Georgia Hansen can fly, like all of the women in her family. It's been kept secret, thanks to the rules enforced by her strict, dominating grandmother. Now, on the verge of her first solo flight, her rebellious Aunt Carmen returns for a visit and exposes other family secrets. Confused and hurt, Georgia must choose between remaining loyal to her grandmother or rebelling and making her own rules.

Night Flying was read by Kathryn Blume
Kathryn Blume may sound familiar to you; she read for the Camel's Hump Radio production of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy M. Montgomery. She is currently working on an Off-Broadway production of her one-woman show The Accidental Activist, developing her second solo show, and, in conjunction with Vermont Stage, adapting Anton Chekhov's classic play Uncle Vanya. She lives in New York and Charlotte, Vermont, with her cat named Toast.

What do you think?

Why did Georgia's family hide the truth about Georgia's birth?

Why did her grandmother have so many rules?

Which character did you find the most intriguing? Describe and compare your own qualities with those of that character. How are you similar? How are you different?

One person can make quite an impact on a number of other people. It's kind of like when you throw a pebble into a river and watch the ripples spread out. Plot out how many people were affected, and how, by Carmen's actions. Did Carmen make the situation better or worse?

Author Rita Murphy used the theme of flying to symbolize breaking free and growing on one's own. Underlying the struggle to fly is the weight of secrets — as Georgia grows, she struggles with the secrets she does and doesn't know. Can secrets that are kept for people's safety end up hurting them? What happens if the secrets come out? Why are people afraid of the truth?

Do you want to be able to fly like Georgia? Why? In what way would it make your life difficult?

What do you think is the message the author wants you to take away from this book? Do you think there's another important message to consider as well?

Fun & Adventure Beyond the Book

Night Flying was Rita Murphy's first novel for young adults. You can read an interview here and learn more about her here.

Check out these instructions for Night Flying — a plane, silly!

There is a beautiful passage about flying over Lake Champlain. This website has lots of aerial photos of the lake so you can pretend you're flying over it. This site has all sorts of activities and information to learn more about Lake Champlain, including it's resident sea monster!

Georgia's great-grandfather's invention provided the income that allows the family to have the freedom to fly and pursue their own interests. Do you have a great idea for an invention? Check out these important inventions, and then learn how to patent your invention.

Grace Greene, from the Vermont Department of Libraries, says if you liked Night Flying, you’ll probably enjoy these books as well: :

Other titles by Rita Murphy:

Black Angels. Delacorte, 2001.
The summer of 1961 brings change to eleven-year-old Celli and her town of Mystic, Georgia, when her beloved Sophie becomes involved in the Civil Rights Movement and Celli learns a secret about the father who left her and her family long ago.

Harmony. Delacorte, 2002.
Found as a baby by an old farm couple in the Tennessee mountains, Harmony has always been different, but when she begins developing special powers, she wants nothing more than to be ordinary.

Companion titles:

Billingsley, Frannie. The Folk Keeper. Atheneum, 1999.
Orphan Corinna disguises herself as a boy to pose as a Folk Keeper, one who keeps the Evil Folk at bay, and discovers her heritage as a seal maiden when she is taken to live with a wealthy family in their manor by the sea.

Langton, Jane. The Fledgling. Harper & Row, 1980.
Georgie's fondest hope, to be able to fly, is fleetingly fulfilled when she is befriended by a Canada goose.

Mosher, Richard. Zazoo. Clarion, 2001.
Amid old secrets revealed and rifts healed, a thirteen-year-old Vietnamese orphan raised in rural France by her aging "Grand-Pierre" learns about life, death, and love.

Thesman, Jean. The Rain Catchers. Houghton, 1991.
Growing up in a house full of women, fourteen-year-old Grayling learns to deal with death, love, and the unanswered questions raised by her widowed mother's apparent abandonment.