Mindy Hayes

Paper Planes and Other Things We Lost Mindy Hayes

On June 18, 1992, Flight 397 crashed off the coast of Long Island. But this story isn't about the crash. Not completely.

RUBY
My senior year begins a little differently than I planned. My mom wasn't supposed to be dead. The likelihood of dying in a plane crash is one in five million. I guess she had to be part of the unlucky few.

No one understands my grief. So, I write a letter, needing a connection. Someone who grasps what I'm going through, who lost a parent on that same flight.

Brett Pratt gives me hopes and dreams on paper planes. He gives me a reason to look forward to the future.


BRETT
My parents are dead, my twin sister spiraling out of control. College applications are due, and winter in Pennsylvania is long and cold.

1993 isn't doing me any favors until Ruby Kaminski arrives in my mailbox. Her letter is intended for Amber, but her words are meant for me. Ruby's quirky facts pull me from drowning under the weight of my responsibilities.

They also create a dilemma. With every paper plane sent, our bond grows deeper. I'm falling for this girl. The problem is, we live on opposite sides of the country. Can there be a future for us?


A moving pen pal contemporary romance, set before cellphones and internet. Follow these teens as they navigate the end of childhood, and fall in love through paper planes.