PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Review: Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Wings by Aprilynne Pike
  • Hardcover: 294 pages
  • Publisher: HarperTeen; 1st edition (May 5, 2009)
Goodreads Description:

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.


***********************************

If you enjoy reading YA fantasy or faeries then you will most likely enjoy this book. It is the first in a series and once you finish Wings you will eagerly want to read the next. At 294 pages it was a pretty quick read for me. I usually prefer books with at least 350 pages because any less than that and the story usually seems rushed or like it is missing something. In the case of Wings the number of pages didn't matter. The story felt well rounded and I was satisfied with the plot.

It is easy to infer from the book description that Laurel is a faerie. Although there is some conflict in the story the bulk of it is about Laurel discovering what she is and befriending a boy named David. David is one of those guys every girl wishes for. He goes out of his way to help others, is thoughtful, and understanding. I do feel his niceness is just a bit much, especially with all the things he does for a girl he basically just met but then again this is a fantasy book.

There was very little action in the story until the end and even then it wasn't much. There were maybe 2 major conflicts. The "bad guys" were interesting but I felt that I didn't get to learn about them as much as I would have liked. Like I previously said though, the story is really about Laurel finding out who she is so really everything else pretty much takes a back seat to that and that is fine with me. I like getting to know the main character so well up front so that the rest of the books in the series can branch out more.

I am anxious to see if any of the more minor characters play a bigger part in the next book, Spells. I am also curious to see how Laurels love life will play out. It is definitely a confusing and difficult time for her. The decisions she makes in that area will no doubt be a major element of the story.

4.5/5

CymLowell
Photobucket