Wings

I reread this book after over 10 years and remembered why it was one of my favorites when I was a teen. The story itself isn't new or spectacular but it is fun and has a very nice magical vibe to it without it beeing too much. Laurel is a sweet character who discovers that her life is not what it seems and that there is a magical side to herself she didn't know about (or did she?). In her search for answers she meets new friends but also makes some dangerous enemys.

I really liked this book as a 13-year-old, so I decided to read it again. The protagonist Laurel thinks she is a normal girl, until a flower starts to blossom on her back and she discovers that she is a fairy. The plot is rather simple, which makes it easy to understand everything. However, the characters are very flat and one dimensional. Laurel keeps mentioning that she doesn't dress or behave like the other girls, but her actual character traits are not mentioned. The two love interests don't have personality traits aside from being in love with her. Laurel's parents let her do anything and she doesn't even face consequences when she stays out late or goes somewhere without telling them. The genre has developed since and judging from today's standards, this is simply not a good book. However, since it was originally published in 2009, it would be unfair to give it less than three stars. I'm sure for that time it was considered worth reading, especially for young teens.