The Importance of Wings

Roxanne and her younger sister Gayle come home from school each day to watch TV reruns, eat Cocoa Puffs, and eventually get around to doing homework. Left alone almost all the time because their mother is back home in Israel caring for their ailing aunt and their father drives a taxi every night and most of the weekend in Manhattan, they fend for themselves, but miss their mother and worry about most everything. They are Israel-Americans but eighth grader Roxanne wants nothing to do with the Israeli part. She longs for a stable, loving, American family with parents who help with homework, pot-roast dinners, shopping and treats on the weekends, and most of all, to be popular at school and to have "wings" - perfectly feathered hair that softly frames her face. Life changes when an Israeli girl, Liat moves into the "cursed" house (everyone who lives meets some terrible fate) next door. Liat is everything Roxanne is not - pretty, strong and self-confident, unafraid, and unconcerned about what others think of her. Liat also misses her mother who was killed in a suicide bombing in Israel. She befriends Roxanne and helps her grow more confident, self-reliant, and comfortable with herself inside and out, Israeli and American. Liat not only shows Roxanne how to give her hair "wings," but she helps her "wing" her way toward maturity and self-esteem. A well-written novel told in first person by Roxanne, it engages the reader from start to finish and provides much to think about for teens grappling with so many of the same issues as Roxanne. It will make a great teen girls' book discussion selection and is highly recommended for all libraries. - DEBBIE COLODNY, IL

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 store, 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. Marcia Weiss Posner

The Importance of Wings is a coming of age tale. Taking place in the 80's, the main character, Roxanne, believes that one of the most important things in the world is to have the right style of hair: "wings." She believes that, if she had these wings, she would be popular in school. All of this changes when Roxanne meets her new next-door neighbor, Liat. Through Liat, Roxanne learns about more important things in life, like family and heritage. I was excited when I found out this book took place in the 80's because I grew up in the 80's. Like Roxanne, I was obsessed with TV like the Brady Bunch and Dukes of Hazzard. The interaction in the book seemed realistic but short. I feel like this could have been done as a short story and not a novel. The message is to accept yourself as you are and be happy and not worry about what others think.

Back in the 1980s when television re-runs provided a major source of entertainment, shows like Wonder Woman and Charlie's Angels generated a number of female role models and fashion styles. Hence long feathered hair with wings not only prevailed as the must-have hair style at school, it also represented in Roxanne's eyes what it meant to be a normal American girl. Roxanne, an Israeli immigrant, longed to be a normal American girl with feathered hair living in a normal American family, but she could not seem to grasp onto that sense of belonging. Her father worked long hours driving a taxi in Manhattan, her mother had gone back to Israel to care for a sick relative, she and her younger sister spent seemingly endless stretches of time by themselves in a house with bare cupboards and no supervision, and her hair certainly would not cooperate to form those perfect wings. It took the arrival of a new girl in town - an independent, courageous, and beautiful Israeli girl who happened to move into the bright pink house next door - for Roxanne to recognize her own insecurities, value her heritage, and become more proactive about her life. Clearly woven into the story is an important lesson about the risk of food insecurity when parents don't have enough time or money to properly care for their children. This engrossing novel, with its well-developed characters, does an excellent job in playing upon different interpretations of the book's title. The Importance of Wings makes for an altogether enjoyable and insightful read.