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X in Flight

by Karen Rivers

Series: XYZ Trilogy (1)

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234974,956 (3)5
Xenos (X for short) will never be a normal kid, nor does he want to be. So, quite by accident, X gets his wish, now he can fly. Will be be an angel or a superhero, what is the purpose of his new power? With no obvious answers, X knows that few things come easy, even a brand new set of wings.
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» See also 5 mentions

Showing 4 of 4
"I really don t know how to describe this book, I ve actually been sitting on this review for several days. The book is geared towards young adults, and I think that Karen Rivers nailed that apprehensive, self-conscious teen in all of us. However, I don t think the characters needed to use the f-word[return][return]I think what bothered me most was the narrative mode. We followed three characters, and each time we returned to one, the point of view changed dramatically. This was a little off-putting, yet I was really compelled by the story, to find out what happens& or happened (due to the POV I m not really sure& ).[return][return]The main character, X, is written in first-person narrative, but as a letter to the girl he has a crush on. It s like he s writing in a diary, addressed to the girl, Ruby, but he ll never show her. Ruby s chapters are written in second-person narrative ( you find yourself looking over the school ). These chapters feel the weirdest, probably because second-person narrative is uncommon in Western literature. The third character we follow is Cat, X s current girlfriend, and the narrative is third-person. This one is the most common narrative, and sounds the most relaxed and normal for the book.[return][return]I m already reading the next book in the trilogy, Y in the Shadows, because I want to know what the point is. Sure X can fly, but why? What was the point of it? Was it just a character-development type book?[return][return]http://www.monniblog.com/2009/01/x-in-flight/" ( )
  monnibo | Nov 9, 2012 |
I have had this book in my pile all summer, thinking it would be one of those books I would have to fight my way through. I loved it! Karen Rivers is a fantastic author. I think I will even read the other books, Y and Z, in this series. It seemed like an everyday realistic fiction, exploring teen relationships, and the supernatural elements didn't play a huge part in the storyline. If I was looking for something with more of the supernatural element, I think it would have been disappointed.
  ydenomy | Aug 9, 2010 |
Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

Xenos, or X, doesn't know why things happen. Like why he has to have the blackest skin, when his mother is so white. Or why he had to be born with such ugly features and so many zits. Or why he has never met his father and his mother doesn't even want to talk about him.

He especially doesn't know why, out of all the powers he could have, he had to possess the power to fly.

But that isn't the only thing X has to worry about. There's his girlfriend, Cat, who has her own way of dealing with things, and who absolutely loves X, more than he loves her. Then there's Ruby, the girl he knows but who doesn't know him. The girl he feels a connection with; she just doesn't know it. The girl he would rather be with than Cat. The girl he is writing his part for.

Cat herself has a lot to say, and most of it isn't pleasant, but she keeps it to herself, not mentioning to her parents what she is thinking and not telling X how she feels. Ruby, on the other hand, doesn't know what she wants to say. Always thinking one thing, she then starts over and thinks something else. She does know something, though: she wants to be more than friends with Joey, more than the girl that he goes to whenever he isn't in his right state of mind.

Told in three points of view, X IN FLIGHT intertwines the lives of three teens who are all different and all want to be heard. From the past to the present, their fate has been mapped out for them, and the ending just may be as grim as their lives already are. Poor decisions will be made, actions will be regretted, and lessons will be taught and learned.

Karen Rivers does an excellent job of developing the three characters with their own points of view. X, Cat, and Ruby all have lives quite similar to those who read their stories, including trouble dealing with family, relationships, and their identities, which adds a sense of realism to the novel.

A great debut in what is shaping up to be a terrific trilogy, X IN FLIGHT will indulge the reader with its dramatic action and unique narratives. ( )
  GeniusJen | Oct 13, 2009 |
Victoria (BC, Canada) writer Karen Rivers is the author of eight other novels for young people including the Haley Andromeda trilogy and Surviving Sam (short-listed for the 2004 White Pine Award). In X in Flight, Xenos, an otherwise normal angst-ridden teenager, discovers he is able to fly. But what does his special power mean? How is he supposed to use his unusual talent? What does it mean to be a hero? If these are some of the more abstract questions raised, other issues are grounded in the everyday reality of contemporary teen life. Rivers’ characters deal with issues of self-esteem, peer pressure, young love, budding sexuality, and the struggle to discover and establish a stable sense of self separate from family and friends. This is edgy, captivating teen fiction with a wry sense of humour and a tender underbelly. Watch for two more titles in the series; Y in the Shadows and What Z Sees.
  BiblioFool | Aug 6, 2007 |
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Xenos (X for short) will never be a normal kid, nor does he want to be. So, quite by accident, X gets his wish, now he can fly. Will be be an angel or a superhero, what is the purpose of his new power? With no obvious answers, X knows that few things come easy, even a brand new set of wings.

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