Defect [Hardcover]

Will Weaver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2007

Maybe it was bad karma. Maybe it was just bad luck. Whatever the reason, fifteen-year-old David was born defective. His bug eyes, pinched face, and hearing aids are obvious, but there is a secret David keeps from everyone, even his foster parents. Because of a thin layer of skin hidden under each arm, David can fly--well, glide is more like it. Terrified of doctors, wary of letting down his guard, David is determined to hide his secret at any cost. But then David meets Cheetah, a girl whose own defect doesn't diminish her spirit, and suddenly his life begins to take wing.
 
In this arresting new novel, Will Weaver creates an unforgettable character on the path to discovering that some blessings can be a curse--and some curses a blessing.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

David's odd appearance makes him a target for bullies, but what sets him apart most is his secret: he can fly. After persistent hazing, he is moved to an alternative school, where he meets Cheetah, a girl with epilepsy. David and Cheetah, both medical anomalies and social outcasts, begin a strong friendship and, eventually, a romance. When David's flying is observed in public, everyone wants a piece of him—doctors, religious fanatics, the press. With the steadfast support of Cheetah and his compassionate and loving foster parents, David must decide whether to undergo corrective surgeries to remove his collapsible wings, giving him a more "handsome" appearance. The eerie cover and enticing premise will draw readers in for a big payoff. David struggles with his ability: Is it a gift or a curse? Will he be different if he looks different? Does God have a plan for him? Teens struggling with social stigmatization and medical issues will find a champion in David. Booth, Heather

Review

"Artful melding of fantastical elements in a realistic setting...Moreover, David and Cheetah are such empathetic characters and their relationship so palatable that the larger message about tolerance and self-acceptance will not be missed." —School Library Journal

 

“The eerie cover and enticing premise will draw readers in for a big payoff.”—Booklist

 

"Told with sensitivity and insight, this exploraiton of a young man's journety to self-acceptance seems particularly compelling in a world of extreme makeovers."--Kirkus Reviews

 

"Weaver . . . skillfully interweaves the improbable with twenty-first-century realities in this provocative novel."—VOYA

 

“Weaver’s message of acceptance of differences comes through loud and clear.”—The Horn Book

 

"A touching story that has a lot to say about whether we wear our bodies or they wear us."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

 

"Readers will have much to ponder." —IRA

 

"This book should prompt interesting and productive discussions about differences, identitity and tolerance with high school students."— The ALAN Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (July 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374317259
• ISBN-13: 978-0374317256
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,096,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Will Weaver grew up in northern Minnesota on a dairy farm. The landscape of farm and small town life figures strongly in much of his writing. He has gained a national audience for his unflinching realism, and for what one reviewer called ". . . the humanity and decency that runs through all of Weaver's work" ( St. Paul Pioneer Press).

His short story collection A GRAVESTONE MADE OF WHEAT was a New York Times "notable book." His newest book is a memoir, THE LAST HUNTER: AN AMERICAN FAMILY ALBUM, which one reviewer wrote "...should have been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize."

Several of his works have been adapted for radio, stage and film. SWEET LAND, an independent feature film adaptation of his story "Gravestone Made of Wheat", and starring Ned Beatty, premiered in October of 2006. His first adult novel, RED EARTH, WHITE EARTH was made into a CBS television movie.

Also known for his young adult fiction, Weaver's series STRIKING OUT, FARM TEAM and HARD BALL has a lasting place in school libraries across the country. MEMORY BOY, a post-apocalyptic novel based on environmental collapse, is widely used across the curriculum in junior and senior high schools. A sequel, THE SURVIVORS, and is due out in January 2012 from HarperCollins.

Other young adult novels include CLAWS, set in northeastern Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and featuring outdoor survival with a strong family back-story. His FULL SERVICE won starred reviews from Kirkus and Horn Books for its focus on a young man struggling with matters of religious faith and doubt. DEFECT is a novel about a teenager born with a miraculous birth abnormality, and his struggle to fit in (or not).

