“THE ART OF CRASH LANDING is full of heart and sass. It’s about forgiveness, self-understanding, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. Readers will root for DeCarlo’s goofy, sharp-tongued heroine.... This is a sparkling, funny, and moving debut.” (Edan Lepucki, author of CALIFORNIA)

“I fell in love with Mattie, with all her sass, her snark, her bad ass ways. The best compliment I can give this talented new author? I wish I had written this novel. You nailed it, Melissa DeCarlo. And you deserve legions of very happy readers.” (Ellen Sussman, author of A WEDDING IN PROVENCE and FRENCH LESSONS)

“Mattie describes herself as a natural disaster, and she may on to something. Accidentally pregnant and unemployed (too old and too smart for either), she's on the run from a past she doesn't really understand. In a few short months, she will figure out the riddle of her mother's death, and learn that even the most powerful love doesn't always look pretty, and that sometimes, there are very good reasons for very big secrets. Melissa DeCarlo's storytelling is strong and sure, genuinely moving and genuinely funny. Like her unlikely heroine, she's a force to be reckoned with.” (Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN)

“Behind the smartass mouth of Mattie Wallace, our troubled protagonist, is a whole lot of heart, soul and humor. Mattie's only assets are a stolen guitar strap; a nearly-dead 1978 Chevy, Malibu; and her wickedly acute observations, which keep the reader completely and totally hooked. You won't stop reading THE ART OF CRASH LANDING until all the great mysteries of Mattie's messed-up life have been unravelled by the ever-wise Mattie herself.” (Jessica Anya Blau, author of THE WONDER BREAD SUMMER)

“A dazzling debut that truly soars, about figuring out the tug of the past, about family mysteries and the marvels of forgiveness, and all of it features a spunky heroine readers won’t be able to stop falling in love with.” (Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of IS THIS TOMORROW and PICTURES OF YOU)

“Mattie’s voice is fresh, her penchant for off-color language balanced with a revealing earnestness and vulnerability. Gandy’s other residents are vibrant and well-developed…DeCarlo’s debut is confident and accomplished, filled with heart and humor.” (Kirkus)“DeCarlo manages to make her heroine endearing despite her many flaws: she creates clever private jokes with the reader and slips in the occasional heartbreaking memory between brash shows of pushiness...DeCarlo’s writing bristles with Mattie’s vibrant personality...a triumphant first novel.” (Publishers Weekly)

“DeCarlo deftly weaves in flashbacks about Mattie’s childhood and creates a cast of wonderfully full-blooded, fallible characters…Best of all is Mattie herself, who has cultivated a measure of humanity in addition to impressive survival skills and whose briskly told story is instantly involving. An impressive debut.” (Booklist)

"DeCarlo bursts on the scene with a fascinating, mysterious novel. The pacing is excellent and the prose fluid as the story unfolds in a combination of flashbacks and present-day scenes. This debut is thick with secrets; it will cause readers to question everyone and everything. The author does an outstanding job combining suspense with heartache, adding a dash of romance and, at the end, hope." (Library Journal)

"...This launches Melissa DeCarlo’s pitch-perfect novel about family secrets, self-forgiveness and redemption....Her debut novel’s originality and fresh voice will endear her to readers. From the first page, Mattie comes alive as a bold, irreverent woman who, for all her sass, is well aware that all her difficulties she’s brought on herself." (Dallas Morning News)

"DeCarlo has created a compulsively likable mess of a protagonist who will keep readers laughing and cringing - even as they begin really rooting for her...surprising, poignant and page-turning...a strong debut and a thoroughly entertaining read." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

“With this stunning debut novel, DeCarlo has loudly claimed her seat at the table of today’s elite contemporary Southern women writers including Joshilyn Jackson, Fannie Flagg and Sue Monk Kidd. They continue the work of literary giants like Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor, crafting haunting stories about the peculiar, the impolite, the freakish, the skeletons tucked away in closets — places and people that are so much stranger than fiction that there’s a good chance they’re living next door.” (Oklahoma Gazette)