Laurel leads a normal life, aside from her adoption: she was found in a basket at age three outside her future parents' house. She was home schooled up until grade 10, where she is suddenly thrust into the public school system. Then school isn't the only thing that's changing in Laurel's life. One day she finds a bump on her back. As it grows steadily larger, she refuses to tell anyone and hides it to the best of her ability. Until the day where that is no longer possible. Because when Laurel wakes up and looks in the mirror, she doesn't find a bump. She finds large petals, like wings, extending out of her back. And that's when she's thrust into a world of magic, danger, and disguise.
The summary in this book didn't give me much of an idea as to what the book would be about; all I knew of were the wings. So, I decided to give it a try, simply because it had to do with fairies, which have to be in the top five of my favourite mythological creatures. I'm glad I did, too. Even at the beginning of the story, where most novels tend to be drab and dull, this book pulled me in. I don't know whether it was the writing style or content, but it kept me through to the end. I found the storyline to be quite imaginative, and very original.
There were a few parts in the book that I think needed some more thought. For example, whenever Laurel wanted more information on her upbringing, heritage, and fairies in general, she was not allowed to know. Some of this was explained at the end; however, much was not, and I don't know if that's due to leaving the story mysterious, or just lack of creativity on the part of the author (since so much of it was used on the aspects we were told). Either way, I would've appreciated it if more had been cleared up. Hopefully that will be mended come book two.
This was one of those books written in third-person, where I could sometimes, when I wasn't reading the book, think that it was first-person. I personally prefer first-person writing; I find you get more emotions and feelings from the main character, and that it's written from a more realistic point of view, since it's like hearing your best friend talk about how they saw it. Also, you can't hear other people's feelings in first-person, which leads to wondering what's going on with them. This book was written in such a way that it captured everything I like about first-person writing and moved it into third. Another book I enjoyed which did this was The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. It's a style I find in the minority of third-person novels.
I sincerely enjoyed this book, and will hopefully be able to read the sequel in the future. I would rate this book four stars, which is an honor not many third-person stories receive. This book was a refreshing change: it had danger, but not enough to stress me out over it, while still being fun and giving a glimpse into a suddenly abnormal teenager's life. Anyone who likes mystery, romance, and a twist on fairies would enjoy this book.
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