Born to Fly: Book 1, ICCA

Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'd really like to give this book 3.5 stars, but I couldn't quite justify giving it 4.

Bird is a 10 year old girl who loves flying. Her dad has been teaching her how, though she isn't very good at it yet. Her best friend has just moved out of town, she doesn't get along very well with her mom, but she is very close with her dad. Unfortunately, World War II is upon them, and Bird's dad is sent off to fight in the war.

One day at school, a new boy shows up: a Japanese boy named Kenji. He is an instant target for the school bully, Farley, because he is Japanese. It is assumed that him and his uncle are rooting for the Japanese, and are maybe even spies.

Kenji and Bird end up friends, and when Kenji's uncle is accused of killing Farley's dad and blowing up the factory, they find out a hard lesson in friendship that almost gets both of them killed.

Once I got "into" this book, about 1/3 of the way through, I loved it. There were a few too many references to bras, though, for an elementary book (subtract those and my rating would be up to 4). A lot of action, explosions, flying, strong female character, murder, mystery...a little bit of everything here!

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