Paper Airplanes

September 29, 2014
British media personality O'Porter debuts with a punchy story (partially mined from the author's own teenage diaries) about the bonds of female friendship, told through the alternating perspectives of two vulnerable girls. It's 1994 on the small British island of Guernsey, and 15-year-olds Flo and Renée become strongly attached to one another. Flo struggles with a best friend who erodes her self-esteem, as well as increased responsibilities at home due to her depressed father's absence. Renée is dealing with the death of her mother, romantic entanglements, and her sister's bulimia, among other problems. The girls encourage and challenge one another to persevere, even as outside forces and mutual betrayals threaten their intimacy. O'Porter uses candid warmth and humor to convey the awkwardness of sexual urges and puberty ("If one more person says the words âperiod' or âpanty pad' in front of Pop, I am going to have to jump out the window, run to the sea, and swim to France"). Fierce, full-blooded girls who fistfight one minute and burst into tears the next carry this powerful coming-of-age story. Ages 14âup. Agent: Adrian Sington, DCD Publishing.

August 15, 2014
Teen Renee is the class clown, while Flo is totally under the control of the school queen bee; an impulsive act of drunken kindness draws them together. Inspired by her personal diaries from the mid-1990s, O'Porter skillfully weaves a nostalgic and affecting tale of adolescent life before cellphones and texting, when paper airplanes and tossed wads of paper carried secret messages among students. Alternating first-person accounts from Flo ("God knows what people must think of me-some nervous, quiet drip with no opinion") and Renee ("The trick for me is to live on the edge and never tip over") span a single, intense year at their private Guernsey school. American readers will find the occasional Briticism more entertaining than puzzling, and the contrasting, humorous and sometimes-desperate voices of these teens capture the essence of a certain time of girlhood when social status is everything. With its candid portrayal of risky behavior and troubled home lives, the story chronicles the contrasting cruelty and caring of teens. The pathos of drunken sex, menstruation mishaps and betrayal rings achingly true; important adults are sadly absent or not much help-but ultimately, there's confirmation of the power of forgiveness when everyone is doing the best they can, even when their best really isn't very good. Poignant and edgy, this exploration of lively female friendships rises high. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)

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Starred review from September 1, 2014

Gr 10 Up-In this captivating and at times gritty debut, O'Porter presents a funny and poignant coming-of-age friendship of Flo and Renee. It's 1994, and the 15-year-olds are each facing their share of troubles on the small British island of Guernsey. Flo's parents have split up, and she's dealing with a critical mother at home and an incredibly domineering best friend at school. Renee is an extroverted troublemaker at school, but feels like a stranger in the home she shares with her bulimic younger sister and emotionally unavailable grandparents. The girls bond over the shared experience of familial tragedy and become close friends, exchanging notes on paper airplanes and finding in each other the support they crave. Readers will be drawn into the story, which moves quickly through alternating first-person narrations, which also serves to reveal potential cracks in the teens' bond. By the end, each girl comes to learn the importance of friendship and forgiveness and that the past, while not forgotten, doesn't have to define you. Though their behavior can be frustrating at times-Flo not standing up to mean girl Sally; Renee secretly having sex with Flo's older brother (in a scene that is entirely more heartbreaking than risque)-readers will root for the pair and will also eagerly await the sequel.-Amanda Mastrull, Library Journal

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