Publishers Weekly
09/23/2013
An odd combination of navel-gazing, existential pondering, and twee zaniness characterizes Ostrovski’s debut, an entertaining if sometimes muddled story about teen parenting, love, and philosophy. Periodically suicidal student Jack is contemplating swallowing pills on his 18th birthday when his ex-girlfriend, Jess, calls him to say that she’s going into labor. Jack isn’t ready to give the baby up for adoption (Jess’s plan), and his spontaneous decision to leave the hospital with the baby leads to a series of road-trip shenanigans that eventually have the two new parents, Jack’s friend Tommy, and baby Socrates packed into a truck heading toward Jack’s grandmother’s house. Ostrovski has fun casually intermixing flashbacks into the story, as well as not-quite-Socratic monologues from Jack to his son (“What we do, how we act—it’s just a response to how we’ve been shaped throughout our lives. It’s just us responding to momentum”). The occasional serious moments—mostly surrounding Jack’s grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease—help anchor the story, but it’s a long, meandering journey for Jack to emerge from his self-involved fog. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Langlie. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Do yourself a favor and get inside a car with Emil Ostrovski immediately! The Paradox of Vertical Flight is an amazing road trip. You’re in for one heck of a ride.” — Gary Shteyngart, author of the New York Times bestseller Super Sad True Love Story
“The Paradox of Vertical Flight has all the elements of a great read: funny, eloquent, deep, suspenseful. If you like books that are quirky and thoughtful, irreverent and touching, this book is for you.” — Francisco X. Stork, author of Marcelo in the Real World
“The Paradox of Vertical Flight is a wonderfully quirky story about discovering the meaning of life when you least expect it: witty, smart, and exuberant. Emil Ostrovski is a talented writer to watch.” — Malinda Lo, Author of Ash and Huntress
“The Paradox of Vertical Flight is a funny, smart, whimsical, compelling read. Emil Ostrovski takes us on a journey we haven’t been on before, and entertains us the entire way. A new great fresh voice.” — Sara
“An eccentric road trip . . . Amiable meanderings through ancient Greek philosophy are the novel’s heart and soul. Channeled by a talented, millennial author. these age-old conundrums of good and evil, fate and free will feel fresh and urgent.” — Kirkus Reviews
“On Jack’s 18th birthday, two majoy events occur: he considers attempting suicide and he learns that his ex-girlfriend Jess has just given birth to his baby. What follows is a philosophical journey of self-discovery. . . . A moving and quirky tale . . . A whip-smart debut.” — School Library Journal
“Shares a sense of humor and philosophical bent with such YA authors as John Green and Chris Crutcher.…But the story and likable characters are Ostrovsky’s own, a delightful mix of quirky, intelligent, naive, well-intentioned, and just plain dumb teens.…A delightful success.” — Booklist
Sara M.
The Paradox of Vertical Flight is a funny, smart, whimsical, compelling read. Emil Ostrovski takes us on a journey we haven’t been on before, and entertains us the entire way. A new great fresh voice.
Malinda Lo
The Paradox of Vertical Flight is a wonderfully quirky story about discovering the meaning of life when you least expect it: witty, smart, and exuberant. Emil Ostrovski is a talented writer to watch.
Francisco X. Stork
The Paradox of Vertical Flight has all the elements of a great read: funny, eloquent, deep, suspenseful. If you like books that are quirky and thoughtful, irreverent and touching, this book is for you.
Gary Shteyngart
Do yourself a favor and get inside a car with Emil Ostrovski immediately! The Paradox of Vertical Flight is an amazing road trip. You’re in for one heck of a ride.
Booklist
Shares a sense of humor and philosophical bent with such YA authors as John Green and Chris Crutcher.…But the story and likable characters are Ostrovsky’s own, a delightful mix of quirky, intelligent, naive, well-intentioned, and just plain dumb teens.…A delightful success.
Booklist
Shares a sense of humor and philosophical bent with such YA authors as John Green and Chris Crutcher.…But the story and likable characters are Ostrovsky’s own, a delightful mix of quirky, intelligent, naive, well-intentioned, and just plain dumb teens.…A delightful success.
Sara
The Paradox of Vertical Flight is a funny, smart, whimsical, compelling read. Emil Ostrovski takes us on a journey we haven’t been on before, and entertains us the entire way. A new great fresh voice.
Chris Crutcher
The Paradox of Vertical Flight is a funny, smart, whimsical, compelling read. Emil Ostrovski takes us on a journey we haven’t been on before, and entertains us the entire way. A new great fresh voice.
Kirkus Reviews
Alone and angst-ridden in his boarding school dorm on his 18th birthday, Jack is contemplating suicide by painkiller when he learns his ex-girlfriend is giving birth. Though she listed the father as "unknown," Jess, 20, invites Jack to meet his son before relinquishing him to adoptive parents. Overwhelmed, Jack scoops the baby up and runs, naming him Socrates. Vehicularly challenged, Jack persuades his best friend to drive them. Stopping for Jess, they embark on an eccentric road trip from Bangor, Maine, to upstate New York. Along the way--when not shopping for formula, changing diapers, arguing over trivia with Tommy and bickering with Jess--Jack conducts a funny, heartfelt imaginary dialogue on the meaning of life with little Socrates. These amiable meanderings through ancient Greek philosophy are the novel's heart and soul. Channeled by a talented, millennial author, these age-old conundrums of good and evil, fate and free will feel fresh and urgent. Readers seeking to decode the generational genome will find plenty to ponder here. Bromance trumps romance; Jess is more scold than soul mate. Socrates is a remarkably obliging newborn. (Margaret Bechard's Hanging on to Max, 2001, and Angela Johnson's First Part Last, 2003, present far more realistic views of teen fatherhood.) Inconsistent temporal markers (dates aren't specified) are briefly distracting, but Jack's quest for meaning holds reader attention all the way. (Fiction. 14 & up)
