Reviewed by Holly Owen for TeensReadToo.com
Forget about the awkward stages of puberty. At age eleven, Linnet is going through something no other human has ever experienced - she's growing wings. And on top of that, her mother reveals a secret she's hidden from Linnet all her life - a set of scars on her shoulder blades from the wings that had been brutally cut from her back by her own mother. So maybe Linnet isn't the only one, after all.
Masking her blossoming wings with her long hair and loose-fitting shirts, Linnet manages to get through the remainder of the school year without having her secret uncovered. But the pain of keeping her wings confined is nearly unbearable, and her mother finally takes Linnet away from their home, where the young girl suddenly finds herself among strangers - strangers with wings.
Now that she's able to reveal her true form, Linnet becomes consumed by a desire to fly, even though the prospect of accomplishing it seems rather slim. Only one other, a girl named Andy, is just as determined to fly, driven by her yearning to escape the confines of the highly secretive stronghold. But Andy is moody and unpredictable, and as Linnet attempts to forge their relationship, she isn't completely sure she's willing to take the same risks as Andy to get what she wants.
GROWING WINGS is more than a fantastic tale of humans with wings, it's a story of the human spirit and the heights one can reach with a bit of courage. Through vivid details, both in her settings and characters, Laurel Winter has done a splendid job of bringing this book to life, giving us, the readers, a chance to feel what it might be like to experience the freedom of flight.
Forget about the awkward stages of puberty. At age eleven, Linnet is going through something no other human has ever experienced - she's growing wings. And on top of that, her mother reveals a secret she's hidden from Linnet all her life - a set of scars on her shoulder blades from the wings that had been brutally cut from her back by her own mother. So maybe Linnet isn't the only one, after all.
Masking her blossoming wings with her long hair and loose-fitting shirts, Linnet manages to get through the remainder of the school year without having her secret uncovered. But the pain of keeping her wings confined is nearly unbearable, and her mother finally takes Linnet away from their home, where the young girl suddenly finds herself among strangers - strangers with wings.
Now that she's able to reveal her true form, Linnet becomes consumed by a desire to fly, even though the prospect of accomplishing it seems rather slim. Only one other, a girl named Andy, is just as determined to fly, driven by her yearning to escape the confines of the highly secretive stronghold. But Andy is moody and unpredictable, and as Linnet attempts to forge their relationship, she isn't completely sure she's willing to take the same risks as Andy to get what she wants.
GROWING WINGS is more than a fantastic tale of humans with wings, it's a story of the human spirit and the heights one can reach with a bit of courage. Through vivid details, both in her settings and characters, Laurel Winter has done a splendid job of bringing this book to life, giving us, the readers, a chance to feel what it might be like to experience the freedom of flight.
