Review: Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Wings

Author: Aprilynne Pike

Publisher: Harperteen

Young Adult

320 pages

Summary:

Making her way into a public school is all new for Laurel; the stares observing her every move as she walks down the hall, the stifling classrooms, and all the new people.  All her life, Laurel had been schooled by her mother in the safety of her home, up till now when she’s placed in a whole new environment.  One she doesn’t completely favor. 

Slipping into a seat by the window, Laurel notices as a guy walks in.  He smiles at her and she tries to force a smile back but it ends up being more like a grimace.  Sitting through class, all Laurel can think about is getting outside once Lunch comes around.  As she’s packing up, the boy from earlier walks up, introduces himself as David and invites Laurel to eat lunch with him and his friends.  She says that she’d rather eat outside, he says he’ll join her.  From then on the two become close friends.

Just when finally begins to settle in to high school, Laurel gets an unpleasant surprise.  A bump begins to form at her shoulder blade and she begins to worry as each day it appears to grow bigger. Laurel covers it up by wearing bulky tee-shirts, though she’d much rather be in tank tops.

Soon the bump grows almost too big for Laurel to cleverly hide beneath the folds of fabric.  And right as she thinks it may not actually be a huge pimple but rather a tumor, she sprouts a blossom that looks like a pair of wings growing out of her back where the bump once was and she’s faced with a bigger dilemma;  hiding the bump was hard but now she had a huge flower on her back.  Knowing she can’t face this alone, and not willing to let her parents in on her little secret, Laurel confides David; he inspects her and comes to the conclusion she had been dreading.  With David’s discovers and the added insight from Tammani ( a boy living in the woods of Laurel’s old house who says he’s “her kind”), Laurel realizes what she is.  She isn’t human.  She has no beating heart in her chest or blood coursing through her veins.  Laurel is a PLANT.  Also known as a Faerie.

Once she realizes her new found ancestry, she discovers that it’s up to her to protect her family and also the rest of the faerie population from the destruction of trolls. But when her dad falls ill with a mysterious illness, will Laurel be able to find the cure before all is lost for her two worlds?

My Rating: 4 ½

Love.  That’s the word I would use when describing this novel because there is a whole lot of love going around.  I LOVED every second of it.  Laurel must choose between two LOVES.  Her mother and father clearly LOVE her and she defiantly LOVES them and wants to protect them.  Chelsea LOVES David enough to want him to be happy even if it’s with another girl.  Tammani’s been waiting years for his LOVE, Laurel, to return and hopefully LOVE him back.  Well that’s enough love for right now…so onto what I enjoyed while reading Wings.

What I liked:

1. 1.       The girl gets wings that end up being a big flower on her back and Tammani could pollinate her.  Very Original Concept.
2. 2.       David is the perfect friend to Laurel while she’s trying to figure things out, and he comes up with lots of useful information.  And who can blame him for falling for Laurel?  She’s a faerie!  They are meant to be so enticing and beautiful that they could put human models to shame.  They are even symmetrical!  Unlike the ugly droopy faced trolls.
3. 3.       That Laurel didn’t become so obsessed with the two hunky guys and actually spent some girl time with Chelsea.  *(Cough cough) Twilight series (cough cough)*
4. 4.       There was action and of course the heroine takes part in the butt-kicking; she does way more than I would’ve been able to do.
5. 5.       It’s a fashion trend in Avalon to eat certain foods that dye your eyes and hair funky colors.

As Laurel, things I would’ve done differently:

1. 1.       I would’ve told my mother right away that I was a plant and that I don’t have a heart or blood.  Oh, and I’d mention the flower bulging out of my back as well.
2. 2.       I would’ve had a mirror in my bedroom to begin with so I wouldn’t have to make secretive trips to the bathroom after I scoped out the hallway.
3. 3.       I would’ve wished to get to know Tammani better, I mean David is cute and scientific, but human boys are so last century.  Plus, Tammani knew the old her and she would’ve ended up with him anyway if you think about it, David is going to die one day, so why not let him go settle down with a mortal girl and they can have a family and live in the suburbs and drive a minivan.  Laurel has to face it, she could never actually have a life with David.

I’d like to add that I’ve read many different books about Fae, but never have I read of them being plants without a heart or even blood.  This book is truly unique.  While doing some research on Google, I’ve discovered that Miley Cyrus will be playing Laurel in the upcoming movie.  I’m not really a Miley fan and I don’t quite understand how she could possibly work for the role, but I will see the movie nonetheless.

Now onto the next book in the series: Spells.  See you next time when we dive into Laurels world for a second time.