Review : The Paradox of Vertical Flight by Emil Ostrovski
Title : The Paradox of Vertical Flight
Author : Emil Ostrovski
Publication Date : September 24th 2013
Publisher : Greenwillow Books
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What happens when you put a suicidal eighteen-year-old philosophy student, his ex-girlfriend, his best friend, and his newborn baby in a truck and send them to Grandma's house? This debut novel by Emil Ostrovski will appeal to fans of John Green, Chris Crutcher, and Jay Asher.
On the morning of his eighteenth birthday, philosophy student and high school senior Jack Polovsky is somewhat seriously thinking of suicide when his cell phone rings. Jack's ex-girlfriend, Jess, has given birth, and Jack is the father. Jack hasn't spoken with Jess in about nine months—and she wants him to see the baby before he is adopted. The new teenage father kidnaps the baby, names him Socrates, stocks up on baby supplies at Wal-Mart, and hits the road with his best friend, Tommy, and the ex-girlfriend. As they head to Grandma's house (eluding the police at every turn), Jack tells baby Socrates about Homer, Troy, Aristotle, the real Socrates, and the Greek myths—because all stories spring from those stories, really. Even this one. Funny, heart-wrenching, and wholly original, this debut novel by Emil Ostrovski explores the nature of family, love, friendship, fate, fatherhood, and myth.
Riley Keou
Personal ThoughtsI'm not sure what I expected when I went into The Paradox of Vertical Flight. It didn't sound like anything I would enjoy reading. I mean, just look at that title! So, I'm not exactly sure what compelled me to pick up a review copy when it was available. In the end, I found myself being so thoroughly entertained by this quirky book that I now want to own a copy of it so I could one day share it with my friend's 2 year old son.
We meet Jack, a suicidal 18 year old, on his birthday when he gets a call that informs him that his ex-girlfriend Jess has just given birth to his son. Not wanting to say goodbye just yet to his son, he kidnaps him, names him Socrates and goes on a road-trip to his grandmother's accompanied by his best friend, Tommy, Jess. Jack has to be one of the strangest protagonist that I have ever come across while reading. I've only read a few male-POV books, but I could tell right away that Jack was a unique character. I thought his quirks would be a little too much for me, but ultimately, I actually thought it made him an intriguing and highly complex character. Just the fact that he named his son Socrates and had imaginary conversations, heavy on philosophy, with his day old son showed what an eccentric character he was. I actually welcomed this "newness" in the YA contemporary genre. The way Jack's mind worked was absolutely fascinating. The author treats us to first point of view, so you are always inside the main characters head. While I wouldn't say that I identified or connected with Jack, I loved reading about his thoughts. The Paradox of Vertical Flight also had two secondary characters that were beautifully fleshed out and possessed a lot of realism, that you really get to know on a personal level throughout the book.
I'm a huge fan of road-trip books, so I was absolutely thrilled to find out that the characters in this book would be going on a road-trip. The Paradox of Vertical Flight was a lot more than just a road-trip. It had a lot more depth than that. It was also the story of Jack's journey towards his growth as an individual. Ostrovski portrayed this slowly evolving maturity of his in a brilliant manner. The people Jack meets, the imaginary conversations he has with baby Socrates and the presence of his friends, helped Jack pave his way to his growth. What I enjoyed the most in The Paradox of Vertical Flight was the interactions between the characters. The friendship that existed between Jack and Tommy and Jack and Jesse felt genuine and I just loved every aspect of it. The banter they had, the jokes they made and their actions were what hooked me to this book. I will come out and say this right away, The Paradox of Vertical Flight is not the book for everyone. The main character will most likely frustrate a lot of readers because he constantly had these philosophical thoughts swarming around in his bran that drove me insane at times, but if you manage see through all those thoughts of his, you'll see what an interesting book with a simple, but important lesson it is. Emil Ostrovski has definitely wowed me with his debut novel.
While I was a little hesitant to start The Paradox of Vertical Flight, I didn't regret reading it at all. In the end, this book splendidly blended seriousness and humor to give us a fantastic YA book about a boy learning to let go and grow up.
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
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