Wings is the debut, young-adult faerie novel by author Aprilynne Pike. It is the first of four books about a fifteen-year-old girl who discovers she is a faerie sent among humans to guard the gateway to Avalon. Wings was released in the US, UK, and Canada on May 5, 2009, and became a New York Times best seller in its first week of sales, reaching #1 on the Children's Chapter Books list in its second week. It was also a Publishers Weekly Bestseller and made Pike the best-selling non-celebrity children's author to debut in 2009. Wings went on to become an international bestseller in 2010. The sequel to Wings, Spells, was released on May 4, 2010. The third book in the series, Illusions, was released May 3, 2011. The series concludes with Destined, which was released on May 1, 2012.
Plot summary
Fifteen-year-old Laurel has lived her whole life on her family's land near Orick, California, and the Redwood National and State Parks, where she was homeschooled by her hippie parents, Sarah and Mark. So when she moves to Crescent City, California, to attend public school at Del Norte High School, Laurel has some adjustments to make. The reason for the move is that her father is buying a bookstore, which was always a dream for the both of her parents. While she misses being outdoors all the time, she's getting along pretty well at her new school and soon befriends David, a handsome and sweet boy who understands Laurel and her strict vegan diet. Things are looking up until a bump between Laurel's shoulders sprouts into a small bud on her back. Hesitant to confide her recent affliction to her parents, Laurel seeks help from David, and together they investigate the strange phenomenon of her "wings" or blossom. Their only clue is that when she was about three years old, she was found on her parents' doorstep in a basket, with no knowledge of where she came from. It turns out that Laurel is actually a more advanced evolution of a plant; more or less a faerie. The two soon discover that Laurel's whole body is of plant cells and that she is a plant. On a trip back to the family home, Laurel's world is forever changed when she encounters Tamani. Laurel finds herself inexplicably drawn to him, and he provides many of the answers she has been seeking. It turns out she is not even human; like Tamani, she's a faerie. As a scion, a faerie sent to the humans, she was sent to her parents to inherit their land, which holds something very important to the fae. This plan is nearly thwarted when Laurel's family moves and puts the land up for sale. The gate to Avalon, which the faeries have protected for ages, is now threatened, and Laurel must help save the faeries' secret, protect her family, sort out her confused feelings for David and Tamani, and figure out her own identity—and her place in both worlds.
Wings debuted to positive reviews overall, with comparisons to the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Meyer endorsed Pike's work via a cover blurb, which reads, "Aprilynne Pike's Wings is a remarkable debut; the ingenuity of the mythology is matched only by the startling loveliness with which the story unfolds." Booklist wrote, "This first novel is clearly designed to attract the Twilight set, though there's significantly less edge. There is, however, a familiar triangle.... Fine escapist fare, this neatly mixes the everyday with the otherworldly." Romantic Times awarded Wings a "Top Pick", calling it "an enthralling story of danger and love. This re-interpretation of the faerie story is one that will captivate readers with its plausibility and imagination."
Translations
Wings will be published in 29 languages by 34 publishers around the world.
Film adaptation
On July 14, 2009, Variety announced that The Walt Disney Company had optioned the film rights to Wings however later the project was put on hold as the selected actress for Laurel, the main character, fell through the project has since been abandoned with only parts of a script finished, it is not known if they plan to continue with the project or scrap it.
