Airfield

October 1, 1999
Gr 7-10-A story set in small-town America during the Depression. The narrative centers on 15-year-old Beatty; her longing for information about her mother, who died when she was a baby; and her desire to please an emotionally distant father. Since infancy, Beatty has lived part of each year with one of her three aunts, rotating among them every few months. Her father is a pilot who literally flies in and out of her life. When the story begins, Beatty is living with her youngest aunt and her husband, Grif, in Muddy Springs, TX. Grif is working as the town's airport station manager, and it is there that most of Beatty's adventures unfold. While on her way to take her uncle lunch, she unknowingly crosses the airstrip, almost getting killed by an incoming plane piloted by Annie Boudreau, the woman who will eventually tell Beatty about her mother. On the same trip, she encounters Moss, a young man on his own now that the Depression has split his family apart. Ultimately, the two teens work side by side at the airport, plan an air show, kiss, and help Beatty's father land his plane in a storm. Peripheral characters are just that; although a part of the story, they are not fully drawn. However, the excellent plot will spur readers' interest to discover Beatty's past and get a glimpse of her future.-Joanne K. Cecere, Highland High School, NY

Copyright 1999 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.