Wings [Hardcover]

Danielle Steel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1994

From a house on the edge of her family's dusty  farmland airstrip near Chicago, the child Cassie  O'Malley would sneak into the night to look at the  planes sitting shimmering in the moonlight. Her  World War I veteran father, Pat, wanted his son to  be a pilot, not his reckless, red-haired  daughter. But it was Cassie who had the gift. Ever since  she could remember, Cassie felt the pull of  getting in a cockpit and taking to the skies.  Observing all the while was her father's junior partner,  Nick "Stick " Galvin, a fellow war ace  and airborne daredevil. Nick would become her  confidant and best friend, willing to break all the  rules to teach her to fly, knowing that the  greatest gift he could give her was the freedom of  flying.

When California entrepreneur Desmon Williams  sees Cassie in a local airshow, he invites her to  California where she breaks new ground as a test  pilot. Soon Cassie's record-breaking flights make  her a media darling. Drawn by Desmond's plans for  her to break Amelia Earhardt's records, but  determined to avoid her mistakes, Cassie trains for  the remarkable journey around the world. From  public appearances to press conferences, easily used  by both her husband and the press, Cassie realizes  that there is more to life than making headlines.  Risking her life, pushing herself to her limits,  she decides to chart her own course and pursue  her own destiny, whatever it costs her.

Wings is set in a time of constant change,  when the world was on the brink of war and the  skies were filled with adventurers, a time when  courage and daring forever changed modern-day  aviation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Romantic triangles are Steel's forte, and this narrative, set mostly at the brink of WWII, finds her in familiar territory. Although Cassie O'Malley, 17, knows more about planes than her father, Pat, who runs a small private airport outside Chicago, he refuses to let her fly. So Nick Gavin, Pat's WWI protege and new employee, teaches Cassie in secret, and soon she can pilot like an ace. After Pat grudgingly gives Cassie a job at the airport, she takes several medals at a local air show and captures the attention of Desmond Williams, a young tycoon who offers her the chance to test planes and set world records. Nick encourages Cassie to take the offer, despite his heartbreak; though 18 years her senior and with little to offer, he secretly loves his young apprentice. Flying for Desmond, Cassie becomes the darling of the press even as war breaks out in Europe. When Nick joins the RAF, he and Cassie confess their feelings for one another, but he refuses to tie her down in marriage. In time, Cassie marries Desmond, but she manages to spend one magical night with Nick before setting off on a world tour that ends with her crashing onto a Pacific island where she suffers a horrific ordeal of cold and starvation before she's saved by the Navy and taken to Pearl Harbor-just in time for the Japanese attack. After a slow start that's bogged down by excess background information, the narrative takes off, with a mix of colorful characters bringing the heady early days of aviation to life. Though the ending is predictable, Steel's fans wouldn't have it any other way; she knows how to make her writing fly to the top of the bestseller lists. 1,000,000 first printing; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selection; major ad/promo. Large print edition available (ISBN 0-385-31295-4, $28.95).
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Steel has cranked out another predictable melodrama. Cassie O'Malley's dad is a pilot and owner of the airfield where Cassie develops her love of flying and flying machines. Dad doesn't believe women are meant to be pilots and at first refuses to let Cassie fly. When she proves what a truly gifted pilot she is, she is allowed to work for her father. She enters an air show and is spotted by the wealthy millionaire and airplane manufacturer Desmond Williams. Cassie is lured to Los Angeles to promote and test Desmond's planes. Soon, Desmond marries her in order to ensure her loyalty and control her life. Cassie's true love, Nick, feels he is too old and poor for her and runs away to England to join the Royal Air Force. The rest is fairly predictable, but libraries should expect huge demand for this. [Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/94.]-Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., Tex.
--Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385306059
• ISBN-13: 978-0385306058
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,244,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's most popular authors, with over 590 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include 44 Charles Street, Legacy, Family Ties, Big Girl, Southern Lights, Matters of the Heart, One Day at a Time, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Exciting, Sexy, Steele!, July 7, 2005

By 

Rebecca D. Diaz "rdmommee" (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wings (Paperback)

It's been ten years since I read this in full, but it remains one of my favorite lighter fare. I recommend it whenever someone is looking for a Summer read.

The scenes between Nick and Cassie were extremely sexy and very memorable. I remember to this day the chill I got about Desmond, and how I felt reading the narrations about her flights.

I've read quite a few Steele books, and this remains my favorite. I wish this had been made into one of the TV movies that were so numerous during the 80's and 90's.

Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tired of Steel's rich/famous characters? Read Wings!, May 17, 2005

By 

Leigh (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wings (Hardcover)

I was reluctant to read this book (taken from my grandmother's collection) because it didn't sound as exciting as the plots of Malice, Lightning, Daddy, and Heartbeat. Boy was I wrong! While it did take a few chapters for my interest to really grow, I was soon hooked and couldn't put it down. For once, Steel's characters are not super-wealthy Hollywood stars or East Coast socialites. The characters in this book are honest, hard-working, and one can easily relate to them. This is a wonderful old-fashioned love story, and for the first time ever reading a book, I cried and cried! Sure there are the usual "twisted plots" and horrible things that happen to the characters, but for once, they are not wide out in the open and make you want to throw up. Steel silently woves them in and out of this book. I'm not one for characters with ridiculous age differences (an 18 year old falling in love with a 3 year old? Come on!), but I was rooting for Nick and Cass like I've never rooted for any character in any book or movie before. I was thoroughly disappointed that the book ended because I wanted to keep reading it more and more. I passed this book on to several friends who also loved it. This is not a tough read, but after chapter 3 or 4, you will be hooked!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story full of hopes and dreams., October 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wings (Limited Edition) (Hardcover)

Wings was one of the best books I have read in a long time bringing tears of joy and sadness. In this story we follow a girl by the name of Cassie O'Malley who is filled with hopes and dreams. She has her mind set on a goal and won't give up until she reaches it even if that means breaking the rules. This story is very inspiring and I recommend it to everyone.