When I began reading this, my eyes started rolling and all I could think of is, "Oh no, not another teen angst story!" However, as I continued I realized this story was much more. It is very simply written and could easily be overlooked. But somehow this short novel worked for me. I loved how the point of view switched between characters and we caught a glimpse of three people trapped in their own perceptions. So many problems in relationships are caused by lack of or poorly executed communicati...

Such an amazing book. I've read it before and can read it some more. Love how the author describes the characters feelings.

A little young, but OK for all levels. Lori and Chuck are brother and sister, but not much else. Lori’s hostility toward her brother and her mother wells up from a deep anger. Chuck’s isolation is haunting. Their mother is too busy and distant to deal with their problems because she makes her living as a motivational speaker, flying all over the country, gone from them most of the time. None of them mention or want to deal with the hole in their lives: the children’s father’s death in a horrif...

I really enjoyed this book. The accurate family dynamic really made this book a good read. Finding out about all the struggles each character had to carry and then them telling their family is what made this book so good. It is a story about family and I would recommend it to anyone.

I about cried reading this. So good.

Whitley PriceTake Offs and Landings Lori and Chuck has to travel the United States with their mom. They’ve never really spent any time with their mom before because she has always been giving out speeches. They’re very distant. Their mom gives speeches to big adudences in big fancy hotels. Lori and Chuck had lost their father a few years ago. When Mom gives her speeches out to the audiences, she talks about how her and her two kids get through life. Takeoffs and Landings is a really good book.

After their father's untimely, accidental death, Lori and Chuck's mother began her work as a motivational speaker. In the aftermath of the father's death, she was asked to speak in front of Congress since the insurance company they had defaulted on the claim because of bankruptcy and fraud. Her appearance in Congress was inspiring...hence, her entry into motivational speaking. Although the benefit of her job was living a comfortable life, the time away from her family was grueling and telling in...

Grief has a way of winding around a person like a gust of wind, gently pushing people together or apart. In Margaret Peterson Haddix's novel, Takeoffs and Landings, a family has been gently pushed apart ever since the father died even though they still live under the same roof. Lori, to all outside observers, is little miss perfect, but underneath she seethes. Chuck bears a guilt and outsiderness that is just heartbreaking. Their mother is a motivational speaker who barely speaks to her children...

Title: Takeoffs and LandingsAuthor: Margaret Peterson HaddixWhen a mother of five children's husband died from a fuel tank explosion inside a tractor, she must do something to keep her family stable and healthy. Two of her children are Lori, a stereotypical farm girl trying to fit in, and her brother Chuck, an awkward fat boy, try to find out what their mom is doing. As they realize what burdens she carries the more closer and farther they get from their mother.This book is very sad when their m...

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book. I'll admit it wasn't my first choice of books but now that I've read it I'm glad that I did. I was expecting something a little bit cheesy and totally moralistic about how parents and children shouldn't fight and such. Instead I got a great story about a family who has to come to terms with a tragedy that rocked their world, even though it has been eight years. This is a book that I would gladly give to students. I think that it would be a good

Chuck and Lori live on a farm with their grandparents, Gram andPop. Chuck is overweight, incompetent in farm work, and teased mercilessly by classmates. Lori is confident, active in extracurricular activities and respected by her peers. Their mother began a career as a motivational speaker after their father's accidental death and as a result has been more away from home than at it. The relationship among the three is strained and distant which only seems to worsen when Mom invites the two to jo...

A good read about a teenage girl and boy who accompany their mother on one of her motivational speaking tours. The mom wants to connect with the kids, who have felt pretty much abandoned by her. The mom has spent most of her time doing the speaking circuit since her husband (the kids' father) died 8 years ago. Lori is angry, Chuck is in his own world, the mom is in her own world. I enjoyed the story being told from different points of view and how the characters felt and reacted toward each othe...

This book is about a family who lost there father eight years ago. Lori and Chuck are the older siblings who have to watch over there younger siblings because there mother is a motivational speaker and is traveling most of the time. There grandparents help take care of them mean while there mother is away. Lori and Carl use to be close when there father was alive but after his death their relationship changed. This book was good but I felt like it dragged on in some parts and was a bit young for...

