We’ll Fly Away is a young adult novel told through the perspectives of two best friends, Luke and Toby, who come from poverty and broken homes. The narrative of their senior year in high school is interspersed with letter from Luke to Toby – written from Death Row. The mystery of what causes Luke to arrive in that situation moves the reader forward, but the compelling writing makes the book impossible to put down.
The protagonists have many strikes against them, and endure the type of hardship that could be avoided or in the very least mitigated if they lived in a country that gave more than lip service to upholding the social contract. However, this story is far from misery porn. Luke and Toby’s enduring friendship, their commitment to escaping their circumstances, and their small victories make the reader root for them. They are trying to make a way out of no way, and the author deftly captures to complexity of growing up in poverty.
The reader is convicted (or at least ought to be) by the nun who visits Luke in prison, who is referred to as Sister, and I imagine is inspired by Sister Helen Prejean (the book opens with a quote by Sister Helen, lest you think I’m some kind of super sleuth.) Sister tries to crack Luke’s hard shell and convince him that he’s not done remaking himself, growing, or becoming. The tagline of the novel is “None of us are ever finished.” The author is challenging us to consider that those guilty of the worst crimes are still human. And to reflect on what a weird perversion it is for the state to execute people, and I think this is important, even if they are guilty.
But don’t be turned away by the heavy subject matter. Bliss is an excellent storyteller. You will fall in love with the characters and always wonder what’s going to happen next? I found myself insanely invested in the characters, and undoubtedly you will too. It’s not surprising to me in the least that this book was longlisted for the National Book Award (though I was surprised to learn that the longlist isn’t that long – Bliss was listed among only nine authors up for the award.)
Yes, We’ll Fly Away is Big and Important and imbues the reader with radical empathy. But it’s also just a really well-told story that will connect with lots of readers.
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