Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Aprilynne Pike's, first novel Wings received a lot of praise for its “ingenuity of the mythology”, Stephanie Meyers; and “delicious escapism”, Kirkus Review; when it first debuted this May. Disney is currently filming a movie based on the book, which is slated to open in 2011. The book is the first of four books that follows the life of Laurel Sewell, a fifteen-year-old girl with an unusual destiny. Pike manages to blend realistic characters with fantasy providing her readers with an unexpected twist that is sure to please young adult readers, who enjoy the mythological realms.

Laurel has never been quite like other kids. Left on her parent’s doorstep when she was three, home schooled by her mother, and preferring peaches, veggies and Spite, to chips, meat, and milk, she is worried about fitting in at her new high school. So, when she finally gets what seems to be her first zit in the middle of her back, Laurel “feels strangely normal ... like a rite of passage” has finally taken place. Unfortunately, Laurel’s normality is short lived when the zit blossoms into a giant flower shaped like wings. Panicking, Laurel turns to David, her biology partner and new friend, to seek answers to this strange growth on her back. However, it is not until Laurel accompanies her parents back to her old home in Orick that she discovers she isn’t like other teenagers. In fact, she isn’t even human, but a faerie sent to live with her mom and dad so she could one day inherit their land and fulfill her destiny as the guardian of the faerie world and their long guarded secret.

I have to admit I am behind on reading this book, and until I finished it had no idea when it was first published or that it had been so well received. However, I am glad I happened to pick it up last week at the bookstore. Wings is a lovely story with very realistically drawn characters. My favorite character, however, was not Laurel, but David. David plays a very important role in the story, as Laurel friend and supporter, and without his help, the story might have suffered. The whole idea about the faerie world Pike presents is quite intriguing. Although I would have liked a bit more about the world than Pike provided in this first book. When Pike did reveal how Laurel’s destiny was to help guard the secret gate to Avalon it was both a surprise and to be honest a bit implausible. Never-the-less, in the end I think Pike left me thinking about her unique take on mythology, and I am looking forward to seeing what she has in store for Laurel, and hopefully David in her next book.

Wings is definitely a book I will be talking about to my students. I believe that with all the fantasy books currently on bookshelves, that Wings is one that will stand out as innovative and unique. 

Rating: 5 Cherries