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Fly Away Home

by Jennifer Weiner (Goodreads Author)

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 20,691 ratings · 1,830 reviews

Sometimes all you can do is fly away home . . . When Sylvie Serfer met Richard Woodruff in law school, she had wild curls, wide hips, and lots of opinions. Decades later, Sylvie has remade herself as the ideal politician’s wife—her hair dyed and straightened, her hippie-chick wardrobe replaced by tailored knit suits. At fifty-seven, she ruefully acknowledges that her job i...more

ebook, 416 pages

Published July 13th 2010 by Atria Books

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May 06, 2013 Nicole rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fly Away Home is an extremely dull read. Jennifer Weiner is predictable creating extremely uninteresting story lines that readers have come across hundreds of times. Weiner’s stories are always the same featuring a character that struggles with her weight resorting to rich, salty and of course high caloric foods for comfort. She loves to incorporate sex to try to excite and capture the reader. Unfortunately, the sex descriptions are poorly done and cheesy. Hurried sex in an exam room with your l...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Monique rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. i loved this book as told from the point of view of a Senator's wife and grown daughters as they cope with the discovery that their husband/father engaged in an affair with a younger woman, despite being part of a happy marriage. I loved Sylvie's reaction to the affair: she got the hell out! and the reaction of Sylvie's daughters were very much in keeping with who their characters were. The book did not center on what cheating-husband-says/does/promises to get his wife back, and in fact did not...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Tiffany rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a big fan of Jennifer Weiner's novels and her writing style so I was eager to pick up her latest, Fly Away Home. This book did not disappoint! It's a story of family, love, betrayal, and everything in between. Fly Away Home details the lives of three women, Sylvie and her two daughters Diana and Lizzie. All three women are going through a crisis. Sylvie is a politician's wife who is unknowingly thrust into a personal scandal by her husband. Diana is the 'perfect' daughter who got married, be...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Liviania rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In my mind, there are two major categories of chick lit. There are the light, frothy, and humorous ones, written by authors like Hester Browne and Wendy Wax. Then there are the more dramatic ones, written by authors like Karen Hawkins. From what I've heard of Jennifer Weiner's books like GOOD IN BED, I assumed her novels belonged in the former category. But FLY AWAY HOME is firmly in the latter, which I don't prefer. Therefore, it started slow but picked up speed. It does climax with a disatrous...more In my mind, there are two major categories of chick lit. There are the light, frothy, and humorous ones, written by authors like Hester Browne and Wendy Wax. Then there are the more dramatic ones, written by authors like Karen Hawkins. From what I've heard of Jennifer Weiner's books like GOOD IN BED, I assumed her novels belonged in the former category. But FLY AWAY HOME is firmly in the latter, which I don't prefer. Therefore, it started slow but picked up speed. It does climax with a disatrous family dinner, and I can't resist the disatrous family dinner setpiece.

FLY AWAY HOME rotates between three points of view. The first is Sylvie Serfer Woodruff, the mother. She gave up her career to support her politician husband, but his affair with an intern has just become national news. With all the politician affair scandals, it's a plotline that's both timely and timeless. Weiner explores the question know one can resist, "Why would a woman stand by her husband while he announces he had an affair?" Sylvie's plotline meanders the most and is the least satisfying to me. She's has the most interesting set-up, but even at the end I'm not sure I feel like she's going any where. She loses her rudder in the beginning and I'm not sure I believe that she gets it back.

Then comes Diana, her oldest daughter and the character I liked most. Diana's the sort of person who can clearly see what people expect of her and lives up to those expectations. Thus, she finds herself in a loveless marriage, obsessed with running, and trying to be a good mother to her son. But no one can be perfect forever, and she gets involved in a passionate affair with a med student who doesn't know she has a son. At first her narration is hard to take because she's so obsessed with Dave, her illicit boyfriend. It's difficult to believe she kept the affair secret when every other word in her thoughts is "Dave." I like her much better in the second half of the novel, when she begins focusing on herself and her son. Diana has the most dramatic storyline, but even with her planned life falling apart she's too controlled to really let loose.

Finally, there's Lizzie, the youngest daughter and a recovering drug addict. She's now working as a photographer and baby-sitting her nephew Milo. She meets Jeff when he helps her with some teenagers who were harassing her in a cafe. It's nice to see her self-confidence grow as she turns her life around, for good reason. I liked Lizzie's voice the most - she has an understated sense of humor - but felt like her storyline needed a little more drama in order to compete.

