. Really.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
With nods to numerous science fiction and fantasy works (including Dr. Who, Heroes, and World of Warcraft), this series opener from Jones (the Need series) is complex and nuanced while maintaining a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek vibe. Mana is a cheerleader-a flyer, to be exact-who excels at tumbling and loves what she does. She's tiny, part Native Hawaiian, and protected on all sides by friends and family. When her mother goes missing and her crush starts spitting green acid, Mana has to figure out who to trust-quickly. Partnering with her best friend, Lyle, and an associate of her mother's, Mana tries to come to terms with the existence of aliens, not all of whom want to share the Earth, while dealing with her burgeoning feelings for Lyle. Mana's personal growth takes center stage as she learns to rely on herself during shootings, burglaries, and the development of mysterious new powers. Frequent twists and plentiful action keep the story moving briskly with only a few instances where disbelief needs to be suspended. Ages 13-up. Agent: Edward Necarsulmer IV, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Seventeen-year-old cheerleader Mana's world gets turned upside down the night she discovers her overprotective mother is an alien hunter who has disappeared with a highly sought-after piece of technology. Cinematic fight scenes (e.g., Mana jumping like a superhero while fighting her suddenly green acidspitting crush) and snarky dialogue straight out of a cheesy B-movie make the pages fly in this lighthearted, absurd sci-fi tale. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
After dabbling with pixies in her best-selling Needs series and flirting with horror in After Obsession (2011), Jones returns to the YA scene with a humorous sci-fi romp that pits a spunky cheerleader against (what else?) aliens. Seventeen-year-old Mana is a petite, biracial, penguin-loving flyer a cheerleader who gets lifted and tossed by her squad. At a basketball game, Mana's doing her best to focus on her tumbling passes not on hunky Dakota's amazing forearms or on her confused feelings for her best friend Lyle when a man in the crowd drags off Dakota. Mana follows them to the locker room, where she discovers (a) Dakota is actually an acid-spitting alien; (b) she has superhuman abilities; and (c) China (the mystery man) is an alien-hunter. What's more, Mana's mom is China's partner, and she is missing. With an obvious wink at Men in Black, Jones delivers a campy, action-packed story that balances its many laughs with tenderness, during which Mana comes into her own while trying to rescue her mother and save the world. No biggie. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Something new from best-selling author Jones? This book will fly off the shelf.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Mana loves her quiet life. She loves that her mother babies her. She loves that her two best friends, Seppie and Lyle, constantly support her, both on the cheerleading mat and off of it. Although, lately things have been a little confusing with Lyle. And then there's Dakota, the cute percussionist in the school band. Mana is looking forward to seeing Dakota at the basketball game, until he begins spitting green acid out of his mouth and trying to kill her. Without realizing what's happening, the heroine begins to activate some superhuman gymnastic fight moves. Before the night is over, she learns that aliens are real, they have ransacked her house, and her mother is missing. The aliens are hunting for something, and everyone seems to think that Mana has whatever it is that they're after. Who can she trust? And will she find her mother before it's too late? A witty and self-aware heroine carries this entertaining adventure story. Breezy banter and a few well-placed one-liners are sure to incite smiles. The novel's greatest strength is its relatability. Everyone has envied someone with a mother like Mana's or has pitied someone with a mother like Lyle's. The protagonist's conflicted feelings about her crush will be instantly familiar to readers who have ever developed unexpected feelings for a friend. Frequent sexual euphemisms make this a better choice for older teens. VERDICT This quick, lighthearted romp is a perfect choice for readers who like their romance served with a side of alien butt-kicking action.-Liz Overberg, Zionsville Community High School, IN © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A bubbly, affectionate cheerleader must rescue her mother from an out-of-this-world danger.High school junior Mana isn't a good student, but she loves and is loved by her white mom and Hawaiian dad. In her mostly white New Hampshire town, Mana and her two besties quip between enthusiastic cheerleading routines. But in a bizarre kidnapping attempt, Mana's crush, Dakota, is revealed as a vicious alien who spits green acid, flaps a long, froglike tongue, and spouts casual racism. Mana and Dakota scuffle at halftime, Mana avoiding blasts of acid by employing gymnastics moves she just knows are far beyond her normal capabilities, until a mysterious secret agent in sunglasses saves the day. Back at home, Mana's mother has vanished, their house has been ransacked, and Mana is attacked by a gray-skinned, web-footed murder monster (which, in an unfortunate bit of cultural appropriation, is called a Windigo, after the "old Algonquin story"). Mana, along with Sunglasses Guy and her two cheerleader BFFs (a dark-skinned girl and a light-skinned boy), has to save her mother, evade shape-shifters, and keep a dangerous bit of tech from the men in black. The constant bickering and banter between the four sputters erratically, occasionally stalling the pace of otherwise cinematic escapes and feats of gymnastic tumbling, but the comic tone does not falter.Funny and fast-moving, with a compelling setup for potential sequels. (Science fiction. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
