'Mid-Air' af Jennifer Allott, novelleanalyse

The short story is about a boy who has recently got a stepmother named Paula. The story is from the UK and the family is from Bristol. Alex is driving with his family and he couldn't hold back his sick. He flashbacks to their day out in the Midlands. Alex, his sister Rosie, his dad and his stepmother had had a day out at a beach. Alex feels like his life has come to a standstill. He thinks of his mate's story about a bus that drove across a bridge flying in Mid-air. That is what Alex feels like his life is like at the moment: Mid-air. He isn’t going anywhere. He is stuck in between two comfort zones. His dad has just got a new girlfriend and Alex's parents aren’t together anymore. He is between two conditions. The story ends in back in the car. Alex is still sick.

Many children have experienced divorce related grief. In the modern-day world people will divorce their partner, if they have found another love or if they can't deal with each other anymore. Vast amounts of children are exposed to hard times during their parent's divorce. Often the parents don't pay attention to potentially struggling children in these vulnerable situations. Alex experiences these feelings and this grief in the short story "Mid-Air", by Jennifer Allott from 2014. The story is about Alex whose dad has just divorced his mother. Alex struggles adapting to his new stepmother and the new lifestyle, which he now has to embrace. Alex is worried about his younger sister, all whilst he feels like his life is falling apart. He misses his old life, in which he was part of a British nuclear family. Now he feels like he is going nowhere. He is very much Mid-Air.