Customer Reviews

Wings

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(92)
3 star:		(53)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Today, I had the greatest difficulty trying to get my hands on this book. I first stopped at the local Troll (ha... ha... ha...) & Noble, hoping that since the book's publisher was HarperCollins, they'd have it. To my sadness, they didn't, and they didn't seem to understand why they didn't have it either. Hm. Fortunately, I managed to find it in an obscure bookstore that I have found has a much more reliable stash of YA goodies for sale. Yay discoveries!

Anyways, I agree with the reviewer who stated that the book starts a little slowly. I wasn't too enamored with David, as he's nice but nothing very interesting. When protagonist Laurel started growing flowers out of her back, that's when it caught my attention. Alas, not enough to interrupt my afternoon nap, but still, I continued the book after dinner.

About half-way through, it started getting really interesting.

First, we meet Tam. This guy has all the charms of Edward and none of the obnoxiousness. We meet him once, then spend some more time playing detective, and all the while I'm thinking "homg...homg... when are we going to see forestboy again?" Fortunately, there was no disappointment in sight! Hurrah! (Random Book-Thought Moment: Tam, you need to wear gloves whenever Laurel's in bloom. We readers can see right through your shenanigans. <wink>) We got to see him multiple more times, and even lead up to a very pleasing climax, with lots of action and kick butt. As fascinating as he is, I'm glad he's not invincible. It's nice to have the heroine have some part in the butt-kicking ending.

Speaking of the butt-kick ending, I loved that. I apologize for using ambiguous terms in this review, but I'm avoiding spoiling any plot bunnies for readers on the fence who might be reading this review. (Subliminal message: read it, read it, read it!)

All in all? There are very few books that leave my hands slick with perspiration upon finishing the last page. This is one of them. I only hacked off one star because the beginning lagged a bit--not too much, but I admit my attention span is tiny tiny. And naps are good. From the middle on, though, it earns five stars and more. I can see why someone on the author's website stated this book would "change the world." In a Twilight sense, at least.

Read it, fellow walkers of the written page!

Gold Star Award Winner!

What happens when you find out that you are different? Not just a little different but really DIFFERENT?!

Laurel finds herself in public school for the first time when she is a sophomore. She has been homeschooled in a small cabin in the forest. Her parents moved to Crescent City, in Northern California, about an hour away from her cabin to open a bookstore.

At her high school Laurel meets David, and he invites her to join his group of friends. He also becomes her best friend.

As she is getting settled into her new life, she gets a bump on her back - which grows bigger and bigger until she sprouts a pretty blue blossom. This blossom makes her look like she has wings.

She manages to hide it from her family and the people at school, but she and David begin to investigate. He looks at cells of her blossom and her cheeks and comes to the conclusion that she is made of plant cells.

Laurel goes back to her cabin home in search of answers. There she meets Tamani, a gorgeous young man who tells her that she is a fairy. She has been helping the fairies guard a secret that is by her cabin home.

Later, her dad takes ill and Laurel and David risk their lives fighting trolls, who are trying to acquire Laurel's forest home. These trolls are scary! They are big, strong, and the main one is smart.

WINGS is the first of four books, and it leaves us with Laurel living two different lives. Should she go back to her fairy life with Tamani, or stay and guard her adoptive parents and be with David, who Laurel also has feelings for?

I really loved this book. It had everything: love, chases, close escapes, dramatic choices, and lots of magic. The writing was very good, and at some points I had to put down the book just because I was so nervous for the characters, which for me means that I was totally involved in the story.

Laurel is someone who I would want to be my best friend. David is also fantastic. He is what I would love to meet and have in my life. He is accepting, brave, and extremely helpful. Tamani is strong, intense, and sexy! What a choice!

I highly recommend this series. It is fun and very believable. Go now and buy your copy of WINGS!

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

Laurel, a fifteen year old who had previously been home schooled by her parents, now finds herself undergoing her first experience as a "normal" high school student. She and her parents have just moved from a log cabin on a piece of property that had been in her mother's family for generations to a small house in a town where her father is living his life-long dream of owning a bookstore. Her mother is a naturopath.

