Taylor Lavati’s new young adult novel, Wingless, offers a bold and new interpretation to the familiar angels versus demons battle prevalent in many popular sitcoms and novels. The story follows fifteen (going on sixteen) year-old Annie, an angel training to become a Fighter. It opens a couple of days before Annie is supposed to get her wings, and thus solidify her job and existence as an angel.
However, something goes horribly wrong, and she’s left wingless. After a bout of testing, the angels deem her to be a Nephilim, or half-human, half-angel, and banish her to Earth. Before she leaves, her best friend promises her that there are other Nephilim on Earth, and that she can still use her training as a Fighter to fight renegade demons with her fellow halflings. What follows is an intense, emotion filled drama, in which Annie must learn her place on Earth, as well as come to terms with her new identity.
As with her other novels, Lavati offers the reader relatable, though still interesting, characters to spend time with. Many readers will connect with the internal struggle that Annie faces as she tries to grow as a person and find out who exactly she wants to be once she’s thrust out of the familiar territory she knows. Annie is also determined and headstrong, another trait recognizable to readers. I thought the growth of Annie’s character from start to finish followed a good arc and made her a complex character. It’ll be interesting to see how she progresses throughout the remaining stories. I hope to see her continue to grow into her own, independent person outside of the institution she was brought up in.
Lavati also wrote strong side characters. The reader will instantly fall in love with the happy-go-lucky, charming Hare. Many might swoon over the brooding, but ultimately equally as charming, Micha. Personally, I thought the relationship between Micha and Gabe was extremely well done. They are both loyal friends, something that seems a bit lost in recent literature. I hope to see more of their relationship in the following novels.
All in all, Lavati writes a cast of interesting characters into a new take on a familiar plot; it’ll be fascinating to see where she chooses to go with certain characters, as well as where she chooses to stray from popular versions of what happens in the battle between the ultimate good and the ultimate evil.
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