Girl Coming in for a Landing

Girl Coming in for a Landing written by April Halprin Wayland
This novel was published in 2004 by Yearling.
128 pages
Warning: This book contains mild sensual content and language, as well as one nude photo of a woman from the waist up.
Genre: Poetry, Friends and Society, Family, Body Image

This is a novel told in poems. This book of poems is narrated by a budding teen girl during her freshman year of high school. She talks about love, kissing games, dating, her period and even having her own poetry published.

My favorite poem is the final poem of the book:

COMING IN FOR A LANDING

My heart

is coming in

for a landing

Carrying a suitcase

packed with hope.

I stuffed it,

sat on it to snap the clasps.

And as my heart dips from the cloud high

and slowly descends,

finally taxiing to the gate,

someone will unload my suitcase.

I am holding its tag tightly.

I have come to reclaim it.

Taking care...

taking it

home.

It is easy to assume the poetry is written from the perspective of a young 14-15 year old girl discovering the world. Wayland captures the spirit and mood of teenage frustration and triumph in day to day life. I also enjoyed the illustrations accompanying the poems. They were captivating and relative to the subjects of the poetry.