EVERYONE -- This book was kind of like the start of a roller-coaster for me in which you slowly, slowly, slowly crawl up and then suddenly you "whish" down in a frenzy of excitement. In this book you gently learn about the characters' problems, then get emotionally wrapped up in the story, which makes for an exciting ride. The book is flip-flops back and forth in its perspective from Lori and Chuck, two teenage siblings whose problems are very different, yet wound together. Lori is the pretty "d...

When I picked up this book, I didnt expect much from it. To be honest, my first impression of it wasn't great. While, as a teenager, I understood some of Lori's actions, I believe she was overdramatized. Chuck's character was a bit unrealistic as well. Also, I was expecting some huge secret to be revealed. However, I found the secret a bit anticlimactic. Although not one of my favorite books, I'm glad I read it.

I actually got this for my son to read thinking he might like it. He read the author's Shadow Children series several years ago and liked them, but after reading it myself I decided not to have him read it. It briefly mentions details about the girl going through puberty and I'm not ready for that conversation with him yet!

Not one of her best works but still fairly enjoyable. I felt like I could relate to Lori and Chuck in many ways, but that's just from personal experiece. If you're looking for a nice light read, then this is the book to get. If you're more into mystery and suspense try reading one of Haddix's other books, like Turnabout or Among the Hidden.

A story of 2 kids and mom, exploring their damaged relationship and trying to mend it. A Juvenile book, with not enough depth to really enjoy, but I did read it all. I think Ashley could like it in a couple of years. The kids were too stereotyped for me, but the focus was on the relationships, not the characters.

Megan wanted me to try this author. She loved reading The Hidden. I was very impatient with the daughter in the story. Everything is about HER. Maybe my feelings are from living with my own ego-centric child at this time.However, once she started to tie everything up, the story got a lot better.

This one seemed quite different from other Haddix novels I've read -- no dystopian or sci-fi elements. But I still really liked it! The plot mostly focuses on something more ordinary: the intensely strained relationship of a mom and her two oldest children and how they finally learn to connect again.

Love this book great perspective. Haddix writes a nice story about two kids and their mom. Neither one of the characters understand each other. The mom is a motivational speaker and the kids get to see her work for the very first time. Both kids have a different perspective on who their mom is. It is a nice story about a family coming back together.

This novel was a pretty quick read. It hooks the reader by having the story told by the three main characters; the mom, the daughter, and the son. This allows the reader to get different points of view throughout the novel and know how the character personal feels at that moment in time in the story.

When I first read this I didn't expect anything new, I was just thinking oh okay so another teen problem story. But it wasn't that bad, it was a good story about how lack of communication can cause a lot of problems in families. It was simply written, and switched point of views to give us a look at how the different protagonists coped with a single problem. It just worked

it is an okay book about family conflicts. the struggles of a single mother, the effects from the death of a husband and a father to her children. how one can be shaped through circumstances in life. how unspoken words causes rifts in family. how it is never too late to mend broken bridges. i am glad that the book is short!

This book was enjoyable. It explores relationships between siblings and between parents and siblings. It was touching and makes you reconsider your own relationships in your family. I would use it to talk about families and loving each member of your family despite their flaws.Genre: Realistic FictionCopyright: 2001

I really enjoyed this book because it dealt with issues that I enjoy reading about like family and dealing with death. I also liked how it flipped back and forth from the feelings on the son, daughter, and mom.

This is a good book about a Lori and Chuck, two teenagers living in a small county, and their mother, a famous motivational speaker. The mother takes them out of the county for the first time for some of her speeches. Lots of drama.

This was a very easy and enjoyable read. It tells of a mother and two of her kids who, while accompanying their mom on a business trip, discover a lot about who they are as individuals and who their family is as a whole.

Although the writing style is very elementary, the storyline is very deep and the inner troubles each of the three characters has is something each person can sort of connect with. It is also very interesting to see how the three characters develop/grow.

This was a nice book for the first... maybe... four or five chapters. To be honest, I read about two thirds of the book and then scanned the rest of it. It was a nice book. JUST nice. All I'm saying is that the story got a little predictable at many parts.