History Literature / TheGirlWhoCouldFly

''The Girl Who Could Fly'' is a book by Victoria Forester that starts out with your typical [[FarmBoy farm girl]] in your typical [[DownOnTheFarm Midwestern town]]. Her hobbies include milking cows, speaking in a FunetikAksent, and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers practicing her flying skills]]. Wait, what?

* BlueBlood: Conrad is from a very wealthy old-money family.

* BroughtDownToNormal: INSANE's plan is to do this to every creature with superpowers using physical and psychological torture. It works with [[spoiler: Bella]] and [[spoiler: Piper, though in her case it is reversed]].

* WonderChild: Subverting most of it.

* BoomerangBigot: Dr. Hellion is obsessed with turning powered kids normal, but [[spoiler: she can fly.]]

* CommonalityConnection: Piper and Sally Sue bond over strawberry ice cream.

* NotQuiteDead After seemingly falling to her death, [[spoiler:Dr. Hellion is revealed to have survived in the sequel.]]

* KickTheDog: Millie Mae, literally.
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Sebastian.]]

* MeaningfulName: One of the best-known light aircraft is the Piper Cub. Piper's last name, McCloud, is even more blatant.

%% * DisproportionateRetribution: Conrad's reaction to having his project changed.

%% * KickTheDog: Millie Mae, literally.
%% * KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Sebastian.]]
%% * LoveAtFirstSight: Boris to Lily.

%% * MeaningfulRename: Conrad [[spoiler:agrees to give up his last name after his parents disown him]].

* PsychicPowers: Lily has telekinetic abilities.

%% * WideEyedIdealist: Piper.
%% * WonderChild: Subverting most of it.
%% * WorthyOpponent: Lily regards Piper as this when the latter puts two and two together and manages to foil a prank involving a glass full of water.

It's ''Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' meets ''ComicBook/XMen''. The story follows Piper [[MeaningfulName McCloud]] from birth, where her family discovers that she can float. Her parents try to keep her from the other children and convince her that floating is bad, but an insatiable curiosity soon grips hold of her, and one day she jumps off the roof to try flying. Luckily, she succeeds. It's not long before word gets out, and we learn that a town that could, as far as we know, be in the 1860s is still in the modern age as a helicopter arrives to take her to the Institute of Normalcy, Stability, And Non-Exceptionality. Just look at the acronym if the name doesn't convey the intention well enough.

* {{Flight}}: Piper can fly. While it makes her a pariah in Lowland County, she is considered exceptional even among other superpowered children [[spoiler: Dr. Hellion has this power too, but she suppressed it after causing her sister's death]].

A sequel, ''The Boy Who Knew Everything'', was released in 2015. Another sequel, ''The Girl Who Fell Out of the Sky'', will be released in 2020.

A sequel, ''The Boy Who Knew Everything'', was released in 2015.

A sequel, ''The Boy Who Knew Everything'', was released in 2015.

%% * NotQuiteDead [[spoiler:Dr. Hellion, who is revealed to have survived in the sequel.]]

%% * ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler:Conrad.]]

%% * TooCleverByHalf: Conrad, which leads to a WhatTheHellHero moment.

%% * BlueBlood: Conrad. His parents seem to think it exempts them from anything else.

%% * MeaningfulName: One of the best-known light aircraft is the Piper Cub. Piper's last name is even more blatant.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Would you really expect anything good from a woman named Dr. ''Hellion''?
%% ** Doubles with FunWithAcronyms: I.N.S.A.N.E.
%%
%% What or who is actually INSANE? A person? An institute?
%%

%% * ShockAndAwe: Kimber.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Conrad's is an InsufferableGenius, but he really wants to help people stop Dr. Hellion from removing their powers.

%% * MeaningfulRename: Conrad [[spoiler:agrees to give up his last name]].

%% * AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Piper in Lowland County.

%% * BoomerangBigot: [[spoiler: Dr. Hellion can fly.]]

%% * BroughtDownToNormal: INSANE's plan is to do this to every creature with superpowers.

%% * DishingOutDirt: Boris can turn things into rocks, including people.
%%
%% Wrong trope? Dishing out dirt is having elemental powers over earth.
%%

%% * {{Flight}}: Surprise!
%%
%% Are we ever? What is the trope? How is it used?
%%

%% * FunetikAksent:
%% ** Professor Mumbleby.
%% ** Also applies to Piper.

%% * IJustWantToHaveFriends: Piper at the picnic.
%% * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Conrad's behaviours make sense [[spoiler:once the facility's true nature is revealed.]]

!Tropes
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Piper in Lowland County.
* BlueBlood: Conrad. His parents seem to think it exempts them from anything else.
* BoomerangBigot: [[spoiler: Dr. Hellion can fly.]]
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:To Piper. She is tortured for weeks and when she is seen again, has broken legs and has been brainwashed.]] [[spoiler:She gets better.]]
* BroughtDownToNormal: INSANE's plan is to do this to every creature with superpowers.
* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler:Dr. Hellion breaks Piper's legs and mindwipes her through torture.]] Also happens to the rest of the creatures in INSANE, as they cannot be psychologically broken.
* CommonalityConnection: Piper and Sally Sue, over strawberry ice cream.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Conrad's reaction to having his project changed.
* DishingOutDirt: Boris can turn things into rocks, including people.
* EverythingsBetterWithRainbows: Bella can produce one
* {{Flight}}: Surprise!

* FunetikAksent: Professor Mumbleby. Also applies to Piper.
* HealingHands: [[spoiler:Jasper discovers this when he heals Piper's legs.]]
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Piper at the picnic.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Conrad's behaviours make sense [[spoiler:once the facility's true nature is revealed.]]
* KickTheDog: Millie Mae, literally.
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Sebastian.]]
* LoveAtFirstSight: Boris to Lily.
* MeaningfulName: One of the best-known light aircraft is the Piper Cub. Piper's last name is even more blatant.
* MeaningfulRename: Conrad [[spoiler:agrees to give up his last name]].

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Okay, it's a bit of a spoiler, but did you really expect anything good from a woman named Dr. ''Hellion''?
** Doubles with FunWithAcronyms: I.N.S.A.N.E.
* NotQuiteDead [[spoiler:Dr. Hellion, who is revealed to have survived in the sequel.]]
* TheNounWhoVerbed: The title.
* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler:Conrad.]]
* PersonalityPowers: Piper, the idealist, can fly.
** The extremely shy Violet literally shrinks smaller and smaller the shyer she feels. The trope is also averted with some characters; Lily's telekinesis has nothing to do with her personality.

** Piper [=McCloud=] (flying), Bella Lovely (positivity), Violet (shrinks when embarrassed)
* ShrinkingViolet: A very literal example with Violet.
* ShockAndAwe: Kimber.
* TooCleverByHalf: Conrad, which leads to a WhatTheHellHero moment.
* TwinBanter: Nalen and Ahmed Mustafa. They are identical and are always FinishingEachOthersSentences.

* WideEyedIdealist: Deconstructed and reconstructed in the character of Piper.
* WonderChild: Subverting most of it.
* WorthyOpponent: Lily regards Piper as this when the latter puts two and two together and manages to foil a prank involving a glass full of water.
* YouthfulFreckles: Piper doesn't like them.

** JerkassFacade

It's ''Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' meets ''{{ComicBook/X-Men}}''. The story follows Piper [[MeaningfulName McCloud]] from birth, where her family discovers that she can float. Her parents try to keep her from the other children and convince her that floating is bad, but an insatiable curiosity soon grips hold of her, and one day she jumps off the roof to try flying. Luckily, she succeeds. It's not long before word gets out, and we learn that a town that could, as far as we know, be in the 1860s is still in the modern age as a helicopter arrives to take her to the Institute of Normalcy, Stability, And Non-Exceptionality. Just look at the acronym if the name doesn't convey the intention well enough.

''The Girl Who Could Fly'' starts out in with your typical [[FarmBoy farm girl]] in your typical [[DownOnTheFarm Midwestern town]]. Her hobbies include milking cows, speaking in a FunetikAksent, and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers practicing her flying skills]]. Wait, what?

It's ''{{Literature/Little House On The Prairie}}'' meets ''{{ComicBook/X-Men}}''. The story follows Piper [[MeaningfulName McCloud]] from birth, where her family discovers that she can float. Her parents try to keep her from the other children and convince her that floating is bad, but an insatiable curiosity soon grips hold of her, and one day she jumps off the roof to try flying. Luckily, she succeeds. It's not long before word gets out, and we learn that a town that could, as far as we know, be in the 1860s is still in the modern age as a helicopter arrives to take her to the Institute of Normalcy, Stability, And Non-Exceptionality. Just look at the acronym if the name doesn't convey the intention well enough.

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: Dr. Hellion used to fly, until she accidentally dropped her sister in a storm and killed her. She suppressed the memory, which turned into a violent hatred of all things special.]]

* HealingHands: [[spoiler: Jasper discovers this when he heals Piper's legs.]]

* [[spoiler:NotQuiteDead]] [[spoiler:Dr. Hellion, who is revealed to have survived in the sequel.]]

* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Conrad.]]

* TheseLookLikeJobsForTheSupermen: Discussed when the kids decide what they want to do with their powers when they grow up. Most want to do things that would end up on this page, although Smitty does want to go into crime-fighting (as a detective, which his XRayVision would be useful for). [[spoiler:The epilogue reveals that many of the kids are at these jobs.]]

* TwinBanter: Nalen and Ahmed Mustafa. They are identical and are always FinishingEachOthersSentences

* MeningfulName: One of the best-known light aircraft is the Piper Cub. Piper's last name is even more blatant.

* [[spoiler:NotQuiteDead]] [[spoiler:Dr. Hellion, who is revealed to have survived in the sequel.]]

* [[spoiler:DisneyDeath]] [[spoiler:Dr. Hellion, who is revealed to have survived in the sequel.]]

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Piper at home

* BreakTheCutie: Poor Piper. [[spoiler:She gets better.]]

* CommonalityConnection: Over strawberry ice cream.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Inverted in one of the mainstream covers, which features Piper flying while [[spoiler:Dr. Hellion pursues her]] and gives away a major plot twist. [[spoiler:Of course, you could assume that it was a metaphor for Dr. Hellion holding the children down, or that she was just hanging on to Piper.]]

* HealingHands: [[spoiler: Jasper discovers this when he heals Piper's legs]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Conrad's behaviours make sense later on.

* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Sebastian]].