Takeoffs and Landings

Rating:
Summary: Takeoffs and Landings
Review: I think that the book Takeoffs and Landings by Ms. Peterson shows great writing skills. She has a lot of details in her book which enables readers to visualize what is going on. She tells everything that goes on in the minds of her characters which helps her readers relate with them. Takesoffs and Landings is an outstanding book which is so good that it is hard to put down and stop reading for even a minute. If you haven't read the book you most certainly should.

Rating:
Summary: Takeoffs and Landings
Review: I work in a small town and, although there are major differences between Pickford County and where I am, the small town allusions in the book ring true. Although one reviewer found the writing choppy, in going from one perspective to the next, I didn't feel like that. I found it interesting to see how each of the characters saw the same event in completely different ways.

I especially like the way that Lori is written. Everything comes out nastier than she really meant it to when she says it. It is almost as though teenager-hood is forcing her to be mean and vindictive.

The ending does come a bit abruptly, but I was ready for it. The road trip gets tiring after a while - just like it does in real life - and you just want to get home. Fortunately, each one of the characters has learned something. It isn't an overly happy ending, but it is satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying
Review: I work in a small town and, although there are major differences between Pickford County and where I am, the small town allusions in the book ring true. Although one reviewer found the writing choppy, in going from one perspective to the next, I didn't feel like that. I found it interesting to see how each of the characters saw the same event in completely different ways.

I especially like the way that Lori is written. Everything comes out nastier than she really meant it to when she says it. It is almost as though teenager-hood is forcing her to be mean and vindictive.

The ending does come a bit abruptly, but I was ready for it. The road trip gets tiring after a while - just like it does in real life - and you just want to get home. Fortunately, each one of the characters has learned something. It isn't an overly happy ending, but it is satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: PRETTY GOOD BOOK
Review: Imagine yourself being a perfect person with great grades, being pretty, and having lots of friends. Then, once you reach the big city and you know no one, your life turns around. Everyone gives you funny looks, your scared people will make fun of you, and it doesn't matter who you are or what you look like anymore.
Well, that is how it is like for Lori and her brother Chuck in this fiction novel called Takeoffs and Landings by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
In this story, Lori and Chuck don't see their mother that much ever since their father was killed on the farm. While their mom is out working, they live on a farm in a little place called Pickford County in Ohio. Lori and Chuck's mother invited them on a trip, which changes everyone's lives. As they travel to all of the big cities around the country, Lori finds out that she barely knows her mother. Lori thought she was the perfect girl until the trip, Chuck knew he was the kid everyone picked on and their mother was a mom that never saw her kids. While on the trip, the family fights constantly and they all learn things they never knew before.
Takeoffs and Landings shows many reasons why your whole life can change in a moments time. For instance, when Lori sneaked out in the streets of Atlanta on her own, her life changed instantly. She went from being well known and the prettiest girl in a little city to being alone and not so pretty in the big city. She was bumped every where she went, and no one said anything to her. She felt lost and very lonely. Will she find her way back and learn a different way to live life?
If you want to read an interesting book for teenagers that has great problems and conflicts of teen life's and shows a lot of courage and love, then you should read Takeoffs and Landings by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Rating:
Summary: Takeoffs and Landings
Review: Takeoffs and Landings was a boring and monotonous novel, with uninteresting (and what seemed to be unimportant) dialogue and scenes. I found myself listlessly reading pages, and not even remembering what it was I had just read. The plot seemed too cliche-with a fat, made fun of brother, and the beautiful, popular sister uniting in their past. There were flashbacks to their history that seemed to have no importance to the present or future. I do not recomend this book for people that like a good or interesting read, or are advanced readers.

Rating:
Summary: Reading TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS will make you feel good.
Review: Takeoffs and landings. I guess they're the best parts of going on a plane. Then again, I've been on so many flights that they all just meld together. This is not the case for Lori and Chuck Lawson, two teens stuck in Pickford County, Ohio. Neither has been on a plane, not once --- they've been living with their grandparents and siblings on the family farm ever since their father passed away. Widowed and without a profession or a degree, their mother Joan had to find a job to support her five children. She becomes a motivational speaker, traveling across the country to speak at conferences, and she is rarely home.

Lori is resentful of her mother's trips, always wishing that her mom was there for her, both physically and emotionally. Clumsy Chuck is busy struggling with teases and taunts from peers and constant nagging from his grandfather. The younger children don't remember a time when their mother was home for more than three weeks at a stretch.

When Joan decides to make up for her absences by taking Lori and Chuck with her on a trip across the country, what will happen? Relationships change and secrets are uncovered as Haddix reveals an aspect of the bond between mother and child that not many people understand. Can Joan Lawson ever make it up to her children?

The book is written from three different points of view: Lori's, Chuck's, and Joan's. Although each provides a different spin on the events in the novel, the constant change in speaker demands a lot of concentration. Haddix's idea is clever, but its execution is less so. The ending is predictable; there is no jolting surprise that makes you want to finish the book right at that very moment. On the positive side, however, the novel shows a family who struggles to overcome, which is very inspiring. Reading TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS will make you feel good, even if you don't like to fly.

--- Reviewed by Lisa Marx


Rating:
Summary: Takeoffs and Landings
Review: This book was a faboulous book to read..... It showed me what family really could be... great book to do a book report on..

Rating:
Summary: A reader
Review: This book was inspirational. It was a very enjoyable read. It was a privilage to see the development in each character and the relationships they have with each other. Beautifully composed, with a twist that stays true to the rest of the book.