 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Wings
- By Aprilynne Pike
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Romantic fairy fantasy, milder than Twilight.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this book gets rather violent near the end, with fighting, shooting, neck-snapping, and attempted drowning. There's also some kissing, a brief discussion of sex, and one use of a four-letter word.
What's the story?
Homeschooled Laurel enters a public high school and feels a bit different. But she feels even more so when a large blossom starts growing out of her back. Soon she discovers that she is a fairy changeling, placed with a human family to keep one of the gateways to the fairy world of Avalon safe. Torn between a human boy and a fairy, she also discovers that trolls are after her land, and that her human parents are in danger.
Is it any good?
This is clearly aimed at the Twilight crowd: a bit of chaste romance, a bit of violence, and a supernatural gloss on the real world. Instead of vampires and werewolves we get fairies and trolls, and the heroine this time is one of the supernatural creatures and one of the two boys she likes is human. It's a bit milder than Twilight: the romance is a bit less passionate, as befits the slightly younger age of the heroine and target audience.
But unlike that earlier blockbuster, this series launch has something to offer those who aren't into mooning over hunky vampires, or even hunky fairies. There's a story here, with an intriguing variation on traditional fairy lore -- fairies, for instance, are actually plants, and what humans thought were wings are actually their blossoms. With the romance not so much in the reader's face, this should appeal to a wider audience than Twilight, though perhaps not as passionately.
From the Book:
She didn't even have to turn to see the 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.
She turned slowly so she could see them better. Petal-like strips sprouted from where the bump had been, making a gently curved four-pointed star on her back. The longest petals -- fanning out over each shoulder and peeking around her waist -- were more than a foot long and as wide as her hand. Smaller petals -- about eight or nine inches long -- spiraled around the center, filling in the leftover space. There were even a few small green leaves where the enormous flower connected to her skin.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about this new concept of fairies as plants. What do you think of the idea? How is it different from other versions of fairies you have seen? Is it compatible with them? Do you like the idea? Why or why not? Would you like to be one?
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AGE
Liked not loved this book, the cover and title intrigued me and it is a very different story, but the conversation about sex made me tell my 12 year old to hold off on reading it. I would recommend for 14 and above.
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AGE
Awesome!!!!!!!!
I just finished reading this and i loved it. The reason they use morphine in it is because her dad is DYING! Get over it! It was either him dying or him being saved by medicine.
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AGE
Pretty good
I love this book, but they refer to sex multiple times. i loved the story, but it said a curse word and used an inapripriate phrase a couple of times. overall the story was great. thanks for putting a twist on the fairy(faerie)!
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AGE
I loved wings! The only thing I didn't like was the end, because they just left me hanging :(
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Kid, 12 years old
May 10, 2010
AGE
OLD enough or just more mature??
LOVE it and this rating stuff also depends if the person is mature or not and what there reading level is. I read it at 11years old and my reading level was eighth grade
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AGE
OLD enough or just more mature??
LOVE it and this rating stuff also depends if the person is mature or not and what there reading level is. I read it at 11years old and my reading level was eighth grade
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Kid, 11 years old
May 10, 2010
AGE
OLD enough or just more mature??
LOVE it and this rating stuff also depends if the person is mature or not and what there reading level is. I read it at 11years old and my reading level was eighth grade
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AGE
Couldn't ask for a better book!!!
This book was so amazing, I literally couldnt put it down! I took the book everywhere I went, waiting until I was no longer needed to read it, if only even for a few seconds. Every word was intricately placed to form a beautiful master piece about faeries (the same as fairies), romance, adventure, and, if you can stretch your imagination, even a little mystery. I'll be honest and admit that I cried a little (that's a good thing, not a bad thing). The main character's mom had her daughter drink Sprite, but the book also said that Sprite was "empty calories". It was kind of brutal and harsh when people's necks were snapped. Periods are touched on two times(I'd hardly they could be called "discussions"), and the discussion of sex wasnt too bad, and I'm very sensitive to things like that. But that one part about sex was pretty insignificant, so if you just skip over it, it's no big deal. I've read the second and third books, which were as incredible as the first, and everyone knows that sequals (and trequals?) are usually not as great as the first. I'm so glad that Common Sense Media recommended it for me! THANK YOU!
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AGE
I couldn't put it down
I loved this book. It's not very sexual, but it's got some edgy content that's probably not appropriate for kids under 12 (it's a bit iffy for 11 year olds). There is a lot of violence at the end, and it's kind of gruesome; necks are snapped, people are choked, someone tries to drown a faerie and a boy, etc. There isn't a lot of sex; there are some passionate kisses, and there were minor references to sex. The references to periods wasn't horrible because it's something that girls go through. There are a few uses of "h-ll" and "d*mn", and there's also one use of "s-t". They did mention some alcoholic beverages, like Morphine (and I think brandy is a drink), but it's used on a sick man.
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AGE
perfect for tweens ages 10and up
Its very good, only their is some iffy stuff in the middle
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| Topics: | magic and fantasy |
| Author: | Aprilynne Pike |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | HarperTeen |
| Publication date: | May 1, 2009 |
| Number of pages: | 294 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 14 - 17 |
| Read aloud: | 13 |
| Read alone: | 13 |
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