Julie's Review: Thank You For Flying Air Zoe

Summary: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fasten Seat Belt sign has been turned on, but feel free to ignore it, because sometimes life is best lived on its dizzy edges. Your cruising altitude today will be sky high, and you will be flying at staggering speeds as you travel alongside Zoe Tisdale, former Valley Girl and rock star turned bored butter saleswoman. On the heels of a brush with mortality, Zoe concludes that she's been letting time pass her by. Realizing she needs to awaken her life's tired refrains, Zoe vows to recapture the one chapter of her life that truly mattered to her - her days as drummer for The Flip-Flops, a spirited, sassy all-girl garage band that almost hit the big time back in 1987. But reuniting the band won't be easy. The girls who were once the whiz kid guitarist, the prom queen bass player, and the hippie lead singer grew up and became women who are now a reclusive dog trainer, a wealthy socialite, and a sociopathic environmentalist. Will Zoe bring the band back together and give The Flip-Flops a second chance at stardom? Is it possible to fully reclaim the urgent energy of youth? As you follow this wild flight path, please know that your destination could be anywhere at all, complimentary oxygen is provided upon request, and baggage flies free. We hope you enjoy the ride, and Thank You For Flying Air Zoe. ~amazon.com

Review: Who wants a perfect summer book? Who wants to be able to sit at the pool or beach and read it in one sitting? Did you raise your hand? Then go and get yourself Thank You For Flying Air Zoe. I had been seeing this one around the Internet via blogs and Twitter getting some good buzz, so when TLC Book Tours said they had it for tour, I jumped at the chance to read it. I'm glad I did.

Mr. Atwell did a great job of laying down the mid 80s and the vibe that everyone wanted to be in a band. I mean who didn't right? Sure, I played the flute and that wasn't hip back then but now I could be rockin' in the background of some band like Arcadia Fire right? We meet Zoe Tisdale when she's about to die in a plane crash and sees her life flash before her. What gets her is there wasn't much flashing going on and this gets her to re-evaluate her choices in life. What happened to her dreams of playing at The Whiskey A Go-Go? Matter of fact, what happened to her all girl band The Flip-Flops? Where did they go wrong? Obviously the plane lands and we get to enjoy Zoe's adventure in figuring out her life now.

Of course things don't go as smoothly for getting the Flip-Flops back together as Zoe hoped. Between trying to get their earth goddess lead singer out of a tree in Montana, to the Pace sisters' rift, to her own breakdown it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Maybe dreams are just better off being dreams? Despite these roadblocks, Zoe is resolute on having her gig at The Whiskey A Go-Go. Do they do it? Why would I tell you that?

What I loved are all the 80s references. From the music, the fashion, the lingo I couldn't help but laugh and of course flashback to my own time in that decade. Would I ever wear that fashion again? Um no. I do still enjoy the music from then and sure some of the Valley Girl lingo will make it into some conversations. Music was such a part of becoming who you were back than (is it still the case these days?) that what I listened to then probably still influences what I listen to now. Nothing will ever top U2 for me as being the best rock band ever. The Joshua Tree is a true classic that never ages.

Besides Zoe the cast of characters are wonderful. I would say that for Melinda and Ginger they are definitely teetering on stereotypical but that's what made them fun. Sometimes stereotypes are there for entertainment value. Not everything has to break the mold. You can't help but to root for them until the very end. Will Zoe's dream come true? Will the girls convene for one last gig? Will it live up to her wildest dreams?

For us Generation X-ers, this is a wonderful book that takes us back to our heydays of being a kid/teenager and being carefree. I hope my kids have such great memories about their childhood as I do of mine.

For more about the Erik check out his blog; Facebook Page and follow him on Twitter.

Final Take: 4/5

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for sending me a copy of the novel.

Side note: As we were driving the other day,  I had the "flashback" station on and my almost 7 year old daughter quickly starts singing along with "We Got the Beat" by the Go-Gos. I was stunned seeing how I had never played it for her. I made a note to see if I could put it on my iPod. I also loved that she immediately loved the song and caught on quickly.


Erik Atwell’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Thursday, June 21st: Chick Lit is not Dead
Thursday, June 28th: Girls Just Reading
Monday, July 2nd: A Musing Reviews
Tuesday, July 3rd: Luxury Reading
Thursday, July 5th: Shoe-girl.com
Monday, July 9th: Chick Lit Central
Tuesday, July 10th: Seaside Book Nook
Wednesday, July 11th: Peeking Between the Pages
Wednesday, July 11th: Life in Review
Thursday, July 12th: A Chick Who Reads
Friday, July 13th: From the Heart of a Bookworm
Monday, July 16th: girlichef Tuesday
July 17th: Mom in Love with Fiction
Wednesday, July 18th: Serendipitous Readings
Thursday, July 19th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Friday, July 20th: The Book Chick
Monday, July 23rd: Sweet Southern Home
Tuesday, July 24th: Acting Balanced