Flight Behavior

I did not care for this book. I really appreciate Barbara Kingsolver's novels. I used to teach several different titles, and I try to keep up with her newest novels. This is one I hadn't read until now. I had trouble finishing; when I had about 100 pages left, I read some reviews to see if I was just struggling for my own personal reasons (distracted, tired, etc.) or if others were feeling what I was about this book. I read several reviews that identified my struggles. I usually savor her character development and while these characters were nicely developed, I felt that some were cut short or overdeveloped for the purpose they served in the novel. Several people noticed parallels to other novels of hers. I did too, but they felt more like repetitive motifs and forced ideas (allusions, political viewpoints, etc). I get that the novel is an environmentally conscious book, and that was the most vibrant, successful portion of this book in my opinion. I love learning about true topics via fiction. However, I felt like there were forced sub-plots and unnecessary embellishments. This book could have been better with about 130 pages of text eliminated.