IF I PROMISE YOU WINGS, by A.K. Small, Algonquin Young Readers, Jan. 16, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99 (young adult, ages 14 and up)
A young woman works to fulfill her dreams of becoming a feather artist in If I Promise You Wings, by A.K. Small.
Alix Leclaire has a plan: graduate high school and land her dream job as a feather artist at Mille et une Plume, where her creations will help define high fashion. Her best friend Jeanne will get a record contract and they’ll take over the Paris art scene together.
But then Jeanne dies.
Alix is lost, until the day she feels Jeanne pushing her to the feather boutique. Soon, Alix is living a life she hardly recognizes—pursuing a passionate affair with an alluring artist, stealing feathers for her own creations, risking everything as Jeanne once did. But then Alix meets Blaise, the dreamy musician who comforts her, centers her, challenges her.
Torn between two beautiful boys and coping with grief, Alix’s art takes on a frightening and wild beauty. Living like Jeanne has given her everything she thought she wanted—but she must decide whether to hide in Jeanne’s shadow or soar on her own wings. —Synopsis provided by Algonquin Young Readers
If I Promise You Wings has a magical quality to it. It never quite crosses the line into magical realism, but it sure captures the feeling.
Alix has a natural talent for creating with feathers. She desperately wants to learn all she can, and she continually pushes herself toward her goal. But that goal is laced with grief. She sees her lost friend in the feathers, and that brings her both solace and pain. Alix is a compelling protagonist that quickly captures your heart.
Author A.K. Small has the ability to draw readers in. Even if you’re not initially sure what’s going on, you know you want/need to keep reading. Small brings Paris to life — even for those who have never been there. But where she excels the most is her handling of the feathers themselves. She brings them to life, almost making them characters unto themselves.
Small’s development of secondary characters helps the story feel less insular, and the love triangle is well played out.
If I Promise You Wings is a fast-moving YA novel that celebrates healing through creativity.
Sensitivity note: Themes of grief, parental neglect, and adult situations are present throughout, and sexual acts are alluded to in two places.
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