Difference between revisions of "Wings by Aprilynne Pike"
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Revision as of 11:17, 4 May 2009
| Wings by Aprilynne Pike | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Jill Murphy
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| Summary: An enjoyable piece of urban faerie fiction with many of the usual tropes, a love triangle, and some very nasty trolls. Fans of the genre will thoroughly enjoy it. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 356 | Date: April 2009 |
| Publisher: Harper Collins | |
| ISBN: 0007314361 | |
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Laurel has lived a relatively normal, if somewhat sheltered, life over her first fifteen years. And then things begin to change. Her family moves into town from the country, her father buys a bookstore, and Laurel finds herself at school for the first time. She liked being home-educated and she finds being in such a frenetic and busy environment rather a strain. All her little oddities - wearing tank tops on sunny days, eating barely anything other than fruit, a hatred of salt - seem to mark her out from the crowd, and not in a good way. Thank heavens, then, for David, who takes Laurel under his wing. There's an instant spark between them.
But this isn't the only change Laurel is facing. Something incredible but terrifying is also happening. Laurel is starting to bloom. Really bloom. Petals are unfolding on her back. A strange but beautiful man waits for her in the forest behind their old cabin, and another strange, but misshapen and ugly man wants to buy it from her parents.
Deep and powerful magic is seeping into her life...
Yes, it's another urban faerie tale. There are a lot of them about, I know. If it's not faeries, it's vampires and werewolves. If teen fiction were to be believed, there's more of the supernatural in today's urban environments than there ever was in Olympus and Arcadia. But the readership loves them, and you can see why. Adolesence is a time of change and metamorphosis is a strong and constant feature in the supernatural. Strong passions also run wild in teenagers, and it's another parallel with mythology. So you can see why these kinds of stories are welcome companions.
Wings is a great example. It has many of usual tropes and it also has an interesting love triangle, as Laurel's two suitors, David, the strong, steady human boy, and Tamani, the mysterious and unpredictable faerie, compete for her attention. Laurel's sense of otherness also puts her firmly in a landscape familiar to many teen girls. The writing is accessible and easygoing, but pace and tension gathers efficiently in the background. It's asking all the needed questions - Who am I? Where do I belong? Will my family always be there? Will anyone love me?
Teenage girls who like fantasy will thoroughly enjoy it.
My thanks to the nice people at Harper Collins for sending the book.
Fans of urban faerie fiction will also enjoy Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr and Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale by Holly Black. Bookbag loved the slightly more traditional Knife by R J Anderson, which also explores changelings. The Changeover by Margaret Mahy also uses the supernatural as a metaphor for exploring the transition from child to adult, but the protagonist this time is a witch.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Wings by Aprilynne Pike at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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