Wings

May 11, 2009
Pike's debut novel—a faerie story with a touch of Arthurian legend—offers a botanical twist on the genre. Laurel Sewell, the new girl in town, discovers a strange “zit” on her back, which blooms into a flower. With the help of her friend and growing love interest, David, with whom she entrusts this information, Laurel finds out that she is a faerie, and that faeries are really highly evolved plants (Pike gives readers hints: Laurel prefers to have lunch outside and eats little besides vegetables and Sprite). Tamani, her sexy faerie guardian, completes the love triangle, as he protects Laurel from encroaching dark forces and fills in the blanks about her past. As Laurel and David never muster much chemistry, her rocky journey of self-discovery is the main draw (“It makes me want to go home and go to sleep and wake up to find that all of this is a dream. That the flower, the bump, even public school never happened”). Pike's novel mythology should win fans for this book, billed as the first in a series. Ages 12–up.

Most teenage girls would be delighted to discover that their perfect looks come from fairy ancestry--but not Laurel. Mandy Siegfried faithfully conveys Laurel's fear of being different and her disbelief of her magical identity. Siegfreid's credible teen voices will draw in young listeners, who will identify with Laurel's desire to fit in. It will be Team David versus Team Tamani as listeners meet Lauren's two potential boyfriends--one mortal, one fairy. Through Siegfried's voicings, they emerge vividly as the sincere dreamboat and the mysterious stranger in a teenage love triangle. Siegfried manages to smooth over mundane dialogue and plot contrivances to strengthen the story. The tense pacing of Laurel and David's death-defying escape from thug trolls is especially delicious to hear. C.A. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine