Flying Solo

 Fletcher, Ralph. Flying Solo. 1998. 144p. ISBN 9780547076522.

Bastian is a military brat, and his army father is moving again due to a new posting in Hawaii, so today is his last day of school. Bastian is a bit of a bully, but moving from school to school every 12 to 16 months has desensitized him to the feelings of others. He's also sad that his new puppy will be in quarantine for four months before being allowed to rejoin the family. 

Rachel lost her voice the day Tommy Feathers died. Not the brightest kid in class, Tommy had a huge crush on Rachel and always tried to improve her day. She found his advances annoying, however, and even though he gave her a new story every day, she never read any of them and threw them in the trash at the end of school. But when he died during his sleep one night, Rachel was crushed and hasn't broken her silence since.

On Friday morning, the last day Bastian will be in school, Mr. Fabiano, their teacher, is absent and will be replaced by a substitute. Unfortunately, the substitute is also sick, and through a series of circumstances, another substitute is not secured for the classroom. When the students arrive, they find themselves without supervision, for a full day! Enjoying their newfound freedom, the students elect to do the day's agenda, and they successfully hide that there is no adult supervision in their classrooms. 

As the day progresses, and as it is both the last day that Bastian will be attending, and the 6 months anniversary of Tommy's death, Rachel becomes progressively more anxious and distressed. The conflict that has been simmering between herself and Bastian explodes, and now the whole classroom gets dragged into it. Can the students resolve their differences?

A humorous tale that explores the what-if of not having adult supervision, Flying Solo nevertheless explores heavy themes of grief, loss, and change in a relatable manner. Readers will enjoy this short tale!