Valley Fliers by David Boito
What's It About?
A captivating story laced with technology, romance and strong character development.“These were supposed to be toys, not weapons! They were supposed to be convenient, not a death sentence! But what have they become, these flying machines that go everywhere, see everything, that no one even pays that much attention to anymore? They have become an easy means to kill.”
Seventeen-year-old Jay Smalley is part of a youth group obsessed with remote control aviation and flying model planes at a San Fernando Valley, CA, airfield. Maybe the only thing he loves more is solving mysteries. So when one falls in his lap in David Boito’s fast-paced young adult novel Valley Fliers, Jay “would rather chew on that than a pack of gum.”
Jay learns of a prisoner at a Colorado state penitentiary, a drug smuggler who had turned states’ evidence on his accomplices and was waiting to testify, who was killed in a prison courtyard from an explosion coming from the sky. A drone had proved to be a deadly weapon and was also finding applications, from its unique vantage point, to see people and places that don’t want to be seen.
Jay’s awareness of this story closely coincides with the arrival of a new person at the airfield, Oren, said to be the son of an old friend of Kent, the airfield head and mentor of the Valley Fliers pilots. He is a man, not a teen; seems to know his way around remote aviation; and shows up with a military-grade model flier.
A WELL-CRAFTED STORY THAT MOVES SWIFTLY
Immediately, Jay, to the scorn of his friends and possible young love interest Cassie, goes on surveillance. Jay can’t quite tell, but there’s something suspicious about Oren – he is a bit too cool and too cocky. And there seems to be circumstantial evidence that might tie him to the Colorado prison killing and other crimes. Do his stories and backgrounds add up? Perhaps they are just the fantasies of a young boy with an imagination. But for some nagging reason, Jay can’t let go.
Author David Boito has created a well-paced story that moves swiftly and gives readers a peek into a world of which they probably know little. He does a topnotch job of creating realistic, convincing and complex characters.
It starts with Jay, an adolescent subject to the foibles of his age stereotype – curious, inquiring, smart, vulnerable and determined. While his confidence shines behind one of the remote fliers, he also soft pedals with the father figure Kent, head of the airfield; Oren, the stranger with an uncertain past; Becca, his mother whose interests lie in helping her son navigate this weird age; and Cassie, a new girl in the neighborhood who has caught the eye of Jay, who is just learning what to do in these uncomfortable and delicate new situations.
While the book is targeted at young adults, it can easily and pleasurably be absorbed by readers of all ages and audiences who enjoy a captivating story laced with technology, romance and strong character development.
Are Jay’s suspicions well-founded? Is there a connection between Oren and the drone crimes that continue to surface?
Despite pushback from his friends, and stern warnings when he crosses the line, he can’t help himself. He can’t help but relate to the motto of the Fifth Reconnaissance Squadron: “In God we trust, in all others we monitor.”
About David Boito:
David Boito counts himself the lucky friend of several remote control pilots who spend their weekends at the miniature airfield not far from his residence in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Los Angeles. Valley Fliers is his debut novel. The book is inspired by and dedicated to remote control aviators who grace the skies over neighborhoods across America. Visit https://valleyfliers.davidboito.com.
