The Serendipity of Flightless Things

by Fiadhnait Moser

This middle-grade, magical-realism novel from the author of The Flourishing of Floralie Laurel is about an Irish girl who is sent to a mysterious town in Virginia to live with her long-lost mother, and is Alice Hoffman's Nightbird meets Claire Legrand's The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls!

Amidst the 1971 Troubles between the Irish Republican Army and Northern Ireland, twelve-year-old Finn lives in a world of her own of fairy tales. Raised by her grandmother, Nuala, who is the village storyteller, Finn spends her days playing make-believe in the forest, weaving tall tales to tell her friend Darcy, longing to go to the island of Inis Eala to meet the swans there, and waiting for her father to return from the war. She's long since stopped believing in happy endings and miracles, preferring to believe instead in serendipity, or "happy mistakes." While Nuala revels in the safety and routine of their quiet village life, spunky Finn craves adventure . . . something that comes to her more quickly than expected.

When Darcy becomes lost at sea and Nuala suddenly passes away, Finn is shipped off to the affluent town of Starlight Valley, Virginia, to live with her long-lost mother, Aoife, and half-sister, Posy-Kate. Finn is initially excited to get to know her newfound family, but she can't help but notice that things are a bit unusual. The town is encircled by thorn trees, and even stranger is Aoife's house, where the walls are covered with swan feathers and decorated with swan heads--and Aoife's shoes appear to be made out of swan bills.

Finn tries to ignore the sinking feeling that something isn't right, but she starts to believe that what's happening isn't random. Instead, it's taken directly from one of her grandmother's famous folktales, The Children of Lir, where a scorned mother turns all of her children into swans. But Finn stopped believing in those stories a long time ago . . . could they actually be true?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism, Ireland, Retellings

Hardcover

First published August 6, 2019

About the author

I write books for children, especially middle grade readers. I am the author of two novels with Yellow Jacket Press, THE FLOURISHING OF FLORALIE LAUREL and THE SERENDIPITY OF FLIGHTLESS THINGS. When not writing, I enjoy painting, dancing, and hanging out with my animals. I live with my persnickety cat and flop-eared dog. I am currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing for Children & Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I am represented by Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary.

Reviews

[ʙᴇʟᴀ.: ☾**:.☆*.:｡. · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review (Thank you!)

A retelling of the Irish legend "The Children of Lir", The Serendipity of Flightless Things is about Finn, a 12-year-old girl living in Ireland with her father and grandmother. After some tragic circumstances, she is sent to live in America with a mother she never met, in a very weird, eerie place where things seem to be somewhat otherworldly and her mother is not quite as expected.
I really liked the lyrical writing style of the author: her writing is absolutely lovely and I would so love if she wrote a YA romance in the future because her words are beautiful.
I really enjoyed the first half where there were magical realism and coming of age feel. The second half it turned into a fantasy spooky tale.
I loved Fin's grandmother, Darcy, and even Posy-Kate. I liked that Posy Kate was more than just a "mean" girl and I liked the strong bond between Fin and Darcy. However, my favorite character (and scenes) was Sojourn, a mysterious character that kept me intrigued. What I did not like much was the abrupt transition from Ireland to America as the different setting and characters gave me the feeling of a whole different story than the beginning. The end was also a little bit too predictable and lacking explanations and I didn't like how typical, one-dimensional villainous was the villain. The revelations and climax were too sudden too.
Nevertheless, It was a very whimsical, atmospheric read with plenty of adventure. Fans of Celtic legends or Coraline will most certainly enjoy this.
Real rating: 3,5 stars.

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Grown-ups are too afraid of gettin' their hopes up. Like hope's such a heavy thing to carry. But if only they'd pick it up... if only they'd heave that hope onto their back, they'd see it only lifts 'em up instead of draggin' 'em down. They'd see hope is made of balloon stuff and bird wings. They'd see."

Okay this gives me... mixed feelings. I really did enjoy the first half, it's quite reminiscent of "navigating early" or "the witch's boy", with a splash of "the charmed children of rookskill castle". Unfortunately at about the 50% mark, it turns into a completely different book, and I don't think it did that transfer gracefully. I felt so lost and like everything moved way too quickly with not enough explanation. I rarely say this, but I really wanted another 100 pages or so, to give more information and not expect me to suspend my disbelief quite so far.

Overall, though, it's a nice story of friendship and choosing your family, and I don't regret having read it, but it's not going to be a favorite of the year, y'know? 3 stars from me!

[clara [inactive account] · Rating 2 out of 5]

i. swear. to. god. i only have so many limbs.

for those of you who are new here and are probably asking yourselves what the hell i'm talking about (actually, those of you who are already in on this joke are probably asking the same thing, but anyway...) when a book is really really quick-paced and confusing, i tend to drop my cane and break, sprain, or fracture my dear limbs. this is quite the case here.

i really liked the plot, and i admit i "couldn't put it down." which is incidentally is our phrase-i-hate of the day. obviously, i was capable of putting it down. i just didn't wanew.

anyhoo

the writing style was not that great: i found it kind of annoying, in fact. shade.

also anyone who felt my single word paragraph "anyhoo" you are officially my new best friend.
i could say "friends" i guess but if it is the unlikely happenstance that someone actually "felt" that, it's definitely going to be no more than 1.5 people.
i mean no, not like, a half person but someone who felt that but only a lil. which is everyone, you know, deep inside...

i'll stop now for everyone's mental safety

[Athirah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cool mystery sort of fairytale with a whole bunch of plot twists that I enjoyed... the setting and plot was beautiful, very reminiscent of true fairytales, though I felt a bit annoyed at the main character Finn at times, and a lot of side-characters and small details went unexplained, I guess intentionally, even if it was for the worse. As the narrative of the myth fades from "just a story" to "reality", I think the reality could have been fleshed out a little more.
Other than that, it was a fun little read!

[Amberwench · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know Irish myth and tale, and this book was still a hard read for me. Filled with mishap, misfortune, and death. Even the fulfillment of the quest at the end is awkward and reads as more duty than a joy.

[Karen McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved 12 year old Fin, a storyteller and dreamer fascinated with an island across the sea, Inis Eala, and the swans who live there. Fin lives with her grandmother Nuala. Her mother died long ago, or so she has been told, and her father is away fighting in the Northern Ireland conflict. On her 12th birthday, she begs her grandmother to take her to Inis Eala, but Nuala refuses, warning her that it is a dangerous place. Fin disobeys her grandmother and tries to swim across, nearly drowning in the process. Her mistake continues to unravel Fin's world as her friend Darcy is lost at sea and her grandmother is killed. When Fin is shipped to America to stay with a mother she never knew existed, she can sense that something is horribly wrong. The town healer, her mother is cold, controlling, and possessive. Also, she has a fascination with killing swans. Could Fin be trapped in a fairy tale after all? I loved the setting of Ireland and the retelling of The Children of Lir. I was entranced by the mystery of Fin's predicament and adventure that unfolds. This has the eerie, dark feeling of a traditional fairy tale with a beautiful "Aha Moment" at the end from Fin as she discovers who she is. #LitReviewCrew

[Miz Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Ireland in the 1970s, while her Da serves in the Irish Republican Army, Finn is being raised on the stories of her grandmother. Her favorite tale is an ancient myth, The Children of Lir, which fuels her obsession with swans and faery folk even though she doesn't exactly believe in any of it. A series of tragedies, however, results in Finn being sent to Virginia to a mother she didn't realize she had. She is confronted right and left by the reality of magic and the myth of the Children of Lir playing out all around her but it takes awhile for Finn to truly believe not only in herself but in the power of stories. This is a rich fantasy with an old-fashioned feel (like the British fantasies I read as a child in the 1970s).

Book Pairings: Alan Garner's The Owl Service takes a similar approach to an ancient Welsh myth playing out with modern (at the time it was written) teens.

[Samantha Velazquez · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cover of this book is very pretty. That’s about the only good thing I have to say about it. It kind of reminded me of a badly plotted scooby doom episode in the, “let’s run here, now let’s go check this, did this work, we have to run around and see.”
The characters are also very unbelievable. Like a girl that said she has a difficult time betraying her mother does just that two sentences later.....I just didn’t appreciate this book at all. I took so long to read it because I couldn’t even find interest until the last twenty pages. I’m still not really sure why Sojourn even came on this journey.

[Diane Shearer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really beautiful story

A bit too scattered to earn five stars, but very enjoyable. A really nice retelling of a fairy tale. This would be a great bedtime reading to older kids. Too much blood and murder for young ones. The ending feels rushed, like I didn’t have enough time to follow the path of the mystery before it was over. And I still don’t know who Sojourn is. But I enjoy good writing and there is a lot of poetry in this book. Enjoy.

[Nicolas Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book is lyrical and pure magic. The characters are wonderfully portrayed and I can’t think of a single issue. The second half felt rushed and a little scattered and some of the new characters are inconsistent and can grate a bit. . . but overall I would recommend it and I’ll probably read it again someday in the not too distant future.

[Samantha Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Fia years ago at the Breadloaf Young Writers Conference and I was amazed by her writing then. It comes to no surprise to me that this book is filled with her beautiful, lyrical story telling. I was impressed with her writing then and I’m definitely impressed with it now.

[TienvoorNegen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet and original