Magnolia
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by Sabrina Hofkin
Price: $9.95
168 Pages, Paperback, 5.5 x 8.5
ISBN-10: 0-9763916-0-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-9763916-0-9
Just as a magnolia tree expresses dignity and suggests perseverance, adventurous sixteen-year-old Magnolia Holden perseveres with dignity and strives to be perfect in everything she does. An exciting summer lies ahead of Magnolia. She’s taking flying lessons to earn her private pilot certificate, she’s working as a junior ranger at the state park, she’s going to Costa Rica to help her mother on an archeological dig, and she’s horseback riding with her best friend, Rainy.
But sometimes unexpected things can happen—things like her mother’s dig changing locales and she can’t go. Or Rainy falling for a student pilot, Ross, who tells Magnolia that she’s the one he wants to be with. Things like working at the park and discovering something that may threaten the bears. Because of Magnolia’s passion for flying and her quest to be perfect in everything, she develops a fierce competition with Ross and wants to get her pilot certificate before him, which causes her to lose sight of why she wants to fly: to help the environment and the bears.
About The Author
Sabrina Hofkin grew up in Poulsbo, Washington and Grand Junction, Colorado. She attended Widener University, located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She holds a Commercial Pilot Certificate and while living in Philadelphia, she worked as a Certified Flight Instructor (teaching students to become private pilots, commercial pilots, instrument rated pilots, and multi-engine rated pilots.) She lives in Redding, California with her husband, three young sons, and three dogs. One of her short stories, Stranded, was featured in the local anthology, Portfolio North, in 2004. Magnolia is her first novel. Wings for Wildlife, the second Magnolia Holden novel, will be coming soon.
Reviews
“Magnolia—the girl we all wanted to be. Lived out in the setting we wish we were in now. Even though I certainly don’t fall into the target age of this novel, I could not put it down. I think it would make a charming movie.”
--Gloria Speigle, Real Estate Broker
“A fun read—reminds me of my flight instructor days.”
--Art Gustafson, Airline Pilot and Flight Instructor
Customer Reviews
 | Judith Nasse from Taos , NM | | | It’s a jam-packed, adventurous summer for plucky, energetic Magnolia. She’s not only determined to get her pilot’s license by her seventeenth birthday, but she also organizes her family and friends into saving bears from land developers in the local state park. To complicate matters she nearly loses her best friend Rainy when Ross, a new boy in town, not only dates Rainy but also declares his feelings for Magnolia. Magnolia and Ross also compete for who will be the first to get their pilot license.
Magnolia is a breakthrough Young Adult novel. It dares to make teenager Magnolia Holden an aviatrix. While there are many non-fiction books written for young people about renowned aviatrixes, such as Amelia Earhart, Beryl Markham, Bessie ”Queen Bess” Coleman, and Katherine Stinson, there does not seem to be any novels about women pilots, especially for teenagers.
This is author Sabrina Hofkin’s first novel. She plans to create a sequel. The book is well plotted with the interweaving of the sub-plots nicely executed. The switching of scenes between flying, tracking down the mystery behind the threatened bears and environment, Magnolia’s friendship with Ross and Rainy, and the worry about her mother’s archaeological dig in unstable Colombia could get bogged down, however it flows successfully.
While I didn’t understand all of the aviation terms and descriptions, there was enough action and tension to carry me through those scenes. For example, while Magnolia is flying solo, a storm comes up. By describing Magnolia’s reaction as well as how she technically lands the plane, the reader is kept going, on the edge of her chair.
This book will entertain young girls (as well as boys), and it will also inspire them to become more than the usual roles ascribed for them. I highly recommend this book. |
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