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Cloudmaker
From the nationally best-selling author of
Painted Horses
comes a soaring, spirited novel set during the summer of Amelia Earhart’s final flight, a tale of American ingenuity and optimism set against the backdrop of a deepening Great Depression.
The summer of 1937 will be a turning point for 14-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn. When he and a friend find a dead body in a local creek, a rare Lindbergh flight watch on its wrist, it seems like a sign. Huck is building his own airplane, a fact he has concealed from his mother. That summer also marks the arrival of his cousin Annelise, sent to live with the family under mysterious circumstances. As it turns out, she has had flying lessons - another sign.
As Huck’s airplane takes shape, so does his burgeoning understanding of the world, including the battle over worldliness vs. godliness that has split Annelise from her family and, in a quieter way, divides Huck’s family too. And meanwhile, there is the matter of the watch, which the dead man’s cohort of bank robbers would very much like back.
In Brooks’s trademark “lush, breathtaking prose” (San Francisco Chronicle) and with a winking nod to the Sam Clemens who inspired its hero’s nickname, Cloudmaker is a boisterous, heartfelt novel that brings to life the idealism, inventiveness, traditionalism, and deep contradictions of the American spirit.
The summer of 1937 will be a turning point for 14-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn. When he and a friend find a dead body in a local creek, a rare Lindbergh flight watch on its wrist, it seems like a sign. Huck is building his own airplane, a fact he has concealed from his mother. That summer also marks the arrival of his cousin Annelise, sent to live with the family under mysterious circumstances. As it turns out, she has had flying lessons - another sign.
As Huck’s airplane takes shape, so does his burgeoning understanding of the world, including the battle over worldliness vs. godliness that has split Annelise from her family and, in a quieter way, divides Huck’s family too. And meanwhile, there is the matter of the watch, which the dead man’s cohort of bank robbers would very much like back.
In Brooks’s trademark “lush, breathtaking prose” (San Francisco Chronicle) and with a winking nod to the Sam Clemens who inspired its hero’s nickname, Cloudmaker is a boisterous, heartfelt novel that brings to life the idealism, inventiveness, traditionalism, and deep contradictions of the American spirit.
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First published March 9, 2021
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March 9, 2021
3.5 Stars
There were times in an aeroplane when it seemed I had escaped mortality to look down on earth like a God. — Charles A. Lindbergh, 1927
“Not much more than a month ago, I was on the other shore of the Pacific, looking westward. This evening, I looked eastward over the Pacific. In those fast-moving days, which have intervened, the whole width of the world has passed behind us, except this broad ocean. I shall be glad when we have the hazards of its navigation behind us.” — Amelia Earhart (days before her final flight)
When Annelise is sent to live with her Aunt’s family after her mother discovers she’s been involved in a dalliance, she finds that her cousin Houston Finn, who goes by ‘Huck,” is building an airplane, and is a recent ‘owner’ of a much coveted and rare Lindbergh flight watch. Annelise recognizes it immediately, as she is wearing one, as well. Neither one is the original owner, or even technically the owner, of the watch. The one which Huck now has in his possession was one he found on a body floating in a river, while the one Annelise is wearing is one that belongs to her dalliance, which she “borrowed.” Annelise has been following Amelia Earhart’s journeys, as Earhart’s schedule to make her journey across the Pacific has been set back a bit by some issues, and Annelise has been planning to follow in her footsteps. Her dream is to become one of America’s first female pilots, and she’s already had flying lessons and has flown more than her cousin Huck.
There’s another storyline, involving criminals searching for something that Huck and Annelise have, and they want it back. This leads to some crazy twists and turns, and adds an element of intrigue… but to me it felt a bit like one of those overdone, overly dramatic old Hollywood movies, and while it leads to one rather interesting twist, for the most part, it took away from the story for me rather than added to it.
I especially enjoyed the ending of this story, when Annelise finds herself up in a plane on a mission, which offered some lovely descriptions of her flight, a flight which ends up being nothing short of thrilling. I loved the focus on the idealism of the era, and the promise of the future with so many discoveries yet to be made. There is a bit of venturing into the more evangelical preaching, speaking in tongues and the like, but it isn’t the main focus, and it seemed slightly out of place in this story.
I was excited to read this, since Amelia Earhart was my first hero from the time I read a book about her when I was in 1st or 2nd grade, which thrilled my father. He’d known he wanted to become a pilot since he was 8 years old and saw his first plane fly overhead - much to his father’s disappointment, who saw planes as the death knell for his occupation working for the railroad. And he did fulfill that dream, becoming the youngest pilot on record in his state at 16, his first job as a pilot, ferrying mail from one airport to another. He never lost his love of flying, and flew up until he retired not long before the airline did, as well.
Published: 09 Mar 2021
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Grove/Atlantic / Grove Press
March 8, 2021
Malcolm Brooks’ Cloudmaker is a wild romp of a novel reminiscent of Huck Finn but with some elements even Mark Twain wouldn’t have dared include. The story opens with teenage Houston “Huck” Finn‘s first disastrous but funny attempt to soar through the Montana skies in a homemade glider. Within pages, he runs into two friends, who have been fishing and convince him to go with them to check out something suspicious they have spotted in the river but been unable to get close enough to identify.. Is it a large tractor inner tube or a black-suited body? How does their effort to identify it lead to a chase scene that seems like something out of a Keystone Kops or Buster Keaton movie? What does Houston pocket from the scene that he will later regret?
It is 1937--a decade since Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. Amelia Earhart has taken to the air in her attempt to fly around the world. Having burned his failed glider, Houston has determined to build a plane although he doesn’t know how to fly. While his father quietly encourages his son’s creative ventures, both conceal his projects from his frail, conservative, and highly devout mother. Eighteen-year-old cousin Annelise arrives by train from California with her free mind and rebellious ways, sent by her own conservative mother to a place where she may get into less trouble, especially under Aunt Gloria’s watchful eye. Conveniently, privileged Annelise has taken flying lessons.
Amidst the Great Depression and increasing rumors of trouble in Europe, adventuresome but naive Houston faces temptation after temptation as he learns to dance, is confronted by friends with bootlegged alcohol, and falls for a girl in his class and for his older cousin Annelise. However, theirs is an environment not only of temptations, but also of conflicting religious fervor and restrictions—an environment of jitterbug, swing dance, and carnivals, but also of tent revival meetings and belief in Original Sin and the Second Coming.
As the story moves forward, it also moves backwards. One by one, Malcolm Brooks introduces his characters’ amazing backstories, revealing the forces that shaped them into the people they are.
Cloudmaker is an adventure story. As such, it misses little; it even includes sharpshooters and menacing gangsters. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s only an adventure story. This isn’t a book to skim although I’ll admit to skimming—but not skipping--a few of the racier scenes. Like Huck Finn, this is also a novel of ideas and should be read carefully.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Malcolm Brooks for providing an advance reader copy.
It is 1937--a decade since Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. Amelia Earhart has taken to the air in her attempt to fly around the world. Having burned his failed glider, Houston has determined to build a plane although he doesn’t know how to fly. While his father quietly encourages his son’s creative ventures, both conceal his projects from his frail, conservative, and highly devout mother. Eighteen-year-old cousin Annelise arrives by train from California with her free mind and rebellious ways, sent by her own conservative mother to a place where she may get into less trouble, especially under Aunt Gloria’s watchful eye. Conveniently, privileged Annelise has taken flying lessons.
Amidst the Great Depression and increasing rumors of trouble in Europe, adventuresome but naive Houston faces temptation after temptation as he learns to dance, is confronted by friends with bootlegged alcohol, and falls for a girl in his class and for his older cousin Annelise. However, theirs is an environment not only of temptations, but also of conflicting religious fervor and restrictions—an environment of jitterbug, swing dance, and carnivals, but also of tent revival meetings and belief in Original Sin and the Second Coming.
As the story moves forward, it also moves backwards. One by one, Malcolm Brooks introduces his characters’ amazing backstories, revealing the forces that shaped them into the people they are.
Cloudmaker is an adventure story. As such, it misses little; it even includes sharpshooters and menacing gangsters. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s only an adventure story. This isn’t a book to skim although I’ll admit to skimming—but not skipping--a few of the racier scenes. Like Huck Finn, this is also a novel of ideas and should be read carefully.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Malcolm Brooks for providing an advance reader copy.
September 13, 2022
I received an electronic ARC of this wonderful novel from Netgalley, Malcolm Brooks, and Grove Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition of and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Malcolm Brooks writes a compelling story with rounded, wholesome characters and brings us to the troubled times in the mid-1930s with touches of both reality and hope.
Houston Finn - labeled 'Huck' by his schoolmates - has an excellent mechanical mind and a love for the whole concept of flying that has shaped his life in small-town Montana. Before his Junior year in high school, he built - and flew - a glider from plans available by mail - the 1932 Flying and Glider Manual. The glider flew only long enough to break out windows in the local drug store, but Houston was able to figure out the problems inherent in the design, and aim higher - to a plane. The family owns a small ranch, but his father also has a mechanical repair shop in downtown Billings, and Houston stayed in town during the week for school. His mother stayed at the ranch except for church. Houstons plans are kept secret from everyone but his father, Roy, because of his mother's frailty and a running feud Houston seems to have with the son of the local law. Enter his cousin Annelise, exiled to her Aunt Gloria's care to finish her senior year after a real clash of spirit with her own mother, and already with the knowledge and experience of airplane piloting, though she is not yet licensed. What could go wrong?
This is an excellent novel, well versed in 1930s lore from politics to Amelia Earhart's last flight to church revival tents and the growth of the Mormon church. This is a story that will warm your heart and keep you up late. Brooks is an author I will follow.
Globe Press
pub date March 9, 2021
Reviewed on Goodreads and Netgalley on February 26, 2021. Reviewed on March 9, 2021,
at AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble, BookBub, Kobo, and GooglePlay.
Houston Finn - labeled 'Huck' by his schoolmates - has an excellent mechanical mind and a love for the whole concept of flying that has shaped his life in small-town Montana. Before his Junior year in high school, he built - and flew - a glider from plans available by mail - the 1932 Flying and Glider Manual. The glider flew only long enough to break out windows in the local drug store, but Houston was able to figure out the problems inherent in the design, and aim higher - to a plane. The family owns a small ranch, but his father also has a mechanical repair shop in downtown Billings, and Houston stayed in town during the week for school. His mother stayed at the ranch except for church. Houstons plans are kept secret from everyone but his father, Roy, because of his mother's frailty and a running feud Houston seems to have with the son of the local law. Enter his cousin Annelise, exiled to her Aunt Gloria's care to finish her senior year after a real clash of spirit with her own mother, and already with the knowledge and experience of airplane piloting, though she is not yet licensed. What could go wrong?
This is an excellent novel, well versed in 1930s lore from politics to Amelia Earhart's last flight to church revival tents and the growth of the Mormon church. This is a story that will warm your heart and keep you up late. Brooks is an author I will follow.
Globe Press
pub date March 9, 2021
Reviewed on Goodreads and Netgalley on February 26, 2021. Reviewed on March 9, 2021,
at AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble, BookBub, Kobo, and GooglePlay.
June 12, 2021
This is a book about too many things.
I picked up this book at the library and was drawn by the cover art showing a small 1930’s era airplane flying above a lonely field. Reading the dust jacket, I thought it was going to be about a small town kid, borderline engineering genius, building his own airplane. Being a private pilot, that’s the kind of story I like. It is that but there are about 6 other stories going on; the father/son relationship story, kid/cousin relationship (nothing icky), kid/first girlfriend relationship (nothing really there either), mother/niece relationship and a few more, including gangsters and rounding it all off with modern technology vs. bible thumpers. There are way too many things going on here.
Out in the middle of nowhere Montana in 1937, Houston Finn, whose hero is Charles Lindbergh, is a 14 year old who's already crash landed his home built glider and is now building his own airplane from published plans but making his own improvements out of vacuum cleaner parts. He comes across a dead gangster and his expensive watch that contains a secret. Meanwhile, his family, consisting of Roy, his salt of the earth, straight shooting auto repair shop owning Dad and Gloria, his bible thumping mother, takes in Annalise, his 18 year old hot to trot cousin, who’s been sent off to Montana by her mother, Gloria’s sister, to get her away from her flight instructor boyfriend who she’s already slept with. Yes, she’s taken flying lessons, 200 hours of them, and Amelia Earhart is her hero. What a coincidence! The two of them, with the assistance of McKee, a hired hand who’s also an ace machinist, help Houston finish the airplane. All well and good so far and had the story concentrated on that, and maybe added in a dose of adventure with the threatening gangsters who want to get the watch back, and possibly some coming of age stuff with the girlfriend, there may have been a tight cohesive story. As it is though, the further in you read, the messier and convoluted the book gets and it’s not a spoiler to say that some of the stories kind of just peter out, the girlfriend disappears altogether and others end way too abruptly without a real satisfactory resolution.
The character development is really good and the story, told from a variety of viewpoints with a few flashbacks along the way, paints a really detailed picture of life out in that area of the country during that era, where self sufficiency was a necessity in order to have any kind of normal life. They had radios, houses with a single light bulb, electricity from batteries charged by homemade windmills and not much else. The prose is a little too flowery for my taste, but that’s not what turned me from originally thinking at the beginning the book was 5-stars and might even make a great movie, to what I’ve ended up giving it, 3-stars because it becomes ho-hum, and a bit nonsensical towards the end.
I picked up this book at the library and was drawn by the cover art showing a small 1930’s era airplane flying above a lonely field. Reading the dust jacket, I thought it was going to be about a small town kid, borderline engineering genius, building his own airplane. Being a private pilot, that’s the kind of story I like. It is that but there are about 6 other stories going on; the father/son relationship story, kid/cousin relationship (nothing icky), kid/first girlfriend relationship (nothing really there either), mother/niece relationship and a few more, including gangsters and rounding it all off with modern technology vs. bible thumpers. There are way too many things going on here.
Out in the middle of nowhere Montana in 1937, Houston Finn, whose hero is Charles Lindbergh, is a 14 year old who's already crash landed his home built glider and is now building his own airplane from published plans but making his own improvements out of vacuum cleaner parts. He comes across a dead gangster and his expensive watch that contains a secret. Meanwhile, his family, consisting of Roy, his salt of the earth, straight shooting auto repair shop owning Dad and Gloria, his bible thumping mother, takes in Annalise, his 18 year old hot to trot cousin, who’s been sent off to Montana by her mother, Gloria’s sister, to get her away from her flight instructor boyfriend who she’s already slept with. Yes, she’s taken flying lessons, 200 hours of them, and Amelia Earhart is her hero. What a coincidence! The two of them, with the assistance of McKee, a hired hand who’s also an ace machinist, help Houston finish the airplane. All well and good so far and had the story concentrated on that, and maybe added in a dose of adventure with the threatening gangsters who want to get the watch back, and possibly some coming of age stuff with the girlfriend, there may have been a tight cohesive story. As it is though, the further in you read, the messier and convoluted the book gets and it’s not a spoiler to say that some of the stories kind of just peter out, the girlfriend disappears altogether and others end way too abruptly without a real satisfactory resolution.
The character development is really good and the story, told from a variety of viewpoints with a few flashbacks along the way, paints a really detailed picture of life out in that area of the country during that era, where self sufficiency was a necessity in order to have any kind of normal life. They had radios, houses with a single light bulb, electricity from batteries charged by homemade windmills and not much else. The prose is a little too flowery for my taste, but that’s not what turned me from originally thinking at the beginning the book was 5-stars and might even make a great movie, to what I’ve ended up giving it, 3-stars because it becomes ho-hum, and a bit nonsensical towards the end.
October 31, 2022
I fix stuff and I know things.
My kind of guy. Has a daddy who rides across half the country as a 10 year old. Has a buddy who can shoot an ancient sharps and split a piece of sheet metal. Has an absolutely incredible cousin who he can lead or follow as circumstances call. And an overall sense of spiritual connection which carries everything to exactly where it’s supposed to be.
My kind of guy. Has a daddy who rides across half the country as a 10 year old. Has a buddy who can shoot an ancient sharps and split a piece of sheet metal. Has an absolutely incredible cousin who he can lead or follow as circumstances call. And an overall sense of spiritual connection which carries everything to exactly where it’s supposed to be.
November 22, 2020
Pretty good overall. A nice story with a good plot, and well written characters. This includes some adventure and mystery and some drama. Literary fiction fans may enjoy this most. 3.5 stars rounded. up.
Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!
Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!
April 4, 2021
After a fabulous debut novel 5 years ago, I was expecting so much more from this second novel by Malcolm Brooks. Gone were the beautiful word pictures he painted in “Painted Horses”. To be fair, I personally don’t have a lot of interest in early aeronautics so that may have been part of the problem, but the beautiful writing was just nonexistent. The characters were pretty interesting but that didn’t make it worth the long 5 year wait.
May 31, 2021
Perfect read of epic proportions! Hard to say which was most outstanding: the beautifully detailed descriptions or the come-alive-on-the-page characters. This is an adventure story, a historical novel, a mystery, and a plain feel-good experience. Loved it!
June 15, 2021
I was hoping this would be really good, but I found it addressed too many storylines that didn't get fleshed out to their full potential.
I enjoyed the end, though, and I liked the Amelia Earhart storyline.
I enjoyed the end, though, and I liked the Amelia Earhart storyline.
May 17, 2021
In a book that is one part Wright Brothers and a second part This Tender Land, we meet a group of young people obsessed with aviation. It’s Montana in the 1930s and Amelia and Lindy are breaking flying records and making news. Annelise has been exiled to her aunt and uncle in their sleepy little town to keep her out of trouble. Her cousin Houston, called Huck, isn’t too sure about her being there until he learns she can fly. Huck has already built and flown a glider but is now in the process of building a real plane from the Pietenpol plans. With the help of a welder and machinist named McKee, from Utah, the group is absorbed in their secret project when a crime ring becomes aware of them for all the wrong reasons.
This is a wonderful coming of age, Americana, Pentecostal tale that is all kinds of fun and very charming to boot. Through changing points of view the reader gets to look into a variety of motivations for the characters’ actions. I wish I could remember and give credit to who/where I learned about this one but I don’t seem to have any notes on it.
This is a wonderful coming of age, Americana, Pentecostal tale that is all kinds of fun and very charming to boot. Through changing points of view the reader gets to look into a variety of motivations for the characters’ actions. I wish I could remember and give credit to who/where I learned about this one but I don’t seem to have any notes on it.
February 6, 2021
I am not exactly sure what I expected but this one did not pull me in. I started it three times and got 50% in and finally called it quits. This might be considered a young adult genre but the sex scenes should have ruled that out. It appears to be a coming of age story of several high school friends that have come upon a dead body whom had a cool watch and a cousin that has come to visit under questionable circumstances. I kept waiting to get to the height of the story about their flying, the building of their plane or the mystery of the dead person but it kept us in the perils of young puberty way to long. I am sure many will love this tale, unfortunately it wasn't me.
I thank Atlantic Grove and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC for my unbiased opinion. 3 stars.
I thank Atlantic Grove and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC for my unbiased opinion. 3 stars.
March 10, 2021
I loved this book so much I blurbed it!
My blurb:
"Tender friendships and passionate pursuits combine in Cloudmaker--a rich, evocative, soaring novel rooted in particulars and populated with characters so nuanced and real you can't help but admire and miss them long after you've turned the last page."--Erin Lindsay McCabe, author of USA Today bestseller I Shall Be Near To You
Annelise & Huck are my favorites. 💕 This one is for you literary fiction lovers, especially if you also love badass boundary pushing female characters, Amelia Earhart references, and prose to luxuriate in.
My blurb:
"Tender friendships and passionate pursuits combine in Cloudmaker--a rich, evocative, soaring novel rooted in particulars and populated with characters so nuanced and real you can't help but admire and miss them long after you've turned the last page."--Erin Lindsay McCabe, author of USA Today bestseller I Shall Be Near To You
Annelise & Huck are my favorites. 💕 This one is for you literary fiction lovers, especially if you also love badass boundary pushing female characters, Amelia Earhart references, and prose to luxuriate in.
September 22, 2020
A coming-of-age story with plenty of adventure. However, it did feel quite long at times, with chapters dedicated to the character's backstories. I understand how it added to the richness of the story, but there were times when I wanted it to meander less and get back to the story at hand.
Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 14, 2022
"WINGING IT"
Even when you factor in the youthful mindset of reckless infallibility, 14-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn has a serious set of onions hanging between his legs to build and fly his own homemade contraptions. However, his engineering prowess does not transfer to an advanced knowledge of life’s other challenges, especially with puberty in full swing. Events take place in 1937 rural Montana during the Great Depression. The woebegone ranch Huck lives on with his parents sports a water pump, an outhouse, and a wood-burning stove. It also does not include such amenities as indoor plumbing, electricity, and running water. His dad, Roy, owns a shop in town that Huck frequently stays at while secretly building an airplane from scratch. Him and his father are hiding it from his mother who would deeply disapprove and very likely stop Huck from finishing the airplane, let alone fly the thing. The situation becomes more complicated when a cosmopolitan 18-year-old cousin named Annelise is forced by her California parents to move in with her mother’s sister/ Huck’s mom. There is also a mystery revolving around a watch that Huck took from a dead body and men outside of the community who are hell-bent on retrieving it.
At the novel’s core, it is a story about entering adulthood and young people’s aspirations. Mr. Brooks spends a good deal of time explaining the motivations and mindsets of the five key characters: Huck, his parents, his cousin, and a young welder/machinist who is new to town. All of the author’s creations seem believable and unique. Huck’s dad, Roy, is a handy practical man who is more earthy and nowhere near smitten with religion but married to a woman that is deeply religious to the point she believes dancing is sinful, tent revivals with followers speaking in tongues is fabulous stuff, evolution is the Devil’s work, and the Rapture is nearly upon the world. The small community appears to be inhabited by polar opposites, one group religious and one group taking full advantage of life’s uninhibited recreations. ‘Cloudmaker’ addresses such topics as aviation; the great buffalo massacres during the 1800s; Native Americans and pioneers murdered as America expanded westward; the struggles of male puberty (I found the funny depictions quite accurate); Mormonism; women’s roles; mortality; and how religious zealotry infantilizes members from understanding normal sexual development. There were quite a few words, terms and items used from the earlier era that were unfamiliar to me and I found myself searching the internet for more clarification. The book includes a wee-bit of profanity and few somewhat-graphic sex scenes.
‘Cloudmaker’ is a thoughtful entertaining novel. It not only depicts the difficult times rural people lived during the Great Depression, but it also shows the ingenuity and hopes of hardworking decent folks. As it always is, there are conflicts between people wanting to keep to traditions and others who embrace change. I found the story’s mystery to be anticlimactic, but the book’s last fifty pages were suspenseful and I loved the conclusion. Mr. Brooks’ novel made this 62-year-old duffer wish he was young again.
Even when you factor in the youthful mindset of reckless infallibility, 14-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn has a serious set of onions hanging between his legs to build and fly his own homemade contraptions. However, his engineering prowess does not transfer to an advanced knowledge of life’s other challenges, especially with puberty in full swing. Events take place in 1937 rural Montana during the Great Depression. The woebegone ranch Huck lives on with his parents sports a water pump, an outhouse, and a wood-burning stove. It also does not include such amenities as indoor plumbing, electricity, and running water. His dad, Roy, owns a shop in town that Huck frequently stays at while secretly building an airplane from scratch. Him and his father are hiding it from his mother who would deeply disapprove and very likely stop Huck from finishing the airplane, let alone fly the thing. The situation becomes more complicated when a cosmopolitan 18-year-old cousin named Annelise is forced by her California parents to move in with her mother’s sister/ Huck’s mom. There is also a mystery revolving around a watch that Huck took from a dead body and men outside of the community who are hell-bent on retrieving it.
At the novel’s core, it is a story about entering adulthood and young people’s aspirations. Mr. Brooks spends a good deal of time explaining the motivations and mindsets of the five key characters: Huck, his parents, his cousin, and a young welder/machinist who is new to town. All of the author’s creations seem believable and unique. Huck’s dad, Roy, is a handy practical man who is more earthy and nowhere near smitten with religion but married to a woman that is deeply religious to the point she believes dancing is sinful, tent revivals with followers speaking in tongues is fabulous stuff, evolution is the Devil’s work, and the Rapture is nearly upon the world. The small community appears to be inhabited by polar opposites, one group religious and one group taking full advantage of life’s uninhibited recreations. ‘Cloudmaker’ addresses such topics as aviation; the great buffalo massacres during the 1800s; Native Americans and pioneers murdered as America expanded westward; the struggles of male puberty (I found the funny depictions quite accurate); Mormonism; women’s roles; mortality; and how religious zealotry infantilizes members from understanding normal sexual development. There were quite a few words, terms and items used from the earlier era that were unfamiliar to me and I found myself searching the internet for more clarification. The book includes a wee-bit of profanity and few somewhat-graphic sex scenes.
‘Cloudmaker’ is a thoughtful entertaining novel. It not only depicts the difficult times rural people lived during the Great Depression, but it also shows the ingenuity and hopes of hardworking decent folks. As it always is, there are conflicts between people wanting to keep to traditions and others who embrace change. I found the story’s mystery to be anticlimactic, but the book’s last fifty pages were suspenseful and I loved the conclusion. Mr. Brooks’ novel made this 62-year-old duffer wish he was young again.
March 27, 2021
Malcolm Brooks follows up his bestselling debut novel, PAINTED HORSES, with CLOUDMAKER, a family saga set in 1937 Montana --- 10 years after Charles Lindbergh’s famous flight across the ocean, and as the world awaits word of Amelia Earhart’s fate.
Young Houston “Huck” Finn and his cousin, Annelise, are enthralled by both aviators, as they race to produce their own airplane before Huck’s parents discover it. While the elder Finns are hardworking traditionalists, the teens represent the forward-thinking America of invention and adventure. Those adventures, which include Yakima McKee, Huck’s father’s hired hand, revolve around building and flying the plane, and hiding a flight watch --- an invention of Lindbergh’s --- that Huck finds. It was on a dead gangster’s body that he and his friend came across while swimming in the local river. Naturally, the gangster’s cohorts will stop at nothing to get that watch back. But why?
The 450-page novel is narrated from the point of view of several characters, which adds perspective to the story while also making the plot lines harder to follow. Still, the protagonists are vividly portrayed. There’s 14-year-old Huck/Houston, who’s earnest and effortlessly brilliant; Annelise, who’s canny and plucky, with a reckless streak that caused her mother to banish her to her cousin’s place in Montana; and McKee, who has a wonderful backstory that gives him more gravitas than is immediately apparent. Huck’s father is indulgent but realistic, while his mother, Annelise’s aunt, lives by her religious convictions. The book veers back and forth between the secular and the sacred, though it’s clear where Brooks’ sympathies lie.
What’s less clear is where the reader’s focus should be. Is the story about the relationship between Huck and his family, or the significance of man’s desire to conquer the skies? And what about the gangsters, whose shenanigans take up much of the middle part of the novel? Or Huck’s love interest, who disappears more than halfway through the book? Or Annelise’s conquests?
At the end of CLOUDMAKER, when Annelise finds herself up in a plane on a life-or-death mission, the flight becomes a symbol of all the hope and mystery that each character lives with and for. Whether it’s enough to propel the reader through the preceding pages depends on one’s patience and belief.
Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley
Young Houston “Huck” Finn and his cousin, Annelise, are enthralled by both aviators, as they race to produce their own airplane before Huck’s parents discover it. While the elder Finns are hardworking traditionalists, the teens represent the forward-thinking America of invention and adventure. Those adventures, which include Yakima McKee, Huck’s father’s hired hand, revolve around building and flying the plane, and hiding a flight watch --- an invention of Lindbergh’s --- that Huck finds. It was on a dead gangster’s body that he and his friend came across while swimming in the local river. Naturally, the gangster’s cohorts will stop at nothing to get that watch back. But why?
The 450-page novel is narrated from the point of view of several characters, which adds perspective to the story while also making the plot lines harder to follow. Still, the protagonists are vividly portrayed. There’s 14-year-old Huck/Houston, who’s earnest and effortlessly brilliant; Annelise, who’s canny and plucky, with a reckless streak that caused her mother to banish her to her cousin’s place in Montana; and McKee, who has a wonderful backstory that gives him more gravitas than is immediately apparent. Huck’s father is indulgent but realistic, while his mother, Annelise’s aunt, lives by her religious convictions. The book veers back and forth between the secular and the sacred, though it’s clear where Brooks’ sympathies lie.
What’s less clear is where the reader’s focus should be. Is the story about the relationship between Huck and his family, or the significance of man’s desire to conquer the skies? And what about the gangsters, whose shenanigans take up much of the middle part of the novel? Or Huck’s love interest, who disappears more than halfway through the book? Or Annelise’s conquests?
At the end of CLOUDMAKER, when Annelise finds herself up in a plane on a life-or-death mission, the flight becomes a symbol of all the hope and mystery that each character lives with and for. Whether it’s enough to propel the reader through the preceding pages depends on one’s patience and belief.
Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley
December 26, 2020
The summer of 1937 in America- dark clouds are already forming in Europe and the United States has their share of clouds, too. It is the time of the Great Depression, certainly a storm cloud, but the sun still shines through, particularly on Aimee Semple McPherson and Amelia Earhart. For fourteen-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn, it is a hot summer and a summer that opens the door to adulthood for him.
“Cloudmaker” is a dense, lyrical look at rural life in Montana. In many ways, this is a family saga as the author takes plenty of time to introduce us to the Finn family with close-up backstories of Huck’s parents, his cousin Annelise who visits for the summer and the new mechanic at the family mechanic shop. We see the “old” America of our folklore- strong, independent, determined, hardworking and religious people. We experience the national pride for Amelia Earhart. And we also view the newer America- one of invention and industry and new values and morals.
“Huck” is an endearing character. He is keen on flight and airplanes and we hang out with him in the mechanic shop’s workroom as he first builds a glider, and then with the help of Annelise and the mechanic, he builds an airplane. People back then were also resourceful and it’s a great story as to how they obtained the Model A motor for the plane.
Huck and his buddies take on some “bad guys” and Huck also begins to learn about love. Huck has the whole long, hot summer to ponder his life. Little does he know that the European cloud will soon engulf his world. Annelise and the mechanic also expand their horizons.
I found this to be an emotionally touching and interesting story. It is long and detailed, so plan to read it when you have time to read slowly and think. Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Grove Press for an advanced digital review copy. This is my honest review.
“Cloudmaker” is a dense, lyrical look at rural life in Montana. In many ways, this is a family saga as the author takes plenty of time to introduce us to the Finn family with close-up backstories of Huck’s parents, his cousin Annelise who visits for the summer and the new mechanic at the family mechanic shop. We see the “old” America of our folklore- strong, independent, determined, hardworking and religious people. We experience the national pride for Amelia Earhart. And we also view the newer America- one of invention and industry and new values and morals.
“Huck” is an endearing character. He is keen on flight and airplanes and we hang out with him in the mechanic shop’s workroom as he first builds a glider, and then with the help of Annelise and the mechanic, he builds an airplane. People back then were also resourceful and it’s a great story as to how they obtained the Model A motor for the plane.
Huck and his buddies take on some “bad guys” and Huck also begins to learn about love. Huck has the whole long, hot summer to ponder his life. Little does he know that the European cloud will soon engulf his world. Annelise and the mechanic also expand their horizons.
I found this to be an emotionally touching and interesting story. It is long and detailed, so plan to read it when you have time to read slowly and think. Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Grove Press for an advanced digital review copy. This is my honest review.
December 26, 2020
The summer of 1937 in America- dark clouds are already forming in Europe and the United States has their share of clouds, too. It is the time of the Great Depression, certainly a storm cloud, but the sun still shines through, particularly on Aimee Semple McPherson and Amelia Earhart. For fourteen-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn, it is a hot summer and a summer that opens the door to adulthood for him.
“Cloudmaker” is a dense, lyrical look at rural life in Montana. In many ways, this is a family saga as the author takes plenty of time to introduce us to the Finn family with close-up backstories of Huck’s parents, his cousin Annelise who visits for the summer and the new mechanic at the family mechanic shop. We see the “old” America of our folklore- strong, independent, determined, hardworking and religious people. We experience the national pride for Amelia Earhart. And we also view the newer America- one of invention and industry and new values and morals.
“Huck” is an endearing character. He is keen on flight and airplanes and we hang out with him in the mechanic shop’s workroom as he first builds a glider, and then with the help of Annelise and the mechanic, he builds an airplane. People back then were also resourceful and it’s a great story as to how they obtained the Model A motor for the plane.
Huck and his buddies take on some “bad guys” and Huck also begins to learn about love. Huck has the whole long, hot summer to ponder his life. Little does he know that the European cloud will soon engulf his world. Annelise and the mechanic also expand their horizons.
I found this to be an emotionally touching and interesting story. It is long and detailed, so plan to read it when you have time to read slowly and think. Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Grove Press for an advanced digital review copy. This is my honest review.
“Cloudmaker” is a dense, lyrical look at rural life in Montana. In many ways, this is a family saga as the author takes plenty of time to introduce us to the Finn family with close-up backstories of Huck’s parents, his cousin Annelise who visits for the summer and the new mechanic at the family mechanic shop. We see the “old” America of our folklore- strong, independent, determined, hardworking and religious people. We experience the national pride for Amelia Earhart. And we also view the newer America- one of invention and industry and new values and morals.
“Huck” is an endearing character. He is keen on flight and airplanes and we hang out with him in the mechanic shop’s workroom as he first builds a glider, and then with the help of Annelise and the mechanic, he builds an airplane. People back then were also resourceful and it’s a great story as to how they obtained the Model A motor for the plane.
Huck and his buddies take on some “bad guys” and Huck also begins to learn about love. Huck has the whole long, hot summer to ponder his life. Little does he know that the European cloud will soon engulf his world. Annelise and the mechanic also expand their horizons.
I found this to be an emotionally touching and interesting story. It is long and detailed, so plan to read it when you have time to read slowly and think. Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Grove Press for an advanced digital review copy. This is my honest review.
February 28, 2021
I get books to review from a website known as Edelweiss+. In that e-book platform, there’s a spotlight on featured books — or books that get preferred treatment in terms of placement in front of book reviewers’ eyeballs by being marketed in a kind of banner ad at the top of the site. Malcolm Brooks’ sophomore novel Cloudmaker got this treatment, which is how I came about reviewing this one. I figured that because it was being marketed more aggressively to reviewers (and other users of the platform, such as librarians), that it must be a superlative book. I also spied the colourful cover art and was taken by it. Given the subject matter is about airplanes, which suggested adventure, all these features seemed to scream that Cloudmaker would be a great read. Thus, I snapped up the opportunity to read the book. Remember that old saying about judging a book by its cover? It’s a true saying for Cloudmaker.
The book is set in 1937 in Montana against the backdrop of Amelia Earhart’s attempt at flying around the world. It centers on a 14-year-old boy named Houston “Huck” Finn (no, I’m not making up his nickname) who has built a glider that he has crashed at the outset of the book, and the young lad is secretly working on building his own airplane in the meantime as a replacement flyer. His 18-year-old cousin, Annelise, arrives from California under mysterious circumstances, and it turns out she has flown airplanes. Together, the pair have adventures with a shop assistant hired by Houston’s father, including those revolving around a flight watch invented by Charles Lindbergh that is pulled by Houston off a dead gangster’s body that he and a friend discover in a river. Naturally, the gangsters want that watch back.
Read the rest of the review here: https://zachary-houle.medium.com/a-re...
The book is set in 1937 in Montana against the backdrop of Amelia Earhart’s attempt at flying around the world. It centers on a 14-year-old boy named Houston “Huck” Finn (no, I’m not making up his nickname) who has built a glider that he has crashed at the outset of the book, and the young lad is secretly working on building his own airplane in the meantime as a replacement flyer. His 18-year-old cousin, Annelise, arrives from California under mysterious circumstances, and it turns out she has flown airplanes. Together, the pair have adventures with a shop assistant hired by Houston’s father, including those revolving around a flight watch invented by Charles Lindbergh that is pulled by Houston off a dead gangster’s body that he and a friend discover in a river. Naturally, the gangsters want that watch back.
Read the rest of the review here: https://zachary-houle.medium.com/a-re...
August 9, 2022
What a fun story, full of action from the get go, and whose characters are equally engaging and lively.
Malcolm Brooks portrays our young male protagonist with a keen sense of understanding, as if he himself once snuck out at night to secretly fly a home made flying machine that almost takes out a building's tower on main street. His portrayal of our slightly older female protagonist shows his ability to get inside the head of a non tradition young lady, impatient to live her life, namely fly, but is pressed to settle down and abandon her dreams. This story shines the light on a rural family with problems, a small town with well known and relatable characters, some who act as antagonists, some who are helpers and supporters.
This is a story about cousins who come together by circumstance with a shared dream of flight, but with problems to overcome. One is a young man with a not so common home life, trying to claim his independence made all the harder by a misunderstood but influential family member. The other is a young lady on the cusp of adulthood, with a single minded will to fly (again). When she's sent away to her cousin's rural town, she can't be bothered with her younger cousin or his interests. She's too consumed following the progress of Amelia Earhart's second attempt of round-the-world flight, but her inflexible nature bends at a critical juncture in not only her cousin's life but in her own.
Brooks weaves a story of two unlikely family members coming together in a very satisfying way for the reader. He provides excitement, humor, coming of age, surprises, history, and adventure. Two young people struggle to understand themselves, each other, and finally discover and understand a a family secret. This was a great read.
Malcolm Brooks portrays our young male protagonist with a keen sense of understanding, as if he himself once snuck out at night to secretly fly a home made flying machine that almost takes out a building's tower on main street. His portrayal of our slightly older female protagonist shows his ability to get inside the head of a non tradition young lady, impatient to live her life, namely fly, but is pressed to settle down and abandon her dreams. This story shines the light on a rural family with problems, a small town with well known and relatable characters, some who act as antagonists, some who are helpers and supporters.
This is a story about cousins who come together by circumstance with a shared dream of flight, but with problems to overcome. One is a young man with a not so common home life, trying to claim his independence made all the harder by a misunderstood but influential family member. The other is a young lady on the cusp of adulthood, with a single minded will to fly (again). When she's sent away to her cousin's rural town, she can't be bothered with her younger cousin or his interests. She's too consumed following the progress of Amelia Earhart's second attempt of round-the-world flight, but her inflexible nature bends at a critical juncture in not only her cousin's life but in her own.
Brooks weaves a story of two unlikely family members coming together in a very satisfying way for the reader. He provides excitement, humor, coming of age, surprises, history, and adventure. Two young people struggle to understand themselves, each other, and finally discover and understand a a family secret. This was a great read.
June 4, 2021
This was a sweet coming - of - age book for both a male and a female. Cousins, Houston (Huck) and Annelise, are brought together in Houston's family farm in Montana when Annelise is sent from her California home by her mother because of "sexual misdeeds". She is about 17 or 18, he is 14 going on 15.
They have a common interest-flying. The story takes place in 1937. Annelise has had flying lessons, and Huck has first built a glider and then a small, double seater airplane. That in itself would make this an interesting book, but there is a dead body pulled out of the river by Huck and his friend and more intrigue over a pilot watch. It seems a little complicated and the book would have been nearly as good without that plot.
All the characters are likeable, even Houston's mother who is 'a little over the top with religion". I believe my husband liked this book more than I did. He got it for me. There is a lot of interesting material on aviation and airplane building which I know really appealed to him since was husband was in aviation. But even for females this was a good book with Annalise having a romantic interest in Yak who was a totally likeable genius mechanic. Nice book for young teens.
An odd thing for me was the naming of the chapters. Some were numbers, others had titles, and several times the numbering started over. It was like they forgot to put in Part 1, Part 2, and just started the numbers over without these divisions. I found it most curious.
They have a common interest-flying. The story takes place in 1937. Annelise has had flying lessons, and Huck has first built a glider and then a small, double seater airplane. That in itself would make this an interesting book, but there is a dead body pulled out of the river by Huck and his friend and more intrigue over a pilot watch. It seems a little complicated and the book would have been nearly as good without that plot.
All the characters are likeable, even Houston's mother who is 'a little over the top with religion". I believe my husband liked this book more than I did. He got it for me. There is a lot of interesting material on aviation and airplane building which I know really appealed to him since was husband was in aviation. But even for females this was a good book with Annalise having a romantic interest in Yak who was a totally likeable genius mechanic. Nice book for young teens.
An odd thing for me was the naming of the chapters. Some were numbers, others had titles, and several times the numbering started over. It was like they forgot to put in Part 1, Part 2, and just started the numbers over without these divisions. I found it most curious.
August 24, 2023
This was a slow start, and I wasn't sure I wanted to read a 400+ page book, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. It is a great coming-of-age story about a 14-year-old boy in depression-era Montana who is building his own airplane with the help of his cousin from CA (who has flying experience). There's also a mystery to solve with a dead body, bank robbers, and hidden gold.
"A soaring, spirited novel set during the summer of Amelia Earhart’s final flight—a tale of American ingenuity and optimism set against the backdrop of a deepening Great Depression. The summer of 1937 will be a turning point for fourteen-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn. When he and a friend find a dead body in a local creek, a rare Lindbergh flight watch on its wrist, it seems like a sign. Huck is building his own airplane, a fact he has concealed from his mother. That summer also marks the arrival of his cousin Annelise, who was sent to live with the family under mysterious circumstances. As it turns out, she has had flying lessons—another sign. As Huck’s airplane takes shape, so does his burgeoning understanding of the world, including the battle over worldliness vs. godliness that has split Annelise from her family, and, in a quieter way, divides Huck’s family too. And meanwhile, there’s the matter of the watch, which it turns out the dead man’s cohort of bank robbers would very much like back. "
"A soaring, spirited novel set during the summer of Amelia Earhart’s final flight—a tale of American ingenuity and optimism set against the backdrop of a deepening Great Depression. The summer of 1937 will be a turning point for fourteen-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn. When he and a friend find a dead body in a local creek, a rare Lindbergh flight watch on its wrist, it seems like a sign. Huck is building his own airplane, a fact he has concealed from his mother. That summer also marks the arrival of his cousin Annelise, who was sent to live with the family under mysterious circumstances. As it turns out, she has had flying lessons—another sign. As Huck’s airplane takes shape, so does his burgeoning understanding of the world, including the battle over worldliness vs. godliness that has split Annelise from her family, and, in a quieter way, divides Huck’s family too. And meanwhile, there’s the matter of the watch, which it turns out the dead man’s cohort of bank robbers would very much like back. "
August 26, 2021
Montana 1937. Houston "Huck" Finn is obsessed with flying airplanes. He has already built a glider which he takes up late one night, and he is for sure hooked. He and his buddy find a man drowned in a creek. The man is wearing a very rare Lindy watch. Huck hides the watch, and tries to figure out the mystery surrounding it. His cousin, Annelise, is sent to live with Huck's family to keep her out of trouble, and she, too, has a Lindy watch, given to her by her boyfriend. Huck and his dad live in town part of the time; his mother remains on the ranch, only rarely coming to town. We catch glimpses of rural Montana high school, the power of a Pentecostal revival in town. Huck's plane building gets a boost from McKee, a welder and machinist who comes to town from Utah. Annelise manages to find her own trouble. Meanwhile, a crime ring becomes very interested in Huck, Annelise, and the Lindy watch.
A great coming-of-age story, combined with characters who saw a long ways beyond their Montana homes.
I received an e-ARC from NetGalley and Grove Atlantic Publishers, in exchange for a review.
A great coming-of-age story, combined with characters who saw a long ways beyond their Montana homes.
I received an e-ARC from NetGalley and Grove Atlantic Publishers, in exchange for a review.
October 3, 2021
I flat out loved this novel. It has been a long time since I have said that about anything but a Louise Penny mystery.
It is the 1930’s and 14-year-old Huck is fascinated by planes. When his cousin, Annalise, is sent to his family in Montana by her family in California, he discovers a kindred spirit for she cannot get enough of Amelia Earhart who is about to embark on her fateful flight. Annalise has flown planes. Buck wants to. His father, Roy, an adventurer in his own right, quietly supports his passion while his mother, Gloria, every bit the crazed evangelist, knows nothing about it. Roy brings in McKee to help Huck build his plane.
What follows is part mystery, part adventure, part family drama, part coming of age.
The characters are all likable, even Gloria. They are all well developed. The plot moves along nicely. If there is a flaw, it is found in the technical jargon about planes and flying which I think we could have lived without and the story would have been just as good.
This is a delightful novel. The author’s style is appealing. This is a winner.
