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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
This story in this book is a fantasy. I think this fairy tale would deeply insult most of the single mothers I know, but I'm sure it would make a wonderful Lifetime movie or ABC series.
Book Club selection and it will give us a lot to discuss. It brings up a lot of issues going on in today's world with immigration, etc. There are also some other issues that might be brought up that made me a little edgy. I am not a lover of romance novels and that part of it brought down my star rating.
Language of Flowers was so good that I had too high expectations for this new title. Only character I liked was Yosenia - she had courage and convictions. Probably too true to life to be uplifting
Lovely book until the unnecessary (and unresolved) bit at the end.
4.25 stars!
2 years ago, I read The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh and I loved it. I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Diffenbaugh's second book, We Never Asked for Wings. I was not disappointed.
I love this author's style! She has the ability to make you fall in love with the flawed and quirky characters she creates. The writing is beautiful! The pacing is perfectly done to allow time for the characters to creep inside your heart, and make you want to blow off whatever you had planned for the day just to live in their world and cheer them on- which is exactly what I did today.
In this novel, the author touches on subjects such as parenting, family, first-love, poverty and illegal immigration. While a lot to tackle in one novel, I found it to be very well done. This would be an excellent book club selection as there is much to discuss.
I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a thoughtful read that tugs at your heartstrings.
ARC provided by NetGalley
Migrating birds reorient themselves at sunset. The exact reason is unknown, but at twilight, just when the sun drops beyond the horizon line, birds flying in the wrong direction correct their flight paths all at once.
2 years ago, I read The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh and I loved it. I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Diffenbaugh's second book, We Never Asked for Wings. I was not disappointed.
I love this author's style! She has the ability to make you fall in love with the flawed and quirky characters she creates. The writing is beautiful! The pacing is perfectly done to allow time for the characters to creep inside your heart, and make you want to blow off whatever you had planned for the day just to live in their world and cheer them on- which is exactly what I did today.
In this novel, the author touches on subjects such as parenting, family, first-love, poverty and illegal immigration. While a lot to tackle in one novel, I found it to be very well done. This would be an excellent book club selection as there is much to discuss.
I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a thoughtful read that tugs at your heartstrings.
ARC provided by NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.
To say I am a fan of Vanessa Diffenbaugh would be an understatement. I am a huge fan. Her first book, The Language of Flowers, was wonderful (which is a massive understatement) so I was eager to read her second title - We Never Asked for Wings. I was not disappointed.
We Never Asked for Wings follows the path of Alex, Luna, and Letty - a family trying to figure out how to be a family and make it. Letty is mother to Alex and Luna but she didn't raise them, her mother did. But circumstances have changed and Letty now needs to either step up to the plate or go have a seat on the bench. Can she be a mother? Should she be a mother? Alex is smart, just like the father he's never met. Throughout his 15 years his grandfather has been teaching him about birds - their flight patterns, their migration, their feathers. Encouraged by his grandfather to find his own wings Alex, with the help of Letty, sets out to sprout the wings that will take him the places he wants to go. But Alex and his strong sense of loyalty and responsibility won't let those wings take him too far from the people he loves and cares for. Getting wings, it turns out, can be rather painful.
This is a well-written coming of age story for not just one character but two. Letty and Alex both go through the growing pains of growing up at the same time. As Diffenbaugh did in her first title, she made all the connections needed to flesh out the story and have it all make sense. She took a subject matter and infused it with the life of someone's story. She developed her characters around the core of the subject matter and the analogy of it and created a beautiful story. She explores some topics that need a closer look and I appreciated that as well. Looking forward to her third book, she's on a roll!
To say I am a fan of Vanessa Diffenbaugh would be an understatement. I am a huge fan. Her first book, The Language of Flowers, was wonderful (which is a massive understatement) so I was eager to read her second title - We Never Asked for Wings. I was not disappointed.
We Never Asked for Wings follows the path of Alex, Luna, and Letty - a family trying to figure out how to be a family and make it. Letty is mother to Alex and Luna but she didn't raise them, her mother did. But circumstances have changed and Letty now needs to either step up to the plate or go have a seat on the bench. Can she be a mother? Should she be a mother? Alex is smart, just like the father he's never met. Throughout his 15 years his grandfather has been teaching him about birds - their flight patterns, their migration, their feathers. Encouraged by his grandfather to find his own wings Alex, with the help of Letty, sets out to sprout the wings that will take him the places he wants to go. But Alex and his strong sense of loyalty and responsibility won't let those wings take him too far from the people he loves and cares for. Getting wings, it turns out, can be rather painful.
This is a well-written coming of age story for not just one character but two. Letty and Alex both go through the growing pains of growing up at the same time. As Diffenbaugh did in her first title, she made all the connections needed to flesh out the story and have it all make sense. She took a subject matter and infused it with the life of someone's story. She developed her characters around the core of the subject matter and the analogy of it and created a beautiful story. She explores some topics that need a closer look and I appreciated that as well. Looking forward to her third book, she's on a roll!
While I didn't love this as much as TheLanguage of Flowers, Diffenbaugh once again demonstrates her ability to create very real, flawed and compelling characters. She addresses, to some degree, several key societal issues such as immigration, teen pregnancy, absentee parents, and global warming. Recommend to those wanting a summer read as it definitely captures the reader's attention and keeps one hooked with several plot twists.
The writing saved this books. The story just didn’t grab me like I wanted it to.
Like Vanessa Diffenbaugh's first novel, this one uses another aspect of the natural world to tell her story. Instead of flowers, birds and feathers unscore and drive the novel. Letty, a single mother, has allowed her parents to parent her two children while she works multiple jobs. When her parents return to Mexico, she has to step up for the first time. Teenage pregnancy, immigration and the struggle to survive are themes touched upon. Letty, her children, Yesenia and the rest characters are likeable and well-drawn. And their story compelling. While I gave this five stars, it was rounded up from four and a half stars. The only drawback to this story is that it was too much on the sweet side. But that is minor consideration when taken as a whole. I still loved it.