I'll try another Jennifer Weiner book in the future. I greatly enjoyed the high points of FLY AWAY HOME. But the slow beginning and other flaws kept me from falling in love with FLY AWAY HOME. FLY AWAY HOME is a quiet drama, and when I'm reading drama I'm drawn to something more juicy and over-the-top. But I have to give it props for the ending, which I devoured quickly. (less)

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May 18, 2012 Sheila DeChantal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You would not recognize that Sylvia at 17 in Bohemian clothes and long flowing loose hair was the same Sylvia 38 years later who was a pressed suit wearing, hair dying, prim and proper politician's wife. Life was a ritual of making her husbands schedule, getting his coffee and being by his side as the perfect cookie cutter political wife.

Then a very public scandal rips Sylivia's marriage wide open and make's her question everything she has become. Retreating to her mothers unoccupied seaside hom...more You would not recognize that Sylvia at 17 in Bohemian clothes and long flowing loose hair was the same Sylvia 38 years later who was a pressed suit wearing, hair dying, prim and proper politician's wife. Life was a ritual of making her husbands schedule, getting his coffee and being by his side as the perfect cookie cutter political wife.

Then a very public scandal rips Sylivia's marriage wide open and make's her question everything she has become. Retreating to her mothers unoccupied seaside home, Sylvia works at distancing herself from the mess her life has become and creating a life she can move forward in.

Sylvia's daughter Diane is dealing with her own marriage issues. Her husband Gary's whiney nasally voice has trampled her last nerve. He wants nothing more than to stay at home and play games on his laptop while Diane thirsts for more... and more is what she finds in a man she works with at the hospital who seems to be everything that Gary is not.

Lizzie, the youngest daughter has already led a troubled life. Having battled addictions already of drugs and alcohol at her young age, she fights to stay clean and sober, when a man comes along who seems to good to want someone the likes of her.

Eventually, all three women wind up at the seaside home... each dealing with major curve balls in their life and trying to process through what the next step should be.

I think somewhere along the line of mountains of books and authors I enjoy, I forgot how much I enjoyed Jennifer Weiner (pronounced Why-ner). Listening to this audio just reminded me that she is not an author to miss.

Usually when a book has several strong protagonists, I usually find myself favoring a story line and going with that. That is mainly because when you split the top billing character, many times they lack depth and development.

In Fly Away Home, I have to say I enjoyed all three-story lines. Sylvia's story was painful and honest and I loved how she handled herself, even allowed herself to change out of that stiff molding she had placed herself in. Diane's story also felt real and captivated me wondering what she would ultimately do, and Lizzie, who never really seemed to live up to anyone's expectations suddenly finds her own worth.

Really, Fly Away Home is an impressive heartwarming read that does not end with everything tied up in a neat little bow. Instead it feels real that some questions remain to be answered - and some choices, are still being processed through. Yet I was satisfied with the way it all ended.

I recommend Fly Away Home as an excellent summer read or listen.(less)

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Apr 18, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chicklit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Like movie blockbusters, a lot of publishers release their hot books in the summer and before the holidays and most chick lit books get released in the summer when everyone is going to read on the beach (in theory). I try to add books to my list as soon as I see that the title exists, so I don't have to wait a long time and I did with this book, so I was one of the first to get a new copy from my library. Yay! The only downside to this, is that I have to read it as soon as possible because there...more Like movie blockbusters, a lot of publishers release their hot books in the summer and before the holidays and most chick lit books get released in the summer when everyone is going to read on the beach (in theory). I try to add books to my list as soon as I see that the title exists, so I don't have to wait a long time and I did with this book, so I was one of the first to get a new copy from my library. Yay! The only downside to this, is that I have to read it as soon as possible because there is little to no chance that I can renew it, as the request list is a mile long. So I plowed through this book in like a day. This book was a fictional take on all the political scandals going around. A wife of a politician and mother of two adult girls goes through the scandal. It was hardly part of the story, in my opinion, because once the scandal broke, the wife moves out of her apartment, drops all of her commitments and comes to live at her family's summer home in Connecticut. The older daughter is a doctor and having an affair with one of her some-what students. The younger daughter is a recovering drug addict and living with her sister and taking care of the sisters kid, but the younger sister catches the older sis in bed with her affair and she freaks out and blames it on something else and kicks the younger sister out so she goes and lives with her mother. All these women had issues and most of the story took place in each women's mind, not a lot of conversation, which I hate. Lots of flashbackness. No one was likable, except maybe the younger sister. She gets a new boyfriend and finds out shes pregnant and freaks out too, but of course, it all ends happy. The older sister divorces, because she wasn't happy anyway and I don't remember what happens with the parents. I think they get back together, because the affair was a one time thing, but I didn't agree with it because it's something I would never put up with, so I probably rolled my eyes, said what the fuck and was just glad when the book was over.