At first things seem to be going well for Laurel as she meets David, a cute, popular boy in her class. David not only accepts her dietary habits (vegan) as well as her need to be outside at lunch instead of in the cafeteria,introduces her to his friends who also immediately accept her. Then one day Laurel notices an odd bump on her back and things begin to change.

The best YA books are simply good books. I have more than one shelf with books that gripped and interested me from a very young age. I pull them down and reread them at times. This book wouldn't have made this shelf-- it's ok, but not gripping. Although important things are said to be at risk, the author does not manage to make the reader feel that possibly something important would be lost if the heroine doesn't win. The author also seems to have neutralized any potential conflict between the younger characters from the start. They are just too "understanding" and reliable to be real teens.

Wings is being touted as a teen book, but it would likely be suitable for younger advanced readers. There's some violence but nothing terribly disturbing. There's some age appropriate boy/girl interaction--not explicit. The publishers scored a blurb from Stephenie Meyer, but the Twilight fan may find the book emotionally tepid.

As for the story, it's not very demanding. The villains are underdeveloped and might as well have "Bad Guy" tattooed on their foreheads. Some loose threads suggest sequel bait. There's nothing particularly compelling about this book but there is also nothing particularly off putting either.

was unimpressed by this debut novel. I seriously don't get why it's on the best seller's list.

The first few hundred pages were boring. I found it hard to keep my attention on the novel. I kept putting it down and I only finished it because I was mildly curious to see if it would get better (and it didn't).

I can see why fans of the Twilight Saga will like this book. Laurel, like Bella, is an empty vessel into which teen girls can project themselves. She has no thoughts of her own and no real interests. Laurel was just an insipid character and I didn't connect to her at all. I could care less if she was killed off or hurt.

The plot was slow-moving and predictable. While the fairy lore was...different, I found it kind of ridiculous. Fairies are really plants? Yeah, I scoffed when I found that out and it was just hard to believe (and I still haven't wrapped my head around that; it's just too ridiculous). I preferred the other fairy lores found in amazing books [...].

The love triangle was boring as well. It did not resemble love; it was just lust or raging hormones. Neither David nor Tamini had anything going for them other than their looks. The fact that it's part of a four-book series just makes me want to bang my head on my desk. Really? Four books? I felt that this story could have easily been told in one book instead of being stretched into four books. Regardless, I won't be reading the sequels.

Overall: A debut that I wished I hadn't wasted time reading. Not recommended at all.

Carol
[...]

I totally enjoyed this book. I'm an adult that tends to enjoy young adult fiction tremendously. I think this book would appeal to anyone that likes the fantasy genre.
I was gripped from the start. I only meant to read a chapter and in no time at all my son was pounding on the bathroom door telling me I'd been in there 2 hours and when was I coming out?
The book is about a homeshooled girl that goes to public school, only to find she's very very different from most people. My family is a homeschooling family, and her experiences early in the book were so realistic that they drew me into her character immediately.
The violence and kissing are entirely appropriate in the book. The characters are all very dutiful and responsible. David, Tamani, and Laurel are all very good role models.
I loved this book! Great ending too - I hope there's a sequel!

Length:: 2:42 Mins

I am a 30-year old who loves teen fantasy books, and since I've read so many, often they begin to blur together with similar plots and styles. Not so with Wings. This is a really creative book, and I love the way the author brings fresh ideas to the fairy genre without it feeling forced at all.

With each new revelation of how the world worked, I thought to myself, "yes, of course it would work that way", yet she was introducing ideas I've never seen before, even as a long time fan of fantasy.

I also loved that the book was set in Humboldt County, my home area in very Northern California. Not many books are set here among the redwoods, though our local setting is conducive to imaginative storytelling and particularly books that have a natural setting.

Even without the nod to my hometown, this book gets an easy five stars for making me stay up way past bedtime to finish it.

