When Elephants Fly

by Nancy Richardson Fischer Narrated by Caitlin Davies

Overview

Don't miss one of the most heartwarming young adult novels of the year. Perfect for fans of Water for Elephants, Wonder and All the Bright Places, When Elephants Fly shows that how we choose to live our lives matters, and that there are some battles worth fighting even if it means losing yourself.

T. Lily Decker is a high school senior with a twelve-year plan: avoid stress, drugs, alcohol and boyfriends, and take regular psych quizzes administered by her best friend, Sawyer, to make sure she's not developing schizophrenia.

Genetics are not on Lily's side. When she was seven, her mother, who had paranoid schizophrenia, tried to kill her. And a secret has revealed that Lily's odds are even worse than she thought. Still, there's a chance to avoid triggering the mental health condition, if Lily can live a careful life from ages eighteen to thirty, when schizophrenia most commonly manifests.

But when a newspaper internship results in Lily witnessing a mother elephant try to kill her three-week-old calf, Swifty, Lily can't abandon the story or the calf. With Swifty in danger of dying from grief, Lily must choose whether to risk everything, including her sanity and a first love, on a desperate road trip to save the calf's life, perhaps finding her own version of freedom along the way.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"When Elephants Fly is a compelling read, beautifully threading the complex relationship between mothers and daughters, mental illness and elephants." -National Book Award finalist Carrie Arcos

"Not only does this book show the reader the perils of keeping elephants in zoos and having them perform in circuses, it does it with heart, grace, and imagination." -Nina Berry, author of The Notorious Pagan Jones and the Otherkin series

"Unlike anything I've read before in YA, When Elephants Fly is both a fascinating adventure and a stirring coming-of-age novel. There are few clear heroes or villains, and no easy answers for Lily as she moves into an uncertain future. The bond between elephant and girl is deftly wrought-reminiscent of Alec and the Black in Walter Farley's classic, The Black Stallion, but for an older, contemporary audience." -Sara Zarr, author of Gem & Dixie, National Book Award finalist

"When Elephants Fly will inspire readers to love through fear, to love themselves and their humanity, to love the world." — Jenny Torres Sanchez, author of The Fall of Innocence

"Nancy Richardson Fischer deserves high praise for her well-researched and endearing novel. Her imagination, craft, and effort has resulted in her writing a piece of fiction that is worthy of winning a prize. This really is an outstanding piece of fiction that cannot be recommended enough." –New York Journal of Books

"Nancy Richardson Fischer has managed to combine so many important topics-family, mental illness, extinction, animal welfare, and adolescence-into an accessible, moving and extraordinary story." -Ellen C. O'Connell, Executive Vice President, Global, Space for Giants

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. I encourage everyone to read this inspirational book and discuss mental illness and tolerance and the need to improve wildlife protection. -Katie Rowe, Pritzker Genius Award nominee, Co-founder Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

"As much a story about mental health as it is about compassion and evolution." –School Library Journal

"Fischer's story encompasses the themes of love, courage, and forgiveness with lively, well-rounded characters, not the least of whom is Swifty. Lily is especially vibrant as she evolves from her quiet, safe existence into someone who recognizes the difference between simply being alive and living." –Booklist

Compelling... Provides a relevant and relatable character in an often overlooked subject area." –TeenReads.com

School Library Journal

07/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—This is as much a story about mental health as it is about compassion and evolution. Lily Decker survived her mother's schizophrenia-induced attempt at filicide as a young child. The fear of also having mental health issues shapes the rest of her life and her relationship with her father. She is a high school senior set on living as unremarkably as possible, devoid of stress, risks, and stimulation—anything that might exacerbate her symptoms. Despite avoiding excitement as much as she can, her unintentionally well-received articles on the new baby elephant at the local zoo put her at the center of unwanted drama. The baby is rejected by its mother and per contract, must be given up to the circus owning the father elephant. Lily is caught in the middle with the opportunity to write on an interesting subject and the conflicts of having wild animals in captivity. This, and the issues of the people she meets, are the backdrop of her dramatic, life-changing mental crisis. This novel manages to cover a wide range of topics: mental health, genetics, family trauma and the scars it can inflict, friendship dynamics, and animal rights. The narrative is occasionally scattered with flashbacks and Lily's internal dialogue, which is an effective storytelling technique showcasing her increasingly unsteady mental health. VERDICT A recommended addition to most YA collections.—Sarah Voels, Cedar Rapids Public Library, IA

Kirkus Reviews

2018-06-18
Lily's schizophrenic mother almost threw her off a roof when she was 7. The Oregon senior's only confidant, Sawyer, is a wealthy, closeted gay boy who knows of her 12-Year Plan to live a quiet, substance-free life until age 30 to help prevent the onset of mental illness. After Lily writes an article for her newspaper internship about an elephant calf rejected by her mother, the Kenyan zoo director, Dr. Addie Tinibu, enlists her help. The Florida circus that owns its father claims the elephant, and Addie and Lily reluctantly accompany the baby to help acclimatize her. The pachyderm becomes a celebrity when Lily's articles are reprinted nationally. During an intense week, she falls in love with a boy who has his own issues and explores similarities between her childhood and the elephant's. Others help in her noble cross-country attempt to find an elephant sanctuary, but these connections often seem forced. Lily's knowledge of how schizophrenia affects different people will help readers realize that it is not a monolithic condition. Animal welfare issues are well-integrated, and scenes involving elephant care are realistic but repetitious. Many instances of animal and human abuse weigh the novel down, and a hopeful outcome is painfully slow in arriving. Lily and Sawyer are assumed white.The topic of animal conservation almost overwhelms the emphasis on mental health, but Lily's path is worth exploring. (author's note, resources) (Fiction. 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173845450
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/04/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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