An in some ways a sweet read about the bonds between a grandmother and her grandson but also about illusion, mental illness and manipulation within families.

"Taking Flight" by JT Torres is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novella that explores the complexities of family bonds, love, and mental illness.
The story centers around Tito, a young boy whose grandmother teaches him how to weave magic around the ones he loves in order to keep them close. As Tito grows older, their games take a dangerous turn and both struggle with a spell that creates an illusion of illness to draw in love. The writing is evocative and powerful, capturing the reader's emotions and immersing them in the story. The themes of the novel are heavy and thought-provoking, but the execution is handled with care and delicacy. The characters are well-developed, and the relationship between Tito and his grandmother is both heart-warming and heartbreaking. The exploration of dementia and mental ill health is handled with sensitivity and realism. Overall, "Taking Flight" is a powerful and moving story that leaves a lasting impression. It's a must-read for fans of family drama and those interested in exploring the complexities of mental illness and dementia.

A haunting tale of the love between a grandmother and her grandson. A meditation on the difficulties of mental health, how a person suffers and the strain that it can put on those closest to them. The complexities of family and the individual relationships within it.
Blurred lines between magic and illusion throws the reader into the confusion that can ensue.
A harsh look at love, when the overriding need for that love and recognition leads to manipulation. The repercussions of when that behaviour becomes second nature..
A powerful novella; Torres writing is taught and sparse, a catch your breath read. Its brevity in no way lessens its impact.

I have read 3 other Fairlight Modern books and I have enjoyed them all. This one I found to be particularly challenging. Tito and his grandmother are an interesting pair. Tito's grandmother is an illusionist/magician and she teached her grandson, Tito the art of magic in between killing her parrots.
As her mind deteriorates, the lines between magic and delusion are less defined.
I did read a review of this book, because I had difficulty understanding Tito turning in to a dog? Walking on all fours, urinating on rugs?
I gather the symbolism exposes the depths of manipulation and illusion, which I realize was the point of the book.
I give the Author credit for an original, interesting work of fiction that is like no other book I have read.
I look forward to reading the other fairlight Modern Books.
Thank you NetGalley and Fairlight books for the opportunity to read and review this intriguing book.
jb/https://seniorbooklounge.blogspot.com/

A special relationship with this grandmother informs Tito’s life and compensates for his parents’ coldness to him, but as his grandmother's mind succumbs to dementia so does Tito’s own grip on real life begin to fade, and he has to learn to navigate a new reality after quite literally starting to disappear. The downward spiral of his mental state is well-handled but I found the magic realism aspects of the story harder to accept and thus failed to truly connect with Tito’s plight. The meaning of family and the fragility of family bonds, what it means to be invisible, especially as an immigrant, and how to make sense of a fractured world are just some of the themes the author confronts. The writing and the pacing is good, but overall this just wasn’t one for me.

A beautiful tale of family loyalty and love intermingled with the drama and sadness of mental illness and despair. Taking Flight is the story of Tito and his grandmother bound together by love, magic and their imaginations, all jeopardized when the grandmother's mind and well-being decline. What remains in this lovely novella is a story of strength and family devotion.

When Tito is a child, his grandmother teaches him how to weave magic around the ones you love in order to keep them close. She is the master and he is the pupil, exasperating Tito’s put-upon mother who, although exhausted from working long hours, is usually the focus of their mischief.

As Tito grows older and his grandmother’s mind becomes less sound, their games take a dangerous turn. They both struggle with a particular spell, one that creates an illusion of illness to draw in love. But as the lines between magic and childish tales blur, so too do those between fantasy and reality.

In this beautifully told drama of the bond between grandson and grandmother, J. T. Torres delicately explores the complexities of family bonds – in which love is need, and need becomes manipulation, along with the pain and difficulties of dementia and mental ill health.
Covers some sensitive and serious conditions in a loving way.

Torres voice is easy and flowing creating a picture, an illusion he would say of possible interpretations of reality. He talks about how we create stories which help or hinder us in our days. How these stories take on their own momentum and become real and then we have to sort out what is real and what isn't because reality can be seen in a myriad of ways and beliefs easily turn into realities. We become what we tell ourselves we are and then we have to deal with that.

The ache here is that Torres also shows how we teach our children to do just like we do. How if we manipulate them, they learn to manipulate their own children. So a cycle is created and the stories, illusions continue.