Wings

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Title: Wings
Written by Aprilynne Pike
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (May 2009)
Rated: 4/5
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Kailana and I didn’t exactly read this together, but when we discovered that we both needed to review it, we decided to review it together!  Check out her review here.

Laurel is a not-so-normal teenage girl struggling to have a normal teenage life.  She’s the new girl at school, after being home-schooled by her somewhat hippie parents.  She’s trying to make friends, even though she’s painfully shy.  She loves the outdoors.  She doesn’t eat any meat, barely any vegetables; she mainly subsists on clear soda and fruit.  Strangest of all is that new, painful, huge pimple on the center of her back?  That is her flower; with huge petals that look like wings on her back.

When Laurel was three, she was left on her parent’s doorstep in a basket, with no note and no knowledge of where she came from.  Now that her parents have moved and are trying to sell their old estate and Laurel’s life is changing to drastically, her past and her present meet in a sudden and distressing way.  It turns out Laurel isn’t human at all.  She’s a faerie.

Why was she sent away from home to live with her human parents?  What is her position in this new world she didn’t know existed?  And is there any place for her in the home she has come to love and cherish?  And what does Avalon have to do with all of this?  Laurel has a lot to figure out, and fast, before both of her cherished worlds are irrevocably changed forever.

You know, I didn’t know what to expect of this book when I first saw it.  The leaves/wings on the cover don’t really give you much to go on.  I hadn’t heard anything about it.  I just saw the book at a yard sale and snatched it up.  Once I started reading though, it was difficult to put down and I read it in like – two days – I think.  The characters are what really make this book.  You can’t help but love Laurel.  She’s one of those seemingly fragile girls who you immediately want to protect, but really have a fine, steely interior that can stand up to anything.  I had my problems with her of course. She could be a little dense and sometimes missed the obvious.  But she is sweet and likeable.   David, the boy Laurel meets at school, and who takes an immediate liking to her, is a little too good to be true, but I liked him well enough.  Now, Tamani, the male faerie of the story, on the other hand, he’s the hottie of the book and the guy I’m (of course) rooting for.  Because you know, like most other faerie tale books of this genre; this is part of a trilogy.

Wings is a great, light, summer read, perfect for beach, pool, or backyard in the sun reading.

Now, for the questions:

1. What did you think of the twist of the flower petals/flower in Laurel’s back?

I’ll admit; I really liked it.  I thought it was something new, original; I’ve never seen anything like it in any of the many, many fairy books I’ve read.  I liked the way she changed the wings into something more organic.  It made it feel more plausible, that there were little people out there who were a cross between a plant and a person as opposed to little winged creatures out to turn your cow’s milk sour.

2. And what did you think of the Arthurian legend being incorporated into the plot?

I liked that too.   I’ve always enjoyed Arthurian stories anyway and, seeing as most faerie myths come from Britain, I thought it was a clever twist to combine the two stories.  I’m actually surprised no one has done it before, at least as far as I know.

3. What did you think of David, Laurel’s extremely nice and understanding potential boyfriend?

He was…extremely nice and…extremely understanding.   Very easy going, willing to wait for Laurel to sort out her feels and never seemed to get very MAD about anything.  Do you know a guy like this?  A TEENAGE guy?  Because none of the guys I grew up were like this.  David fits the mold of these new too-good-to-be-true male characters I’ve been seeing in YA fiction lately.  Have you noticed?  Is this the Edward Effect?  Because I’m not sure I like it.

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