This Is How We Fly

September 15, 2020
A contemporary, magic-free retelling of "Cinderella" featuring a vegan, feminist, gender-questioning, biracial Latinx who joins a Harry Potter-inspired Quidditch team. It is the last summer before college, and Ellen Lopez-Rourke has been (totally unjustly) grounded by her father and stepmother--so her plan to hang out with her two best friends, Melissa and Xiumiao, falls apart. Even worse, Xiumiao decides she needs to move on from her hopeless crush on Melissa and spend the summer doing her own thing. Melissa and Ellen join a local Quidditch team--the only way Ellen's parents will allow her out of the house--and Ellen finds herself amid a fiercely inclusive, all-gender, full-contact sport that allows her to explore different sides of her identity. Meriano's novel is a layered, skillful work that thoughtfully explores the complicated dynamics of a family in conflict due to divergent views of the world, allowing the protagonist to navigate toxic elements of her home life while finding her own voice with the support of friends, both new and old. The story fortunately does not avoid painful, relevant conversations about art, fandom, and problematic creators while showcasing fans who fully love yet critically engage with art. Ellen is of Mexican and Irish descent in a book richly inclusive of many genders, sexualities, races, and cultures. This clever, subtle reimagining of a beloved fairy tale is both subversive and empowering. Truly enchanting. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 9, 2020
In this “Cinderella” retelling, 17-year-old vegan, gender-questioning Ellen Lopez-Rourke, who is Mexican American, planned to spend her summer with best friends Xiumiao and Melissa. But when Ellen ends up grounded and Xiumiao decides to move on from her crush on Melissa, who’s straight, Ellen finds herself allowed one outlet: quidditch. What begins as an excuse to get out of the house soon becomes much more as Ellen finds fellowship among the players, many of whom are socially conscious feminists like herself, from a range of experiences and backgrounds. As she struggles to navigate relationships with her friends and demanding stepmother, Ellen must also reckon with and accept her own role in the shifting bonds. Through a conversational first-person voice that firmly grounds the reader in the main character’s inner tumult, Meriano portrays Ellen’s heightened awareness and dedication to social equity and inclusion alongside the timeless sense of unease that comes with new beginnings and major change. Readers will find much to appreciate about Ellen’s fresh, relatable journey to define herself on her own terms. Ages 12–up. Agent: Patricia Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary.

December 1, 2020

Gr 8 Up-Recent high school grad Ellen Lopez-Rourke likes "Harry Potter" as much as the next teen, but never imagined herself joining a local Quidditch team. The summer before college brings lots of changes for Ellen. Her one best friend Xiumiao, who has had a secret crush on their other best friend, Melissa, for years, doesn't want to hang out as a group anymore. Ellen and her stepmother's tenuous relationship is also deteriorating. Her stepmother still doesn't get what being a vegan means, nor does she understand the social justice issues that are important to Ellen. After an especially heated argument over Christmas that leads to her stepmother and stepsister going back to Mexico to cool off, things have only gotten worse, and her father is less inclined to take Ellen's side. When Ellen gets grounded, her only outlet is Quidditch. While there is no flying, the game turns out to be way more athletic-and full of drama and team romances-than she thought. Ellen's first-person narrative is strong and relatable. Teens will identify with her struggle with identity (as emphasized by the fact that people are often confused with her Latinx-Irish hyphenated last name), and Ellen's desire to change the world even if the adults in her life don't always understand why. Readers may be inspired to look for a local Quidditch team in their area. VERDICT A timely coming-of-age story with a unique Quidditch twist. Recommended for most collections.-Marissa Lieberman, East Orange P.L., NJ

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.