Anna Levine

This book takes flight into a little adventure while teaching a bit about cranes and their migration from Europe to Israel.

Alexandra Crane has her own head and tends not to always pay attention when flying with her flock. Her relatives are concerned. They don't want her to become lost or find herself in trouble. Alexandra insists that she is sure of her way. She simply enjoys exploring a bit. While taking a test flight with Saba Crane before the flock's migration south, she proves that she does know more than the other crane's give her credit for. Can she prove herself when the true migration is underway?

Cranes are one of my favorite birds to observe, and this book does a wonderful job at introducing them to young readers. Facts surrounding the crane's migration subtly flow into this fun adventure, letting Alexandra's free traveling spirit take control. While she's different than the rest of the crane's, she's never looked down on. Rather, they other cranes care for her and simply show their concern for her safety. This 'flock' warmth sets a wonderful atmosphere for the tale. When Alexandra proves herself, it's easy to cheer for her and a joy to see the world opening up around her.

The illustrations portray the cranes nicely while still keeping a gentle, picture book flair. Alexandra not only has a slightly different appearance than the rest of the crane's (something my children wondered about) but is also given a thing red ribbon around her neck to make her easy to spot. The landscape is beautifully done as she covers new sights and locations.

Not only does this book offer a lovely message about how differences aren't necessarily negative but can lead to wonderful things, but young readers/listeners learn a little about a crane's migration habits and even more about the world. I, personally, would have loved to have seen a map of some sort which pointed out the locations mentioned in the book, since such a visualization would help children grasp the foreign locations perhaps a little more, but this didn't ruin the read.

It's a lovely tale with lots of goodness added in.

I received a complimentary copy and found it to be such a nice read that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts. I'm giving this a 4.5-stars and rounding up.… (mer)

Cross-posted from http://yaromancereviews.blogspot.com/2009/02/freefall-by-anna-levine.htmlRomance Review:Romance Rating: 4/5Percentage of book focused on Romance: 30%Chemistry between characters: 4/5Love Triangle: Sort of but not reallyThe bases (hotness factor): 1st baseI really enjoyed reading this book. I was struck with how much uncertainty teens in Israel live with in regard to their future. When it's mandatory for all to join the military for a period of time, how do you make plans and choices about your future prospectives and your relationships with family, friends, and loves?I thought the romantic elements in this story were great. Aggie and Noah spend so little time together during the course of the story but each interaction was satisfying and had enough substance to carry you toward their next meeting. Their interactions were sweet, awkward (in a nice, first love kind of way), hesitant, and filled with yearning for more. For most of the book, they walked that fine line between friends and more. There was always that sense of "is there something special happening between us?" hanging in the air when they were together. The author also did a nice job of incorporating other character's comments and observations to provide additional support for their romantic connection (e.g., Shira saying she hardly sees her brother but when she does he always asks about Aggie, Jonas saying that anyone who knows Noah will know about Aggie, Noah's mom mentioning to Aggie that Noah was home even when she came over to see Shira, etc...). Those extra touches help to reveal the strength of their attraction to one another even if they aren't admitting to each other yet.… (mer)