Wings (Aprilynne Pike (Hardback)) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Crescent City, Jeremiah Barnes, Chetco River (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10–Homeschooled Laurel begins public high school as a tenth grader when her adoptive parents move to LA., leaving behind the land that has been in her mother's family since the Gold Rush days. The many clues that Laurel is different (she is strictly vegan; sunlight seems to shine through her fair skin; she never gets cold; she craves the outdoors; she doesn't menstruate) culminate in a bump on her back growing to the size of a softball and blooming into a flower that has foot-long petals. Returning to her parents' land, she meets Tamini, a faerie to whom she is attracted, who tells her that she is not human, but rather is a plant or, more specifically, a faerie. David, her accepting and supportive classmate, tests her tissue and confirms that Tamini is right. When a creepy alleged realtor pressures the family to sell the land, the teens become suspicious, and they are soon fighting for their lives in a centuries-old battle between faeries and trolls. Laurel's struggles to figure out what it means to be human are matched by her struggles to determine what it means to be a faerie, and she is torn between love for David and love for Tamini. The ending allows for many possibilities in the upcoming sequels. The book has a nice mix of danger and romance, the world of magic and the world of high school, with well-developed characters and a quick-moving plot.–Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Fifteen-year-old Laurel has led a sheltered, homeschooled life in a very small town, so when her parents decide to move and enroll her in high school, she has trouble getting used to her new life. A life, as it turns out, that’s not at all like those of other kids. One clear sign is a winglike blossom that blooms on her back. Oh, and her new best friend, the scientifically minded David, reveals under a microscope that her cells are more plant than animal. But it takes an encounter at her old home with the handsome but decidedly different Tamani to convince her that she is a faerie. She also learns it’s up to her to save her land from the evil influences that are trying to take it away from her and her family. This first novel is clearly designed to attract the Twilight set, though there’s significantly less edge (and blood). There is, however, a familiar triangle. Will Laurel choose solid, steady David, or will she be unable to resist Tamani’s lure? Stay tuned. Fine escapist fare, this neatly mixes the everyday with the otherworldly. Grades 6-9. --Ilene Cooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; 1 edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061668036
• ISBN-13: 978-0061668036
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,274 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #57 in	Books > Teens > Social Issues > Being a Teen
  #93 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Girls & Women > Fiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It was worth the difficulty purchasing it, May 6, 2009

By	J. A. Kossler - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 6, 2009

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

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

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!!!!, May 23, 2009

A Kid's Review

Wings is an amazing young adult fantasy book that pulls you in almost instantly. The first two chapters are just for setting the stage, but after that, an amazing story evolves. Laurel is 15. She's been homeschooled all her life until her family moves and she starts public school. Her first day, she meets a boy named David, who eventually becomes a (really) good friend.

Everything's going good until Laurel wakes up with a bump in her back. She starts freaking becuase she thinks it's cancer and she's never been to a doctor. (her parents hate doctors, and make natural medicines with plants and herbs) Well, cancer becomes nothing when she wakes up one morning with a huge flower coming out of her back.

The story continues and Laurel and David's friendship becomes..."more".

When Laurel's family finalize the sale of her old house, they go back one more time for a final checkup. Laurel goes into the woods for a walk and meets a boy that makes edward cullen look like a dweeb. Tamani, this boy, tells her that she's a faerie. Laurel, naturally, freaks out and leaves.

As things progress, Laurel begins to take Tamani's words a little more seriously. But aside from that, the creepy man trying to buy Laurel's old house begins looking really suspicious and Laurel and David investigate. I'm not saying more because it'll ruin the end, but it's a climax that definitely gets your heart pumping.

Resembling Twilight in many ways, this book was an awesome read that any teenage girl would thoroughly enjoy. I hope there's a sequal!!!!