Other readers have mentioned that this book reminds them of Twilight, however i did not get that feeling when i read this book. Yeah there's two guys, two worlds, but i still would not put the two up against each other, though they are both amazing.

this book took hardly but a day to read and i think it is perfect for girls around the recommened age range(9-12) and up. i am above the age range by 10 years yet i still loved it. If you are looking for a book that will make you smile and has a hint of action and mystery then pick this up. i am going to let my 11 year old niece have it since im sure she will love it.

the ONLY thing i might see people getting upset over if they let someone young read this is; midway through the book a faerie is explaining how they reproduce with pollen and flowers etc etc and when the main character asks if she can get pregnant he tells her no thats only if you have sex...."sex is for fun" not for reproducing. it doesnt go into detail or anything crazy, but i thought some parents would want to know. in my opinion they way the author goes about it i wouldnt think you should not let a child read it.

This was, in all honesty, a very silly book. I'm not sure I ever called a book "silly" before; you don't come across too many silly books in the YA section.

Did I like anything about this novel?

Um...not really?

It wasn't too painful to read. I can say that. I don't think Aprilynne Pike's writing is anything special, but it's not bad. She's descriptive, and I never felt like her words ever actually sparkled, but I managed to make it through the book without wanting to pull out my red pen. But everything else? The characters were blah. I didn't connect or care about any of them.

And the "faerie" lore? Well, first, this is one book where it should have been fairy, not faerie. I think had Pike used the less common spelling, the book would not have annoyed me so much. I have this preconception of faeries being somewhat dark, powerful, mysterious. Yeah, they might frolic, but there's tension in the courts. Fairy is more cutesy, more Disney-ish kind of stuff. And Wings? It falls into the latter category, definitely.

But that's just me on the whole faerie/fairy thing.

No. What was REALLY silly about this book is what faeries ARE. Yeah. They are *SPOILER WARNING* plants. Plants? Are you kidding me? Seriously? Yeah, seriously. They are plants. Which okay, is kind of cool because it's so different, except...I never really believed it. I never believed that faeries were plants for one minute because it just never made sense. And it was just silly. *END SPOILERS*

Really, my biggest problem with this book is that I think Pike was writing for the wrong audience? She throws in some YA elements (such as swearing and kissing), but it never felt like a YA novel. I really think that she should have toned it down for an MG novel; I probably would have liked it more.

And then there's the fact that Wings is the first of four books. Really? Pike is writing another three books? May I ask why? Yeah, she left loose ends and I have no doubt that she can't figure out more stories to tell in this world, but I don't think it's necessary. She could have sufficiently made Wings a standalone novel.

You might like "Wings". However, there are much better books to be reading. I definitely don't recommend buying it; pity since the cover's so pretty.

This book has the same premise of much YA fiction out there: a teenager discovers they are really some sort of supernatural creature. There are some things this book does well (unique, intriguing spin on what fairies are, for example), but I think there is so much great YA fiction out there right now this book is more defined by what it lacks.

It is hard to have sympathy for a heroine who is physically perfect, doesn't like to eat, never even had acne, and has two gorgeous boys fighting over her for no apparent reason (except the 'physical perfection' reason that we can only assume, which nearly gave the feminist in me a heart attack.). I wish that the psychological repercussions of finding out she was a fairy had been delved into more. The language was efficient, which I liked- it didn't call attention to itself in a good or bad way. It also didn't resolve much at the end, leaving room, of course, for the next book in the series. But a book this short really had plenty of room to tie up some of these loose ends.

I enjoyed this book, but I am glad I checked it out of the library. It didn't need a home on my shelf, unless the next in the series is amazing.

This is one of the best YA books I've read in a long time. Most of the books I've read that involve faeries have really been horrid. The only reason I gave this one a chance was because of Stephanie Myers recommendation on the cover. I wasn't disappointed. This book has everything from romance (a fantasticly written love triangle) to action (trolls vs faeries) and it pulls at your heartstrings in a few spots as well. Some of the reviews say that it starts out slow but I don't agree. The author does a fantastic job, from the beginning, of not making it too much of a snooze setting up the story. From the beginning you find yourself being pulled in by the characters. With the way that the story ended I find myself hoping that there will indeed be a sequel because I felt like I was left hanging but in a very good way! Bravo for Ms Pikes first outing. I will for sure be looking for the next one!