Life is hard, especially for shy kids in middle and high school if they look different from the “in” group, have a touchy family situation, a lack of athletic skills, a poor self-image and allow themselves to be bullied. The “wings” in the title describes the feathery hairstyle (like the late Farah Fawcett’s) in this middle grade novel set in the early 1980’s. Not to wear one’s hair in that style, in addition to being a non-athlete, is the kiss of death in this school or at least in our heroine, Roxanne’s, opinion. Israeli-born Roxanne has a severe self-image problem. Striving to be American instead of Israeli, she has changed her name from “Ravit” and had her much more self-confident younger sister change her name as well.
It is not until Liat, a marvelously self-confident Israeli teen her own age, moves next door that Roxanne starts letting her guard down, stops idolizing idiots, and becomes more self confident. Roxanne bemoans the fact that her family doesn’t resemble The Brady Bunch. Her mother is away in Israel caring for her aunt, and her father lacks imagination and free time to spend with the family. New friend Liat has learned how to adjust to sorrow and change; her mother has been killed in a bus bombing attack in Israel and her peripatetic painter father keeps moving every year. She does not allow herself to be pushed around by classmates, as Roxanne does. Roxanne’s character is written with little subtlety and seems rather one-dimensional. The book’s printing, vocabulary and overly generous spacing between lines makes it visually suitable younger grades, not for the teen readers the publisher may be aiming for. There are few books about regular kids who are Israeli-American, so this one fills a niche for some readers. But mostly it is focused on the theme of teen-peer bullying and its ramifications for young girls. For ages 10 – 14.
