Takeoffs and Landings

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

A journey to the center of their hearts

Ever since their father's sudden death eight years ago, Chuck and Lori's mom has spent most of her time on the road as a motivational speaker, leaving them and their younger siblings in the care of their grandparents. But this trip is different; this time, their mother has invited Chuck and Lori along in an attempt to reconnect with her eldest -- and now most distant -- children.
Lori is so angry with her mother for her constant absence she can barely look at her, and Chuck, as usual, tries to make himself invisible. From the start the trip seems doomed. But slowly, walls built up over the years begin to show cracks. Laser-sharp glares are finally and painfully turned inward. And in the end secrets are finally revealed -- secrets that will change all of their lives forever....

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Teen, Family

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.

She has since written more than 25 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey; Leaving Fishers; Just Ella; Turnabout; Takeoffs and Landings; The Girl with 500 Middle Names; Because of Anya; Escape from Memory; Say What?; The House on the Gulf; Double Identity; Dexter the Tough; Uprising; Palace of Mirrors; Claim to Fame; the Shadow Children series; and the Missing series. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series. Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and more than a dozen state reader’s choice awards.


Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two children.

Reviews

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I began reading this, my eyes started rolling and all I could think of is, "Oh no, not another teen angst story!" However, as I continued I realized this story was much more. It is very simply written and could easily be overlooked. But somehow this short novel worked for me. I loved how the point of view switched between characters and we caught a glimpse of three people trapped in their own perceptions. So many problems in relationships are caused by lack of or poorly executed communication and this novel caught that very thing. Perhaps I'm reading more into this book than there was, but I did enjoy it.

[Shayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book. I've read it before and can read it some more. Love how the author describes the characters feelings.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little young, but OK for all levels. Lori and Chuck are brother and sister, but not much else. Lori’s hostility toward her brother and her mother wells up from a deep anger. Chuck’s isolation is haunting. Their mother is too busy and distant to deal with their problems because she makes her living as a motivational speaker, flying all over the country, gone from them most of the time. None of them mention or want to deal with the hole in their lives: the children’s father’s death in a horrific accident 8 years before. Now their mother is taking Chuck and Lori with her on one of her trips—and the flood gates of the past open first a crack, then a gap in the walls that separate the three. Told 3rd person, but from alternating points of view of the three main characters. Very positive. Excellent narrative that reveals details little by little as the three are transformed by the trip they share. The symbolism of taking off and landing is well integrated into the story.

[Kaley Somers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The accurate family dynamic really made this book a good read. Finding out about all the struggles each character had to carry and then them telling their family is what made this book so good. It is a story about family and I would recommend it to anyone.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I about cried reading this. So good.

[Whitley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whitley Price
Take Offs and Landings
Lori and Chuck has to travel the United States with their mom. They’ve never really spent any time with their mom before because she has always been giving out speeches. They’re very distant. Their mom gives speeches to big adudences in big fancy hotels. Lori and Chuck had lost their father a few years ago. When Mom gives her speeches out to the audiences, she talks about how her and her two kids get through life.
Takeoffs and Landings is a really good book. I would recommend this book to my friends for them to read. Lori is older than Chuck. I could tell because their mom treats Chuck like a baby. Chuck feels like he doesn’t get any attention from his mom. He feels like Lori and the two younger kids, that they’re not traveling with. Chuck tries to feel invisible. Lori now feels closer to her mom than before.
Text to self: I’m never really mad at my mom. I’m the youngest out of my two siblings and I have four step siblings but i still get treated like a baby to my mom. I guess i’m more like Chuck because I feel invisible i feel like no one really cares of what i think. Text to Text: I kind of can relate by feeling invisible and getting treated like a baby/ youngest child. Text to World: I know a lot of kids that feel invisible to their parents, siblings, school, etc.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After their father's untimely, accidental death, Lori and Chuck's mother began her work as a motivational speaker. In the aftermath of the father's death, she was asked to speak in front of Congress since the insurance company they had defaulted on the claim because of bankruptcy and fraud. Her appearance in Congress was inspiring...hence, her entry into motivational speaking.

Although the benefit of her job was living a comfortable life, the time away from her family was grueling and telling in so many ways. Her older kids, Lori and Chuck became distant and defiant. She decided to take them along on a two week business trip across the country to try to reconnect to her kids. Dysfunctional as they were, many arguments cropped up, with sarcastic comebacks and defiant answers. As the weeks wore on though, the family struggles were aired, questions were answered, and compassion was flowing. Reasons for decisions made after their father's death were discussed openly and honestly.

Takeoffs and Landingss is a cathartic look at grief and family sorrows. The will to go on in the face of tragedy is different for everyone. Families coming together and being there for each other does so much for healing. A telling story about death and how if affects those left behind.

[Beth Huddleston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grief has a way of winding around a person like a gust of wind, gently pushing people together or apart. In Margaret Peterson Haddix's novel, Takeoffs and Landings, a family has been gently pushed apart ever since the father died even though they still live under the same roof. Lori, to all outside observers, is little miss perfect, but underneath she seethes. Chuck bears a guilt and outsiderness that is just heartbreaking. Their mother is a motivational speaker who barely speaks to her children anymore. Each character is holding on to an eight-year old pain.

Now this could easily just become a teen angst novel if it weren't for Haddix's sincere story telling, showing just as much about the characters through what isn't said as what is said. She weaves together the characters' points of view throughout the story demonstrating there is always more than one way to view a situation, especially the heart-wrenching situation at the core of this book.

[Keerthi Pelluru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Takeoffs and Landings
Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix


When a mother of five children's husband died from a fuel tank explosion inside a tractor, she must do something to keep her family stable and healthy. Two of her children are Lori, a stereotypical farm girl trying to fit in, and her brother Chuck, an awkward fat boy, try to find out what their mom is doing. As they realize what burdens she carries the more closer and farther they get from their mother.


This book is very sad when their mother reveals that she saw her husband die right in front of her eyes. I felt this way because on page 162 when Mom says, " I saw the whole thing."


I think this book is recommended to ages 10-16, because it has some contemporary issues which elementary children might not understand, and it might be a little boring for young adults but perfect for middle schoolers.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book. I'll admit it wasn't my first choice of books but now that I've read it I'm glad that I did. I was expecting something a little bit cheesy and totally moralistic about how parents and children shouldn't fight and such. Instead I got a great story about a family who has to come to terms with a tragedy that rocked their world, even though it has been eight years. This is a book that I would gladly give to students. I think that it would be a good book to read at any time but that it could be especially powerful for students going through their own family issues.

[Salsabrarian]

Chuck and Lori live on a farm with their grandparents, Gram andPop. Chuck is overweight, incompetent in farm work, and teased mercilessly by classmates. Lori is confident, active in extracurricular activities and respected by her peers. Their mother began a career as a motivational speaker after their father's accidental death and as a result has been more away from home than at it. The relationship among the three is strained and distant which only seems to worsen when Mom invites the two to join her for the first time on one of her speaking tours. But by trip'send, all have learned more about how the death has affected each of them and each come to a better understanding of each other.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read about a teenage girl and boy who accompany their mother on one of her motivational speaking tours. The mom wants to connect with the kids, who have felt pretty much abandoned by her. The mom has spent most of her time doing the speaking circuit since her husband (the kids' father) died 8 years ago. Lori is angry, Chuck is in his own world, the mom is in her own world. I enjoyed the story being told from different points of view and how the characters felt and reacted toward each other.

[6katarina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a family who lost there father eight years ago. Lori and Chuck are the older siblings who have to watch over there younger siblings because there mother is a motivational speaker and is traveling most of the time. There grandparents help take care of them mean while there mother is away. Lori and Carl use to be close when there father was alive but after his death their relationship changed. This book was good but I felt like it dragged on in some parts and was a bit young for me. Overall I would recommend this book to younger readers.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

EVERYONE -- This book was kind of like the start of a roller-coaster for me in which you slowly, slowly, slowly crawl up and then suddenly you "whish" down in a frenzy of excitement. In this book you gently learn about the characters' problems, then get emotionally wrapped up in the story, which makes for an exciting ride. The book is flip-flops back and forth in its perspective from Lori and Chuck, two teenage siblings whose problems are very different, yet wound together. Lori is the pretty "do gooder", while Chuck is the overweight loser.

[Hawley · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I didnt expect much from it. To be honest, my first impression of it wasn't great. While, as a teenager, I understood some of Lori's actions, I believe she was overdramatized. Chuck's character was a bit unrealistic as well. Also, I was expecting some huge secret to be revealed. However, I found the secret a bit anticlimactic. Although not one of my favorite books, I'm glad I read it.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually got this for my son to read thinking he might like it. He read the author's Shadow Children series several years ago and liked them, but after reading it myself I decided not to have him read it. It briefly mentions details about the girl going through puberty and I'm not ready for that conversation with him yet!

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of her best works but still fairly enjoyable. I felt like I could relate to Lori and Chuck in many ways, but that's just from personal experiece. If you're looking for a nice light read, then this is the book to get. If you're more into mystery and suspense try reading one of Haddix's other books, like Turnabout or Among the Hidden.

[Sarahjane · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of 2 kids and mom, exploring their damaged relationship and trying to mend it. A Juvenile book, with not enough depth to really enjoy, but I did read it all. I think Ashley could like it in a couple of years. The kids were too stereotyped for me, but the focus was on the relationships, not the characters.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Megan wanted me to try this author. She loved reading The Hidden.

I was very impatient with the daughter in the story. Everything is about HER. Maybe my feelings are from living with my own ego-centric child at this time.

However, once she started to tie everything up, the story got a lot better.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one seemed quite different from other Haddix novels I've read -- no dystopian or sci-fi elements. But I still really liked it! The plot mostly focuses on something more ordinary: the intensely strained relationship of a mom and her two oldest children and how they finally learn to connect again.

[Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book great perspective. Haddix writes a nice story about two kids and their mom. Neither one of the characters understand each other. The mom is a motivational speaker and the kids get to see her work for the very first time. Both kids have a different perspective on who their mom is. It is a nice story about a family coming back together.

[Lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was a pretty quick read. It hooks the reader by having the story told by the three main characters; the mom, the daughter, and the son. This allows the reader to get different points of view throughout the novel and know how the character personal feels at that moment in time in the story.

[Jinan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read this I didn't expect anything new, I was just thinking oh okay so another teen problem story. But it wasn't that bad, it was a good story about how lack of communication can cause a lot of problems in families. It was simply written, and switched point of views to give us a look at how the different protagonists coped with a single problem. It just worked

[Doreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

it is an okay book about family conflicts. the struggles of a single mother, the effects from the death of a husband and a father to her children. how one can be shaped through circumstances in life. how unspoken words causes rifts in family. how it is never too late to mend broken bridges.
i am glad that the book is short!

[Liliya Rubanenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable. It explores relationships between siblings and between parents and siblings. It was touching and makes you reconsider your own relationships in your family. I would use it to talk about families and loving each member of your family despite their flaws.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Copyright: 2001

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because it dealt with issues that I enjoy reading about like family and dealing with death. I also liked how it flipped back and forth from the feelings on the son, daughter, and mom.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book about a Lori and Chuck, two teenagers living in a small county, and their mother, a famous motivational speaker. The mother takes them out of the county for the first time for some of her speeches. Lots of drama.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very easy and enjoyable read. It tells of a mother and two of her kids who, while accompanying their mom on a business trip, discover a lot about who they are as individuals and who their family is as a whole.

[Weina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the writing style is very elementary, the storyline is very deep and the inner troubles each of the three characters has is something each person can sort of connect with. It is also very interesting to see how the three characters develop/grow.

[Kyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a nice book for the first... maybe... four or five chapters. To be honest, I read about two thirds of the book and then scanned the rest of it. It was a nice book. JUST nice. All I'm saying is that the story got a little predictable at many parts.