Aprilynne Pike's debut novel, Wings, hits the book store shelves this week. This young adult fantasy features a new twist on the traditional faerie archetype that, to my knowledge, has never before been written about. Pike's unique interpretation of faeries strikes an intriguing balance between magic and realism and is likely to capture the imagination of readers.
The story unfolds when high school sophomore Laurel Sewell wakes up one day to find something resembling wings growing forth from between her shoulder blades. Already struggling with the other aspects of her life that make her feel like an outsider — being adopted after being abandoned on a doorstep at roughly the age of three, moving to a new town, and being a first-time student at the public high school after being home schooled through all of her early education — Laurel must now deal with this alarming new development.
Long, bluish-white forms rose over both shoulders. For a moment Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful - almost too beautiful for words.
With few friends, she manages to find herself torn between the only two people who know her secret. One is a flirtatious yet dependable boy in her science class who is quickly becoming her best friend, with the potential promise of something more serious developing between them. The second is a breath-takingly handsome boy, a faerie like herself, who she knows little about but finds herself drawn to none-the-less.
True to the young adult romance genre format, a budding love triangle develops, and Laurel finds herself emotionally caught in the middle between the boy who is her trustworthy and unquestioningly loyal friend and the boy who is more magically adept than she but still eludes her as a tempting mystery to be solved. When a dangerous enemy appears on the scene, perhaps threatening both the safety of Laurel's family as well as the faerie kingdom itself, both boys do their best to rush to Laurel's rescue.
Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, has called Aprilynne Pike's Wings "a remarkable debut," adding that "the ingenuity of the mythology is matched only by the startling loveliness with which the story unfolds."
Please keep an eye out for my upcoming interview with author Aprilynne Pike.
Article comments
1 - Wings Book
It's a great book, I reccomend it a lot. It's definitely not just for teens! I look forward to reading the upcoming interview.
2 - Reader
bought it today, hope it lives up to the hype. will get back to you on result.
3 - lily
its a great book i reccomend all people read the book "Wings"
4 - hepburn
do not recommend. Wooden dialoque and characters are not believeable. Silly book
5 - livie
what a wonderful book! i recommend this book to mythological thinking people?:/
6 - jen
LOVE THE BOOK!!!! RECCOMEND THIS BOOK TO LOTS OF PEOPLE! READ IT!!!! PLS!
7 - monie
it was ah mazing x100 just finished it :)
8 - preppyemo
dont noe if i shld read it, shld i?
is it gud? I heard bout it bcuz my friend is obsessed with miley cyrus, and shes gonna be in dis ovie, and my friend said its a gud book,. so is it?
9 - taylorrrrrrrr
definatly read it! its really good, i'm pretty sure you'll enjoy the book more than you will the movie. I bought it yesterday and finished it 5 minutes ago.
10 - Nicole McDonald
I got Wings in November 2009 and I've read it 34 times already. I'm not kidding. And every time I read it, I still cry at the end where Laurel tells Tamani she can't stay with him.
I've ordered the second book, Spells, from Amazon and I get it the second it hits the shelves in April 2010. I can't wait.
WINGS I LOVE YOU!
11 - jess
cant believe the comments im reading... the book was so lame... she liked both the guys i mean wat the hell... she feels the same storm for both the guys, and the story line was pretty boring aswell, nothing was satisfactorily explained, and the overall concept of the book was boring too...
12 - ann
Yeah, I agree with those who dislike this book. I thought it was boring and was really disappointed with it. Sorry.
13 - airis m
if you like faries then read it, and if you like twilight then read it yeah well i read it, it was like reading twilight over again and i dont like twilight so much but yeah dont take my world for it you read and see if you likey
14 - Wings2Fly
Wing is awesome,though whoever didnt seem to like it, i understand. Some people have different taste, right? Though I loved it even more than Jaqueline Wilson (sorry Jacky) and she's been my favourite for, like, 10 years!! I cant wait to get Spells (book number 2) and Illusions (book number 3, though it's not come out yet!). I'm not looking forward to the movie, though. It sounds a bit rubbish. I think I'll prefer the books.Miley is starring as Laurel (yeah,I know >:( ) which i think is stupid. Anyway, in book number 1, Laurel (too give you a bit of a flashback) grows flower petal out of her back, which she thinks were wings, and in spells (i've heard), Laurel goes to Avalon to practice her Fall Faerie spells. Hope ive helped! x
15 - Wings2Fly
Oh, I forgot to add, she chooses Tamani instead of David. x
16 - Emma???
Can't wait to read the book so excited
17 - Jessica
I'm sorry, but if you read my comment on Spells, you know that I STRONGLY disagree with you, Hepburn. This is now my FAVORITE BOOK. And everyone else seems to like it too, so why don't you?!?!?!?!?! And in Spells she chose David, not Tamani, although I definitely would have chosen Tamani ;D I can't help but think that's the decision she'll make...
18 - Jen
I finished reading the first of the series. It was good. I don't understand though falling for two people the same way she did. Should i read the second?
19 - Lisa Damian
Jen, I think she's drawn to different qualities in each of them. Personally, I feel the love story is secondary to her self-discovery as it relates to her fairy heritage and what that means for her in the "real" world. If you enjoyed the first, you should definitely read the second in the series, "Spells."
20 - rissoles
OMG I LOVE THE WINGS BOOKS!!!! I've just finshed reading book 3, 'Illusions', and I loved it! I'm on Team Tamani, he seems so more interesting than David... Can't wait for the fourt
21 - Rachel willionihgt
this book is the best book u can evr read
22 - Tegan
this is a great book really gets you involved it makes you squirm a bit at the love parts and i must admit i did cry at trhe sad parts but its so heart warming ive fineshed reading the third wild (illusions) and i love them i cant wait for a movie on it to come out or the fourth sequel i think tamani looks like jacob in twighlight and david looks like edward in twighlight they were going to get miley cirus to play laurel sewell but ithink laurel should be light blond hair blue eyes (light) and very pale but full of coulur when happy or sad