Review: Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Book Description from Goodreads:


Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

Source: Won from VVB (Thanks!)

My Thoughts:

The novel started out with Laurel on her first day of school. It’s impossible to not notice how she didn’t like to be indoors. She liked the sun on her skin. And her diet included fruits, vegetables, water and sodas. At first, I just figured that maybe she was just behaving that way because she’s drawn to nature. But then, I found out that there’s more to that.

Pike tells the story of Laurel, a young faerie, who grew up with human parents and believed for such a long time that she was one of them. Until the unexpected happened - a flower grew out of her back. And along with this strange flower, doubt, uncertainty and uneasiness bloomed. Pike’s writing matches the pace of the story. In the beginning, it was relatively a walking pace, neither slow nor fast. And as the unusual flower thrived behind her, tension escalates and the pace quickens to catch up with Laurel as she evades death and escapes the clutches of danger.

Laurel is not your normal faery. She’s different from what we preconceive as the persona of a faery. Not a pretty face with a black heart. I love how Pike put a twist in the mythology of faeries and managed to connect it back to nature. By doing so, she created a refreshed image of faeries, as well as established a purpose for their existence. Plus, Pike gave a reason for the faeries’ wonderful looks.

Since moving to Crescent City, Laurel found a friend and perhaps someone more than a friend in David. I see David as the boy-next –door. He’s the type who’s always ready to listen, to help and to sacrifice. Above all, he’s human. He was there to listen and to help her when she confessed about the blossom on her back and when they discovered that Laurel isn’t human at all. But when Laurel visits her home for the first time since they moved, she meets Tamani at the woods behind her house, a sentry spring faerie with greener than green eyes. It turns out that he’s been looking after her since she was young and he seems to know so much about her. And Laurel feels so drawn to this stranger. She’s connected to both guys in different levels. And I’d like to see how this turns out in the sequel – Spells. Though, I really hope she’d end up with Tamani.

Wings is a novel of magic and wonders that will certainly be embraced by faery fans. Above all, it’s about sticking with one’s family, even after discovering that one isn’t truly related to them by blood. In Wings, a family is a group of people connected by heart and strengthened by love.

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