Gah, so many authors that I used to like, grew up and now their stuff is shit. Well, not really, I just haven't grown with it, so I don't care where it's gone. Blah.(less)

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Jan 31, 2012 Jaime rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, general_fiction

I’ve been a little reluctant to read more from Weiner, because the first two books I read focused so much on the weight of the protagonist that it was a little bit of a turn-off. Thankfully, Weiner has grown as a writer and moved away from that to focus on more important issues.

Fly Away Home is about what happens to a family when a betrayal is revealed in a very public way. Sylvie, the victimized wife, decides that she needs some time away. She moves to her mother’s vacation home, hoping to figu...more I’ve been a little reluctant to read more from Weiner, because the first two books I read focused so much on the weight of the protagonist that it was a little bit of a turn-off. Thankfully, Weiner has grown as a writer and moved away from that to focus on more important issues.

Fly Away Home is about what happens to a family when a betrayal is revealed in a very public way. Sylvie, the victimized wife, decides that she needs some time away. She moves to her mother’s vacation home, hoping to figure out who she is now that she’s not being the Senator’s wife. Her oldest daughter, Diana, is a busy doctor with an inattentive husband who finds excitement in the arms of another man, despite seeing what adultery has done to her parents. Her youngest daughter, Lizzie, is a recovering drug addict who is relishing the chance to be the caretaker for a change. I’d tell you more about the men, but they are rather one-dimensional.

I rather enjoyed Sylvie and Lizzie’s parts of the story, but had major issues with Diana, for several reasons. First, she’s basically a bitch. From the beginning to the end, I had a hard time mustering up any sympathy for her. Weiner tries really hard to make her husband, Gary, as distasteful as possible, but the more distasteful she made him, the worse Diana looks. In fact, I felt bad for Gary, because he married a woman who obviously never loved him to begin with and only married him because she figured she might as well get that part of her life over with. Box checked. I also didn’t like the hot and cold relationship she had with her young son, who seemed so much better off with his recovering addict aunt. And finally, the event that forces Lizzie out of Diana’s house made no sense to me. It seemed like an incredibly huge over-reaction. I think we’re supposed to accept it because Diana is lashing out at someone else to assuage her own guilt, but it didn’t work.

I also found the ending to be a bit disappointing. It’s open-ended, and I would have preferred at least a little resolution.

I listened to this on audio and enjoyed Judith Light as narrator.(less)

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Oct 25, 2011 Diana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 12th-advisory

Fly Away Home
By Jennifer Weiner
Atria 2010
401 Pgs.
ISBN 0743294270

For Richard Woodruff, Sylvie Serfer has changed lots; from her appearance to her personality. They had met in law school, then later in life, they got married and gave birth to two daughters, Diana and Lizzie. Once Richard became senator, Sylvie changed her appearance from wearing clothes that look like a hippie to tailored knit suits. She even dyed and straightened her hair when she used to have curls. And for her daughters, D...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jennifer Weiner's Fly Away Home is my selection for the September Chick Lit Plus Reading Challenge.

I listened to, rather than read, this book. Fly Away Home tells the story of Sylvie Woodruff and her daughters, Diana and Lizzie. Married for more than thirty years, Sylvie learns that her husband, Senator Richard Woodruff has had an affair. Sylvie retreats to her family's beach home in Connecticut to figure out what she wants to do with her marriage, and is ultimately joined by her daughters.

Affai...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Justina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, my grandmother sent me this book for beach reading. While it was a lot better than most "beach reads"/chick lit, which I detest, it still just wasn't that great.

The book follows the story of three women. The mother, whose husband is a politician, finds out that he husband had an affair. The eldest daughter, Diana, is having an affair and is repulsed by her husband. And the youngest, Lizzy, has just gotten out of rehab.

The mother is the most likable character by far. She goes through a lot...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Amanda Shaked rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Interestingly enough, this was one of the first novels that Jennifer Weiner wrote, when she was still working as a journalist. She tells you all this at the end of the book......well before any of the political scandals, i.e.., Elliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner, Gov. McCreavy, and their sexual improprieties ever came to light. Thus, the book was almost prophetic, in the sense of it kind of gave you a behind the scenes perspective as to what might really go on behind closed doors, between a politica...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If this had been my first time reading a novel by Jennifer Weiner, I would've been satisfied. But after reading Weiner greats such as "Good in Bed," "Certain Girls," "In Her Shoes," and "Little Earthquakes," - "Fly Away Home" didn't do much for me.