As an author, Mr. Weaver is particularly concerned with youth literacy and young men in particular. His new Motornovel Series is pitched toward teens who love motorsports but are not wild about English classes. SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT and its sequel, SUPER STOCK ROOKIE (2009) focus on dirt track stock car racing. The series starts with a close focus on a small town speedway and a diverse cast characters who come there, for different reasons, on Saturday nights. CHECKERED FLAG CHEATER is the latest in this popular series. Reviewed on "Good Morning America," the Motornovels were described as "great teen reads, and not just for boys."

An avid outdoorsman and a would-be piano player, Will Weaver lives with his wife on the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 22, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Defect (Hardcover)

David is more than just odd, or strange, or different. David is kind of a genetic anomaly, truly a freak of nature. His "hearing aids" actually minimize sound, under his hat are bat-like ears, and under his sweatshirt, well, that's the craziest part of all. David actually has wings. Not big feathery things, but a thin layer of tissue that allows him to coast through the air if he jumps from a high point.

Anybody in high school knows that being different isn't usually a good thing. Even the wrong haircut can lead to months of torture. For David, his differences could be life threatening. He's already been shipped from foster home to foster home, from school to school. When he gets in trouble at his most recent school, he prepares to start all over, again, somewhere else. This time though, the only thing that changes is the school. Amazingly, this time he might actually be okay. Sure, he's still not telling anybody about the hearing and the wings, but he's not getting beat up, either. And, he might actually have a girlfriend!

David accompanies his maybe girlfriend, Cheetah, to the Mayo clinic, and finds out some surprising information about himself. Along with a few creepy flashbacks. With this new information, David is going to have some very tough choices to make, and some harder lessons to learn.

I was expecting something completely different from this story, but I couldn't have been happier to be completely wrong! This story is incredibly touching and powerful, and honest. All of the characters are amazing and strong and realistic. The choices David makes may not be the ones you would make, but you feel the weight of them right along with him. And the lessons he learns are the simple but huge kind that everyone needs to be reminded of from time to time. It's a beautiful, simple, incredible thing.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fitting in, October 28, 2009

By 

M. E. Fritzler (Houston Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Defect (Hardcover)

DOn't Fit in? Wish you could fix it? what if you could? would you rather change yourself forever or be the miracle people need to see? this book is a real heart warmer!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars You'll feel Cheetah-ed with this Defect-ive book, September 6, 2008

By 

Jeannie Mancini "vernefan" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Defect (Hardcover)

If you read the inside jacket flap of this book, it sounds like this book is going to be a cool fantasy story about a young teenage boy with wings that can fly. Wrong. If you are looking for a paranormal fantasy, don't buy this book, this is not what it appears to be. David, our protagonist, does indeed have wings and can fly, but his uniqueness is treated in this story as a birth defect. And with that, what we the readers get is a touchy feely story about acceptance. This novel is about people accepting other people for who they are and not what they look like, whether they are normal or not. Once I got over the disappointment that this was certainly not going in a fantasy-like direction, I felt ok with going with the flow of the way this river was running. However, the story just does not deliver the goods in anyway shape or form. David is living with foster parents in the midwest after being abandoned by his real birth mother who was a drug addict and couldnt deal with his defect. These Ozzie and Harriet foster parents are so unreal, so improbable or believable that they are two characters simply too hard to swallow. I found that there were a lot of sideline plots to the story that start out, and then disappear without coming back or resolution, characters introduced that vanish. The only redeeming character worth meeting in this book is David's girlfriend Cheetah, who has Epilepsy and is just adorable in her own defective self. But even her addition to the story starts out interesting and falls flat at the end. This book needed more plot, more action, more serious drama, more substance and story period, and a much better ending. Sappy and not satisfying is all I can come up with and I just can not recommend this disappointing book that could have been interesting if written well.