The Wall and the Wing

A story full of imagination! Beautiful and complete characters and crazy facts all with a purpose. Monkeys, cats, professors, criminals, magic hands, leadfoots, WINGS and WALLS. The magnificent details and atmosphere of a city like New York in a strange future, makes you feel that the city itself is the protagonist of the story... Comparing this book with Harry Potter on the cover is useless marketing that such a great book does not deserve. (sorry for my english I'm not a native speaker) antonis, author of children's books, greece

This is a really fast-moving bit of fantasy about a girl who can disappear and a boy who can fly. Together, they zip through a proto-New York. Trees move and mice are as big as humans in this wacky world. But the best part is that a rare and most refined cat is the hero.

The WALL AND THE WING by Laura Ruby --- also the author of the Edgar-nominated LILY'S GHOSTS --- is an original fantasy filled with colorful characters who inhabit a futuristic New York City. In this world, everyone wants to be a "wing," a person who can fly. Gurl, an orphan at the Hope House for the Homeless and Hopeless, is a leadfoot, not a wing. One evening, while Gurl is out rummaging for food behind a restaurant, she discovers that she can make herself invisible. This talent to become a "wall" is very rare and highly prized in this future world. When her matron, Mrs. Terwiliger, discovers that Gurl can become invisible, she forces her into a life of crime. At first she blackmails the girl into stealing clothing and perfume, and later asks her to hack into computers. Gurl befriends another orphan nicknamed Bug while she's chasing her cat down the hallway of the orphanage. The boy is named Bug because of his resemblance to a real bug. He and Gurl have something in common --- neither of them knew who they were before they came to Hope House. Bug has some special talents, like being able to pick locks, but he doesn't know why he has these special skills or how he learned them. Bug is Gurl's only friend at Hope House and she helps him discover his talent for flying. Neither of them like living at the orphanage and they want to leave as soon as possible to find out where they belong in the world. Gurl and Bug decide to run away from the orphanage together. His skill as a flyer and her skill to become invisible complement each other. Together they face a huge cast of characters such as gangsters, giant alligators, human-sized rats, and a zipper-faced monster. Their adventure leads them to discover who they really are and where they belong. THE WALL AND THE WING is one of the most original stories I have read in a long time. The fast pacing and plot twists will keep you turning pages. --- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner ([email protected])

This book is such a delight that it actually provided relief from all the only-sort-of-good books I've read recently. The very recognizeable but slightly fantastic view of NY is wonderful, the characters a surprise and a joy, and the story so good that I didn't want to finish the book, because I didn't want it to be over.

In a vast and sparkling city that looks a great deal like New York, nearly everyone can fly--except Gurl, an orphan stuck in Hope House for the Homeless and Helpless. But Gurl soon finds she has another talent--she can become invisible. Soon she finds herself mixed up with the oddest group of friends and enemies, a belligerant boy named Bug with a penchant for punching things, a cat named Noodle who likes to blowdry her fur, a very eccentric professor with grass for hair, an orphanage matron with a serious addiction to plastic surgery, and a gangster who would like nothing more than to have a girl who can disappear. This is one of the most inventive books I've ever read, and one of the funniest. You'll find yourself delighted and enchanted the whole time, and when you're done you'll want to go back to the first page and start all over again.