Wings: A Fairy Tale
Grade 6–9—From the premise that Titania's night with the donkey-headed Bottom-as depicted inA Midsummer Night's Dream—resulted in a halfling child, Baker spins this modern fairy tale. Although she's used to being different, 15-year-old Tamasin is surprised when wings suddenly sprout from her back and her parents reveal that she was adopted. Meanwhile, in the land of the fey, Jak, another halfling, struggles to fit in with his goblin family. When his uncle sends him to the human world on a special mission to find and bring back a particular girl, he seizes the chance to prove himself. Jak meets Tamasin at school and invites her to a Halloween party. Together they fall through a gate and into the middle of a rebellion in the fairy world, pitting her birth mother, Titania, against his goblin uncle. Jak and Tamasin's friendship grows as they learn about one another and try to remain alive. Readers experience events from both teens' perspectives as the third-person narrative moves back and forth in time, alternating points of view. The author has left open the possibility of further adventures for Jak and Tamasin, but awkward transitions and far too many coincidentally helpful magic abilities make it hard to believe in this particular fairy world.—Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MDCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.