It is the 1930’s and 14-year-old Huck is fascinated by planes. When his cousin, Annalise, is sent to his family in Montana by her family in California, he discovers a kindred spirit for she cannot get enough of Amelia Earhart who is about to embark on her fateful flight. Annalise has flown planes. Buck wants to. His father, Roy, an adventurer in his own right, quietly supports his passion while his mother, Gloria, every bit the crazed evangelist, knows nothing about it. Roy brings in McKee to help Huck build his plane.
What follows is part mystery, part adventure, part family drama, part coming of age.
The characters are all likable, even Gloria. They are all well developed. The plot moves along nicely. If there is a flaw, it is found in the technical jargon about planes and flying which I think we could have lived without and the story would have been just as good.
This is a delightful novel. The author’s style is appealing. This is a winner.
April 24, 2021
Montana is a setting that is ripe for great novels – set in the past, present or the future. In this case, we’re in the midst of the Great Depression. The author who burst onto the scene with his bestselling Painted Horses now brings us a tale from 1937 involving a teenager who wants to be a flyer, a cousin who can help him finish building his plane and help him learn how to pilot it, and gangsters who are out to retrieve a watch that our young man (Houston “Huck” Finn) found on a dead man in a nearby creekbed. Seriously – this is a lot to bite off in one chew, but Malcolm Brooks is up to the task. Maybe it’s the Montana skyline that does it, but this tale has the breadth to pull us in and keep us tethered until we see how it plays out. It’s touching, beautiful, entertaining and enlightening all in one – a true pleasure to savor. I feel another book club selection coming on!
I met this book at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA
I met this book at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA
May 14, 2021
A mixture of technology (from the 1930's), religion, teenagers coming of age, science/science fiction/miracles/illusions (depending on how you view the world), strong characters with exceptional character description and love and caring. A teenager is building a Pietenpol (kit airplane with a Model A engine) and the challenges (technical and personal) he faces with his father supporting and helping him and a mother who vehemently disapproves. The strength of this book is with interaction of strong characters. A central theme is right & wrong and differentiating between them.
I'm an engineer and someone who studies airplanes - especially 1920's through 1940's - I have seen a Pietenpol at the EAA museum. The technical descriptions are exceptional as well as the description of experiences of those flying it. Despite how good this is though, the character interactions are what make this such a good read.
I'm an engineer and someone who studies airplanes - especially 1920's through 1940's - I have seen a Pietenpol at the EAA museum. The technical descriptions are exceptional as well as the description of experiences of those flying it. Despite how good this is though, the character interactions are what make this such a good read.
October 12, 2021
Set in Montana in the late 1930's, Houston "Huck" Finn, a teenager obsessed with flying, sets out to build his own glider, and then eventually his own airplane. His older cousin Annalise, who comes to stay with the Finns, has also caught the flying bug and has had several flying lessons. The beginning of this story starts out strong as we get to know Huck, his family, and the time and place they live in. A run in with some local gangsters and a mystery to solve add to the adventure. The last part of the book is more about Annalise and Huck's mother, Gloria.
This book has good character development and an engaging story, but gets lost in the weeds in the last half of the book. The author chooses to give several characters their own chapters to tell their back-stories which I think detracts from the main story. There are also a few descriptive sex scenes with older characters that aren't necessary to the story and would keep this from being appropriate for a younger audience.
This book has good character development and an engaging story, but gets lost in the weeds in the last half of the book. The author chooses to give several characters their own chapters to tell their back-stories which I think detracts from the main story. There are also a few descriptive sex scenes with older characters that aren't necessary to the story and would keep this from being appropriate for a younger audience.
September 16, 2023
This historic novel takes place in 1937 Montana, in the plains north of Billings, when Amelia Earhardt was doing her round-the-world flight. "Huck" Finn, a 14 year old boy has made himself a glider and tried it out and now is trying to make a Pietenpol Flying Camper plane of his own, but is just missing the Model A engine to make it fly. This part of the story is based on a factual story that is highlighted on the website of the Mussellshell Valley Historical Museum site. It is a fascinating story and would be enough to make a good book, but Brooks adds so many other elements to the story from encounters with thieves trying to get his Charles Lindbergh watch, a trip into a crypt, welcoming his cousin from LA who already knows how to fly, and his mother's strict Pentecostalism. Characters are brought out fully and sympathetically. In the end, it is an enjoyable read, despite all the additions.
March 7, 2021
It's 1937 and Annelise has been sent to her aunt's house in Montana, Huck Finn is building airplanes, and a gangster has ended up dead in a local waterway. Brooks has packed several elements into this intriguing novel of teens seeking their futures even as the adults in their lives are seeking something else. This is evocative of the time, complete with Aimee Semple McPherson and Amelia Earhart. A watch on the body of the dead man ended up being a plot element for a mystery which felt like moe than the novel needed- I would have been perfectly happy without it. That said, I liked the characters, each of whom offers their POV, and the setting is wonderful. Anyone interested in small planes will appreciate the details. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read for fans of literary fiction.
September 7, 2022
I'll leave the book "report" for others and just give a critique of the book generally. I struggled to get through this book to be honest, the cover certainly attracted me and the short description inside. Brooks certainly did his homework with aeronautical terminology and flight lingo but to suggest that a young kid made and bolted a homemade turbocharger (adapted from a vacuum cleaner) onto an essentially stock Model A engine was stretching reality more than a wee bit. Plus, a lot of the dialogue sounded a bit too "adult" for kids of the age of those in the book. I did get through it though and once Gloria fell ill, I might have been able to write the ending myself (which I found dragged out somewhat). The start grabbed my attention though and the epilogue provided a nice ending. I'm gonna be generous with a 3-star rating.
January 2, 2021
Thank you Malcolm Brooks and NetGalley for providing this ARC, which will be published March 9, 2021.
A somewhat too vibrant teenage girl is sent to live with her aunt’s family in a small 1920s Montana town. Annalise is a trained pilot, having taken lessons for a couple of years. All the USA is crazy about Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. Huck, her “dern” boy cousin has been secretly building an airplane with the help of a shop assistant hired by his father. The characters are fully formed and believable for that time and place. There’s a lot of information a piloting a small homemade plane. The plot is well woven.
A somewhat too vibrant teenage girl is sent to live with her aunt’s family in a small 1920s Montana town. Annalise is a trained pilot, having taken lessons for a couple of years. All the USA is crazy about Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. Huck, her “dern” boy cousin has been secretly building an airplane with the help of a shop assistant hired by his father. The characters are fully formed and believable for that time and place. There’s a lot of information a piloting a small homemade plane. The plot is well woven.
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