I'm so glad that Robin Beerbower recommended this book. I did a little experiment and read it at the same time as [b:My Abandonment|5603935|My Abandonment|Peter Rock|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-rEupxuiL._SL75_.jpg|5775303] by Peter Rock; both books based on the same story of a father and daughter who had lived undetected for four years in a park inside Portland's city limits. Shortridge approached the story from a cop's perspective, letting things unfold a bit more like a mystery.


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An engaging novel, rooted in actual events.

Another great novel, based on these true events, is "My Abandonment" by Peter Rock. ( )

Jennie Shortridge's new novel, When She Flew, is a fictional account of a real life father and daughter, who in 2004, were found living in the woods outside of Portland, Oregon. This Vietnam vet and his teenaged daughter had been living there for years before they were discovered. "When She Flew" takes this scenereo and explores it further from the perspective of a female police officer involved in their discovery and the daughter (Lindy) who lived in the woods. The discovery of the family is the starting point for rippling changes in both characters' families. Jess (officer) struggles with the decisions she made in rearing her own daughter while trying to help Lindy, as the police order Jess to separate Lindy from her father and place the girl in foster care. Faced with this ethical dilemna, Jess makes an unexpected and unplanned choice, culminating in a chaotic turn of events. This book was a faster paced story than Shortridge's other novels and I mostly enjoyed it. I was on the edge of my seat and anxious wondering what Jess would do and what that would mean for the very endearing character of Lindy. I would have liked to have seen more closure in the relationships at the end, but otherwise, I enjoyed this book, which explored the conflictual and complicated relationships between mothers and daughters and society and the homeless. ( )

I was really disappointed in this book, which surprised me as I really enjoyed Jennie's other books.
The entire novel felt unfinished for me somehow -- it all felt like a rough draft. None of the characters were fully developed enough for me to enjoy or or really relate to it. ( )

In 2004, a Vietnam vet and his 12-year-old daughter were discovered living in Portland Oregon's Forest Park. The man and girl had lived in the park for four years. According to police, they appeared clean, well fed and healthy, and the girl was well-spoken beyond her years. A police officer found the man a job and a place for the two to live on a friend's horse farm in Yamhill County.

Shortridge adapted the facts of this actual case to construct a very likeable story about Ray Wiggs (an Iraqi vet with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), his daughter Lindy, and a female police officer who helped find them, thirty-eight-year-old single mom Jess Villereal.

The chapters alternate between the voices of Jess and of Lindy. Jess feels like she failed as a mother to her daughter Nina, who now is also a single mother. Nina still harbors resentments against her mother: for the divorce, for Jess’s demanding career, and for a lifetime of misunderstandings and slights. So the two are estranged, and it hurts Jess deeply. Thus Jess feels drawn to Lindy, almost as if she has gotten another chance to “do it right.”

Police procedure dictates that Ray be taken to a shelter and Lindy to social services for foster care placement; the two would be separated and there would be no guarantee Lindy would end up in a good situation. Jess is determined to help Lindy and Ray stay together, even though this would contravene her duties as a police officer.

Lindy has to navigate between her own needs and those of her dad. He has always taken the best care of her, and when he has episodes of PTSD, she wants to reciprocate for the care-giving she has received. If they are separated, there is no telling what would happen to Ray.

The story of the relationships among Jess, Nina, Jess’s mother, and Lindy interweave in the resolution of the struggle. The author reveals in an Afterward that the title “When She Flew” refers to the fact that “each of the female characters in this story tries out her wings – tries something different from usual – and each experiences a metamorphosis by doing so.”

Evaluation: I was very impressed with this book. The plot just had soap opera written all over it, yet the author did a great job in eschewing bathos and constructing a good story. The characters seem very realistic: likeable, yet human with moods and foibles and uncertainty and insecurity. Jess’s musing on her shortcomings as a parent will have most adults nodding in recognition. But this is not a book with a negative tone; on the contrary, it’s very upbeat, optimistic, and affirming. Overall, it is a very engaging novel. ( )