The Girl Who Could Fly (Piper McCloud Series #1)

by Victoria Forester

Overview

A fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers, in which "The story soars, just like Piper, with enough loop-de-loops to keep kids uncertain about what will come next" (Booklist, starred review)

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

You just can't keep a good girl down . . . unless you use the proper methods.

Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie.

Sure, she hasn't mastered reverse propulsion and her turns are kind of sloppy, but she's real good at loop-the-loops.

Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma's at her wit's end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents' farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities.

School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. (Plus all the homemade apple pie she can eat!) But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences.

Consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore.

At turns exhilarating and terrifying, The Girl Who Could Fly is an unforgettable story of defiance and courage about an irrepressible heroine who can, who will, who must . . . fly.

This title has Common Core connections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250072467
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Series:	Piper McCloud Series , #1
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 5.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	920L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Victoria Forester is the author of The Girl Who Could Fly, a Booklist Editor’s Choice and Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year. She is also a successful screenwriter, and originally wrote The Girl Who Could Fly for film. She liked the story so much that she decided to expand it into her first book. Victoria grew up on a remote farm in Ontario, Canada, and graduated from the University of Toronto. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and cat.

Read an Excerpt

Piper decided to jump of the roof. It wasn’t a rash decision on her part.
This was her plan—climb to the top of the roof and pick up speed by running from one end all the way to the other.
Jump off. Finally, and most importantly, don’t fall.
She didn’t make plans in the event that she did fall, because if you jump off the roof of your house and land on your head, you really don’t need any plans from that point on. Even Piper knew that.
So that’s what she did. She jumped clean off her roof.
But before we get to what happens next, you’ll probably need to know a thing or two about a thing or two. . . .

Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions

1. Why does the author give Piper the special ability of flying?

What does this skill symbolize in the context of the story?

2. On page 7, Piper tries to confide in her father that she has "an itch"

that she can't get at. What is this itch, and why don't her parents understand?

3. Early in the book, Piper talks about her purpose in life. What is this purpose? What is the purpose for Mr. and Mrs. McCloud?

What about Dr. Hellion?

4. Before Piper leaves for I.N.S.A.N.E., her father presents her with a wooden bird that he carved. What does the bird represent?

5. The school Piper goes to is called I.N.S.A.N.E., the Institute of

Normalcy, Stability, And NonExceptionality. Think about the words that make up the acronym. Do they make up an idea that could be considered insane?

6. After a difficult start at I.N.S.A.N.E., Piper has an easy time making friends with most of the other kids. Why is she more well-liked at

I.N.S.A.N.E. than in Lowland County? How might the other kids at

I.N.S.A.N.E. have been treated at home before they came to

I.N.S.A.N.E.?

7. Why does Dr. Hellion pay special attention to Piper? Has Piper become a special threat to Dr. Hellion, when the other kids have not?

8. Dr. Hellion talks about her little brother and sister. How has this tragic event in Dr. Hellion's past made her who she is today?

Why wasn't she ever able to accept who she truly is?

9. When Conrad goes from being Conrad Harrington III to just plain Conrad, how does this changes him? Would he have been able to move on with his life if this change never happened?

10. In what ways do the McClouds change Conrad for the better, and in what ways does Conrad change the McClouds?

11. If you could have any super-power like the kids in this book, what

would it be? And how would you use it to help other people?

Editorial Reviews

It's the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men. I was smiling the whole time (except for the part where I cried). I gave it to my mom, and I'm reading it to my kids—it's absolutely multigenerational. Prepare to have your heart warmed.” —Stephenie Meyer, The Twilight Saga

“In this terrific debut novel, readers meet Piper McCloud, the late-in-life daughter of farmers...The story soars, just like Piper, with enough loop-de-loops to keep kids uncertain about what will come next....Best of all are the book's strong, lightly wrapped messages about friendship and authenticity and the difference between doing well and doing good.” —Booklist, starred review

“Forester's disparate settings (down-home farm and futuristic ice-bunker institute) are unified by the rock-solid point of view and unpretentious diction… any child who has felt different will take strength from Piper's fight to be herself against the tide of family, church, and society.” —The Horn Book Review

“When her talent for flying is discovered, a charismatic director of a special school takes Piper under her wing. She arrives at an amazing place with multiple floors and discovers a lot of other kids with extraordinary powers, too—as well as a nefarious plot to remove their special talents by altering their DNA .” —Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, for School Library Journal

“Piper McCloud comes from a household that does what they do because doing otherwise would break tradition—they don't handle change well. When her conservative parents realize that Piper has the ability to fly, they forbid her to do it since it's just not their way of living. It's not quite so easy for Piper to give up flying, however….This novel is an unforgettable story that will challenge many adolescents in their quest to decide between right and wrong, good and evil.” —Ashleigh Larsen, KLIATT

“Plucky Piper faces nearly insurmountable odds and must keep her innate sense of right and wrong focused through her trials. This fantasy has an air of reality, maintained by the aw-shucks flavor of the dialogue and its determined, good-as-gold heroine. Hints of a sequel appear after the tidy ending of this X-Men-like superhero take on the world.” —Kirkus

From the Publisher

With homespun charm, Forester focuses on the extraordinary Piper McCloud, daughter of an elderly couple who worry that revealing her gift of flight will put her in danger-with good reason. After Piper's first attempt to play baseball at a Fourth of July celebration results in a spectacular exhibit of her unique talent, Letitia Hellion's helicopter and black sedans show up to whisk her to a special school. At I.N.S.A.N.E., the Institute of Normalcy, Stability And Non Exceptionality, Letitia introduces Piper to classmates with equally unusual talents. The facility harbors many secrets, some unpleasant, many horrifying and none more unusual than genius Conrad Harrington III, rejected son of a powerful politician. Plucky Piper faces nearly insurmountable odds and must keep her innate sense of right and wrong focused through her trials. This fantasy has an air of reality, maintained by the aw-shucks flavor of the dialogue and its determined, good-as-gold heroine. Hints of a sequel appear after the tidy ending of this X-Men-like superhero take on the world. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews