Wings by Aprilynne Pike

• ISBN: 978-0061668045
• Plot summary: Laurel moves to Crescent City after a life of being homeschooled in a small rural town. She has some peculiar tendencies, such as a fairly Vegan diet and a penchant for being outdoors, but for the most part, she blends seamlessly into her new life as a high school sophomore. With the help of David, Laurel finds herself transitioning easily from her old life into the new, but abruptly finds herself out of sorts when something appears on her back. What initially looks like a zit turns into something Laurel fears is a tumor, only to have sprouted leaves and flower petals a few mornings later! With some wardrobe creativity, Laurel is able to hide the growth on her back, but her mind is clouded with emotions so high she eventually confides in David about the flower growing out of her body. Scientifically, they determine that Laurel is not quite the person she grew up thinking she was, and on a trip to her old house, an outsider confirms that Laurel is something different altogether. She learns that for reasons connected to her being, Laurel must never let her family's land fall into anyone else's hands.
• Critical evaluation: Wings is an amplified version of how all teens must feel. While physical changes happen to all young people, Laurel must go through these changes visibly. Once a year, a young female fairy will sprout "wings" in the form of petals which unfurl unexpectedly and slowly decay until they fall off at the end of one's "petal cycle". What an interesting way to compare one teenage girl's unavoidable physical changes to the often embarrassing process young people go through starting in adolescence. When Laurel's petals sprout for the first time, her shock and embarrassment are so crisply communicated, one does not get lost in the fairy imagery of the past of large, diaphanous wings, rather you experience the true feelings one might experience as a developing teenager. Laurel comes to accept her wings, even enjoys them on a night out when she can "wear" them as her costume, and is a bit sad to see them go when they wilt and die. This author perfectly humanized the fairy experience with that of an average teenager.
• Reader's annotation: Laurel is having a hard enough time adjusting to her new school. Now she has to deal with those pesky objects protruding from her back.
• About the author: Aprilynne Pike lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is her first novel.
• Genre: Fiction/supernatural
• Curriculum ties, if any: Health/Science
• Booktalking ideas:
• Do you think Laurel should have hidden her wings as she did?
• What would it be like to be homeschooled your entire life before setting foot in high school?
• Reading level/interest age: 13+
• Challenge issues: Mild sexuality
• Why was this item included? Research for my genre project.