Night Flying (PB) - Softcover

Murphy, Rita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330398954 ISBN 13: 9780330398954

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books, 2002

Synopsis

From a talented new author - a short, magical and very beautiful novel about a girl who can fly. Georgia Hansen is nearly 16 - the sixth generation of Hansen women who can fly. Stifled by the rigid rules of grandmother Myra (no men can join the household, anyone caught flying during the day will be cast out of the family), Georgia's mother and aunts live in fear, keeping to themselves. But as Georgia's birthday approaches when she will fly solo for the first time and undergo rituals of initiation, her Aunt Carmen - herself cast out years before - flies in, stirring up secrets from the past. Rebellious and determined to discover the truth, Georgia commits the one unforgivable sin. But can she find the strength and courage to face up to her grandmother - and, in so doing, find not only herself but also the true freedom of flying?

About this title

About the Author

This is Rita Murphy's first novel. It won the annual Delacorte Press Prize for a First Young Adult Novel sponsored by Random House, USA, and has launched Murphy on a writing career that is going from strength to strength. She lives with her husband and son in Vermont, USA

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Hansen women have always flown at night, even in bad weather. Aunt Eva actually prefers storms. She says she makes better time that way. Though often she ends up on the east end of town and has to walk back along the railway tracks if the wind isn’t blowing in her favour.

Flying is something we do at night when everyone is asleep. Twice around the meadow or once over the ridge to clear our heads before settling in for the evening.

My aunt Suki stayed out all night once when she was sixteen. She went to the county line at Madison. She wanted to see how far she could go.
'That's the danger with young fliers,' Mama says. 'They don't know when to turn back.' Suki was in bed for two days after with a fever and cramps.

It's not an easy thing to do flying. Not like you'd think. There are wind currents and air pockets, and birds. Don't ever underestimate birds. It can be difficult to see a swallow coming in at dusk. And even though owls have excellent night vision, there have been collisions, and they aren't too pretty.
'It's best to stay close to home when you're starting,' Mama says. 'It's best not to take too many chances.'
The first woman in our family to fly was Louisa Hansen, my great-great-great-grandmother. She came to America for Albania more than one hundred years ago. A dark, wiry woman full of Gypsy blood. They say it was her broken heart that propelled her to flight, her grief that sent her soaring out over the sea.

Louisa lost her husband and little boy in a shipwreck off the coast of Newfoundland in 1884. She survived along with seven others, rescued by a fishing schooner. She eventually married one of the fishermen aboard, Jonathan Hansen, and went to live with him in his house by the ocean. They say she started flying in her sleep out over the cliffs, searching for her lost loved ones, returning in the early hours of the morning drenched in sea spray.

Since that time, every Hansen woman has flown. Aunt Eva says it's like a family full of acrobats or mountain climbers. Once one generation believes they can fly, it makes it possible for the next to believe too. The only thing that's unique about our family is that we haven't forgotten. We still believe.

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0330398954
• ISBN 13: 9780330398954
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 144