Thank You for Flying Air Zoe

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Booktrope Editions (June 15, 2011)

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.

My thoughts: 4.5 Stars


The adjectives to describe this book is fun and unpredictable. The premise sounds cheesy. Get the old band back together. The story skates around cheesy but never quite dips in the toe. It is just one of the funnest reads I've read in a long, long time.

The best part about the book is character development through the story. Each member stays true to her character, making only minor adjustments as the circumstances change. Lo is Zoe's best friend and in the same kind of slump as Zoe, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and going nowhere. Or so Zoe thinks. In truth, Lo has more going on yet she continues to be a faithful friend. Her estranged sister, Ginger, the sex appeal bassist of the band, married money and lives a charmed life and, at first blush, appears to be as shallow as ever. She still is but adds depth to the story. And then there's Mel, the tree hugger living in Montana, saving the world, one organism at a time. And, oh! How she provided nurturing, Zen humor as she talked and said nothing and waxed philosophical about the meaning of symbolism in the patterns of a rare flower. I made that last part up, but you get the gist.

The predictable story would be too easy. The scenic route would still be predictable. The additions of some fun back story, a bassist named Cleo, men of all ages and sizes, and a particularly tall tree with a platform 100 feet up, make the story hilarious and the perfect book to break up the monotony of serious subject matter (which this has very little). Perfect for the girl that just wants to have fun. Especially if she is over 40.

Erik Atwell

Erik Atwell started his writing career in grammar school, where a one page history class assignment ballooned into a forty page fictional account of a politically controversial silversmith in Boston circa 1776. Daring to follow up such an auspicious debut, he later graduated to short stories while living in New Hampshire, screenplays upon moving to Los Angeles, then finally novels when he ultimately landed in Seattle. He is currently gearing up to escape city life and return home to New Hampshire with his rock-star wife and eight month-old son, whose only musical claim to fame thus far is sleeping through an entire Go-Go’s concert. But in his defense, he was three weeks old, and the stage was a quarter-mile away. Thank You For Flying Air Zoe is his first novel, and he hopes to write a second novel before the little guy is old enough to read it.

And yes, he was once in a band. For twelve minutes.

It wasn’t pretty.

Connect with Erik on his blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

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