What I'm reading now: 'Wings' by Aprilynne Pike

I can't believe it, but it's been nearly a month since the Humboldt County Author Festival and I got the chance to meet 25 children's fiction authors and illustrators.  And I didn't just get to meet them.  I got to talk to them and have them sign books for me; some for myself and some as gifts.

I finally dug into the tote bag full of books last night and pulled out Wings by Aprilynne Pike.  To be honest, this isn't really a book I had planned on reading (I'm not much into teen fantasy), but when I met the author she was so stinkin' cute and charming, I couldn't help but want to read what she had written.

photo from AprilynnePike.com

I'm so glad I picked this book!  For one thing, it's set in my neck of the woods, northern California.  So far north we are closer to Oregon than we are to San Francisco.  We are right on the coast in the heart of redwood country and though the book is set in Del Norte county, I totally recognize all the places that are mentioned in the book.

I'm about a quarter of the way through this story about a girl named Laurel who moves to Crescent City from Orick.  She has been homeschooled all her life, but now that she is 15 her parents feel it's time for her to attend high school.  She doesn't really want to, but she makes the best of it.  She becomes friends with some kids, mainly a boy named David and a girl named Chelsea.  She has never felt like other kids and now something is growing in the middle of her back!  Her mom says it's a zit, but it's getting bigger and it is not going away!

I don't want to share much more because I don't want to give away the story, but I'm so loving it!  This author has done a great job of capturing the friendship between high school kids, in a good way.  It's refreshing to read a young adult novel that isn't filled with curse words and risky behavior.  Granted I haven't read the whole thing, but I would be totally surprised if the author's tone just changes all of a sudden.

Well, that's all I want to share for now...  Gotta get back to reading and find out what happens next!  If you've read the book, feel free to comment, but keep the ending to yourself!