The premise is certainly timely in that a senator's wife, Sylvie Woodruff, discovers (along with the rest of the country) that her husband Richard had an affair with a much-younger lobbyist. Sylvie has to figure out what she's going to do next. Stick...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Kristin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A story very relevant to current political scandals, Fly Away Home is about Sylvie Woodruff, the perfect, polished wife of a senator who is devastated and humiliated when her husband becomes an overnight media sensation for having an affair with an intern. As she reels from the fallout of her husband's choices, Sylvie has to come to terms with her marriage and the mistakes she's made as a wife and mother. Sylvie's daughters are also affected by their father's indiscretions- Diana, an ER physicia...more

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May 31, 2011 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, audio

Listened to as an audiobook, narrated by Judith Light.
This was a heartbreaking story of how wrong things can go within a family - First, Sylvie finds out that her senator husband had an affair with a young aide - she discovers this at a rest stop while en route to yet another political event in support of her husband. Next, Sylvie's work- and run-aholic oldest daughter Diana is having her own affair to escape her boring husband. Finally, Sylvie's youngest daughter Lizzie, newly released from a d...more

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May 17, 2011 Michèle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

J'ai acheté le livre à cause de la couverture, et de l'âge peu comment de l'héroine, Sylvie, une femme de 57 ans qui s'est donnée à fond pour aider la carrière de son mari politicien, surveillant son poids et son apparence (les médias!) et qui déchante un jour. Et l'histoire de ses filles une professionnelle l'autre artiste "ratée" au coeur d'or, qui se cherchent. C'est comment ces trois femmes vont réagir à la situation quand le père politicien commet un impair impardonnable en politique amAric...more

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Mar 01, 2011 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There are some books I find hard to rate...I enjoyed reading them & finish them quickly, but at the end, I don't feel moved by the book, have a feeling of satisfaction at the end of the story or feel that it was special in any way. 2 stars seems kind of harsh, but 3 stars, to me, is a book that I finish and think, "wow, that was a good book".

Fly Away Home is one of those books. I read it quickly & it was enjoyable, but I didn't close have that satisfied feeling I get when I finish a good...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Ashley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm a big fan of Jennifer Weiner, and thoroughly enjoyed her past work. But this novel just didn't do it for me. I've read and reread her past books, so maybe this bothered me more than it would other people. But some of the scenes/lines in this book are too reminiscent of past books. For example, the scene in which Diana meets her husband is quite similar to the way Kelly (in Little Earthquakes) meets hers. Both women go out to get drunk immediately after being dumped, and then meet a sweet man...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Judy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A disappointing story about the "perfect" Senator's wife who has neglected her two adult daughters (the "good" daughter is an ER doctor and the "bad" daughter is a drug addict fresh from rehab) to devote her life to her husband and his career. Then CNN, and every other news outlet, breaks the news that the Senator has had an affair with a young legislative aide and reports that he used his political influence to find her employment in a top D.C. law firm. Predictably, chaos ensues. Talk about a...more

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Oct 30, 2010 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book because it was one of those that came up most often as a counter-example in the whole freanzenfreude exploit. I was curious to see what made up the profile of a novel that should've been celebrated as one of the novels but wasn't, by virtue of its treatment of women's issues.

So, I'm a little at a loss. There is a somewhat relentless focus on women's issues, questions of how women identify and define their sense of self and their importance in the world, and the novel explores t...more

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Oct 01, 2010 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-audio-books, 2010fiction

Fly Away Home, by Jennifer Weiner, Narrated by Judith Light, produced by Simon and Schuster Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

Sophie Serfer met Richard Woodruff in law school. She finished law school but quit working when she married Richard and had children. She became the professional political wife-keeping track of everything for her husband and being his hostess any time she was needed to help his career. That all changed the day Sylvie had just left some kind of reception and saw, in passi...more

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Sep 14, 2010 Min rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After the disaster that was Weiner's last book (Best Friends Forever), I started this book with trepidation. But it was quite soon that my fears and doubts were put to rest. Weiner hit her stride in the first few chapters and she never lost it.

