Review: Akemi Dawn Bowman is known for writing deep, heart wrenching novels and “Harley in the Sky” is actually a change of pace for her. While it is not fully a light, fluffy story (otherwise it wouldn’t be a novel) this is more a coming of age story of a young woman on the mark of adulthood who decides to take charge of her life and handles the consequences of a very adult decision. Harley was not an complete innocent naive flower at the beginning of the novel, she was ready to be her true self, but her parents were holding her back. She grapples with the decision to leave and I actually rooted for her to leave, because sometimes leaving home is what we need to grow.

What I loved best about Harley is that while she sometimes wasn’t completely honest with herself, she did know what she wanted for her life and was willing to take a risk to achieve it. Betraying her parents, while wasn’t the best decision, I could understand it as her decision didn’t lead her down a path that ruined her life, but gave her an opportunity to grow, to see if she could follow her dream, and ultimately make her own up to her mistakes. I feel like Harley’s story is one that needs to be told as well. We read many stories of teens coming of age through harsh trials, but many folks come of age through simple decisions that allow us to become adults. Harley learns to rely on herself while at the same time comes to appreciate the support systems she had at home. Many folks experience this type of “coming of age” and I really enjoyed “Harley in the Sky” for this reason.

There were also many fun moments of the story as Bowman really captures the magic of the circus and the romance is sweet as well. This was a great read and I recommend you order it from your local indie bookstore as soon as you can.