The book is told alternately from the perspective of the wife and two adult daughters of a New York senator who has been caught having an affair. After the press conference in which he admits to not only having the affair, but using his influence (but not...more

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Sep 06, 2010 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: angsty-goodness, separated-for-long-time, women-s-fiction-esque

Why I really liked this book: each woman, the heroine, and her two daughters, had issues with "life" and control ... messy, messy life and the choices we make. Life is tricky and has a way of spinning out of control no matter what. So faced with the ultimate indignity, a political wife withdrew to a sad old comfortable CT beach house (and as much as I like Martha Stewart tales of reclamation, the only decorating was "interior" and internal Lol) ... and took stock, and made stock and roasts and s...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fly Away Home is a beautifully written story of women who rise to the challenge of accepting and changing unpleasant truths about themselves. It’s about the difficulties both private and public of being a member of a Senator’s family as news of his affair with a much younger woman hits the news. The book is told from the perspective of the different family members, Sylvie, the Senator’s wife and each of his two daughters. They are complex and flawed characters and through them Weiner touches on...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Pam Spangler rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Story of three women, mother Sylvie who put her life on hold to help her politician husband, and daughters Diana who an emergency room doctor and is married with a son Milo, and Lizzie who has been in rehab more times than one can remember but is now the nanny of Milo. Sylvies husband Robert is caught in an affair and is all over the news. Sylvie talks with her tough judge of a mother and decides to go to the family beach house, where she runs into a childhood flame Tim, and they begin seeing ea...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Tiffany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fly Away Home
Jennifer Weiner
Atria Books, July 13th,2010
ISBN: 978-0-7432-9427-0, 401 pg.

Fly away home is the beautifully written story of Sylvie, a politicians wife, and her two daughters Diana and Lizzie. In the wake and aftermath of scandal these three women are forced to face the truth about themselves including who they are, who they want to be and what they want out of life. The women deal with past issues as well as present. Weiner does a wonderful job of taking the serious issues of commit...more Fly Away Home
Jennifer Weiner
Atria Books, July 13th,2010
ISBN: 978-0-7432-9427-0, 401 pg.

Fly away home is the beautifully written story of Sylvie, a politicians wife, and her two daughters Diana and Lizzie. In the wake and aftermath of scandal these three women are forced to face the truth about themselves including who they are, who they want to be and what they want out of life. The women deal with past issues as well as present. Weiner does a wonderful job of taking the serious issues of commitment, self-esteem, identity and choices and mixing them with comical moments.

Meet the women of Fly Away Home:

Sylvie: Wife of Senator Richard Woodruff. Sylvie has spent her life in her husbands service, helping him, guiding him and focusing on him. After his affair is brought into the open, Sylvie must re-evaluate who she is and who she wants to be. She must make the biggest decision of all. Will she be able to trust and forgive?

Diana: The eldest daughter of Sylvie and Richard Woodruff. After watching her parents marriage, Diana has a very clear path for her life and how she wants it to be. While everything makes sense on paper, Diana forgets about the heart and love. When she is reminded her world is turned upside down and she must choose to love or not to love? Will she be happy?

Lizzie: (Elizabeth) The youngest daughter of the Woodruff’s and the family screw-up. Returning from rehab, Lizzie is determined to be better, to make something of herself, and to stay clean. It seems the world doesn’t want to make this easier for her, and her family isn’t in the best state to help. Will she be able to overcome of one the hardest parts of her life? Will she learn from the rehab and will she survive the shock and surprises she will encounter along the way?

The novel is divided into three sections. Each section skillfully sets up the next and smoothly transitions into it. Each section is divided into chapters, entitled by the woman who narrates the chapter. The first section focuses on past memories as well as current happenings. The second section dives deeper into the issues of the women, each leading to the point of no return. The third and final section brings the three women together. They face the past, present and future together and discover where home truly is.

Jennifer Weiner did a wonderful job with this novel. Fly away home quickly moved its way up the list of my favorite novels by Weiner. She encompasses so many relationships and focuses on them throughout the book. It is skillfully written and will make you laugh as well as feel the emotions of each character. You will find yourself relating to each character in your own way and rooting for them to find comfort and happiness. Fly Away Home is a heartbreaking, insightful novel, full of humor and interpersonal relationships. It will easily become a novel you will not want to put down, a novel that will carry you through many emotions, a novel you simply wont want to end.

Reviewed for http://acozyreaderscorner.blogspot.com (less)

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Aug 06, 2011 marg rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a combination of Olivia Goldsmith and Susan Isaacs at their worst, toss in some of Meg Wolitzer's The Wife, and round it off with Sittenfeld's highly irritating American Wife. The overdone plot of the martyr wife who sacrifices everything so as to baby her seemingly powerful yet fundamentally helpless political husband only to then find out husband has been cheating and is now a public scandal is not done any better in this trashy and overly obvious book.
First and foremost there w...more

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Aug 08, 2010 Shea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I would give this novel a 3.5. I liked it all the way up until the ending. At first, I didn't think I would like it very much when I thought it was just about Sylvie. I'm sorry, but I'm just not interested in a 50-something politician's wife whose husband cheated on her. But, luckily, Lizzie and Diana's stories were told as well, which I think is why I enjoyed the book so much. I think I identify as a mix between Lizzie (who's my age and doesn't know what she wants to do with her life) and Diana...more

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Jul 31, 2010 Kelly Hager rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sylvie is a politician's wife. That's basically her job. Her husband's a senator and their daughters are adults now. Diana, the older daughter, is a doctor with a husband and son. Her younger daughter, Lizzie, is a recovering addict who's working as a nanny for Diana. Richard (the senator) just had an affair and it's all over the news.

Sylvie, Diana and Lizzie have to cope with the fallout, along with some other surprises.

I always look forward to new Jennifer Weiner books, although they seem to b...more

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Jul 20, 2010 Kristy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"I've been afriad of changin' 'cause I've built my life around you." Fleetwood Mac's song "Landslide" sums up Sylvie Woodruff's 32 year marriage to her husband Richard. When Sylvie finds out on CNN that her husband, a prominent senator, has been exposed as an adulterer, her whole life crashes down around her. Until that moment Sylvie had given up everything to support her husband's rising political career, including foods she enjoyed, her job, time with her children, and even herself. Now Sylvie...more "I've been afriad of changin' 'cause I've built my life around you." Fleetwood Mac's song "Landslide" sums up Sylvie Woodruff's 32 year marriage to her husband Richard. When Sylvie finds out on CNN that her husband, a prominent senator, has been exposed as an adulterer, her whole life crashes down around her. Until that moment Sylvie had given up everything to support her husband's rising political career, including foods she enjoyed, her job, time with her children, and even herself. Now Sylvie must contend with public embarrassment, and a man she still loves in spite of it all.

Meanwhile, Sylvie and Richard's daughters find themselves in the splotlight as well, with issues of their own. Diana, the eldest, is a successful ER doctor who wanted so much to escape her mom's fate, that she talked herself into a marrying her stable, yet boring husband Gary. Somehow, while successfully avoiding becoming her mother, she wound up more similar to her father than she'd like to admit. Lizzie, the youngest, felt she could never live up to the standard her family had set. Her grandmother is a successful New York judge, her parents and sister all attended Ivy League colleges, yet her interest lies in photography and the arts. "Fly Away Home" picks up after Lizzie has just completed a stint in rehab, and must now look at life in a different way: sober.

I think "Fly Away Home" is fantastic! Weiner represents each character in a nonbiased way, so that their motivations are understandable to all. Being from Boca Raton, I also found a part where Sylvie gives a speech there, and refers to the women as "the bitches of Boca Raton," to be hilarious. I had been missing the voice I heard in "Good in Bed", but it was loud and clear in this novel. Weiner has a biting sense of humor, and isn't afraid to mention the usually unmentionable (such as what could have happened during childbirth to make Sylvie's husband uninterested in her sexually). Despite a few typos, which always frustrates me to see in a book of this caliber, I loved it and highly recommend it to everyone.(less)

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Aug 23, 2012 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was okay as a light read, though it covered deeper topics than other Chick-lit might have, but it didn't set my world alight.

It was split into three sections, the first two dealing with the lives of Sylvia and her two daughter Diana and Lizzie, all of whom have never been close or confided in each other, but all of whom are fighting problems in their lives. These sections for me dragged on a bit too much and spent far too long discussing their problems and moaning about the same things...more

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Book Giveaway: Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner	1	42	Jul 12, 2010 09:06pm

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About Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner was born in 1970 on an army base in Louisiana. She grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Princeton University. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Central Pennsylvania, Lexington, Kentucky, and Philadelphia, before the publication of her first novel, GOOD IN BED, in 2001. She is the author of the novels IN HER SHOES (2002), which was turned into a major motion picture; LITTLE...more

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Quotes from Fly Away Home

“Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of divorce.” — 185 people liked it

“Sometimes the worst thing that happens to you, the thing you think you can't survive...it's the thing that makes you better than you used to be.” — 80 people liked it

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