Book Review: Wildwing by Emily Whitman

Title:  Wildwing

Author:  Emily Whitman
Publisher:  Greenwillow Books 
Genre: YA / fantasy
Hardcover: 320 pages

ISBN: 0061724521

Summary from Goodreads:
When Addy is swept back in time, she couldn't be happier to leave her miser-able life behind. Now she's mistaken for Lady Matilda, the pampered ward of the king. If Addy can play her part, she'll have glorious gowns, jewels, and something she's always longed for—the respect and admiration of others. But then she meets Will, the falconer's son with sky blue eyes, who unsettles all her plans.

From shipwrecks to castle dungeons, from betrothals to hidden conspiracies, Addy finds herself in a world where she's not the only one with a dangerous secret. When she discovers the truth, Addy must take matters into her own hands. The stakes? Her chance at true love . . . and the life she's meant to live.

Overall rating: 7/10
To buy this book: IndieBound | The Book Depository | Powell's | Amazon

Add this book to your:  Goodreads | Shelfari | Library Thing | Visual Bookshelf

Emily Whitman's Wildwing is a time-travel fantasy about a girl who leaves her life as a maid in the early 20th century for the life of a Lady in 13th century England.  Born out of wedlock to a mother who is a hardworking, lower class seamstress, Addy has spent the first fifteen years of her life being harassed and taunted by her wealthier classmates who have made her life miserable.  When she is withdrawn from school after getting into one too many fights with her classmates, she is mortified by the idea of spending the rest of her life as a maid.  But her job as a maid turns out to be more pleasant than she expected, especially when she discovers a time machine in her employer's library.  Suddenly she is whisked back to the 13th century where she is mistaken for a wealthy Lady.  But her life as a Lady comes with certain obligations, and as she begins to fall in love with a handsome young falconer who is far below her station, she may realize that wealth doesn't always mean freedom.

What I Liked:

-     I liked that the time travel occurred between one non-modern time period and another.  It is like two historical novels in one.  :)
-     You can feel the author's appreciation for the beauty and majesty of falcons in the way falconry is presented within the story, and that fascination and enthusiasm is contagious.  The tethered freedom of the wild, untameable birds parallels Addy's longing for freedom quite nicely.
-     Addy is not always particularly likeable.  But even when I disliked her behavior or disagreed with her choices, I sympathized with her and still found her believable as a self-absorbed fifteen year old who is enchanted by the wealth and respect she receives as Lady Matilda.  There are plenty of opportunities for character growth throughout the novel, and Addy learns some valuable lessons as the story progresses.
-     Will and Addy's romantic moments are sensual and suggestive without being graphic or explicit.
-     This story is a quick and absorbing read.  I read the whole book aloud, and I was impressed by the pacing and the smooth, easy flow of the narrative.
-     It is refreshing to read a YA novel that is not a part of a series.   Sometimes it is nice not to have to wait a year or more to read the second half (or even the second third) of a story.

What I Wished:
-     I wanted the story to be less predictable.

-     I tried not to be distracted by the lack of scientific explanation as far as the time travel is concerned because Wildwing feels much more like fantasy than sci-fi, but I still struggled to accept the way the time machine is used in the story.
-      (SPOILER WARNING!  Do not scroll over the following text if you want to avoid spoilers.)  I found it difficult to believe that in the fifteen years Mr. Greenwood spent mourning the loss of his son, he never once attempted to use the time machine to venture back to a date shortly before his son's disappearance. If he was that worried about the potential dangers of the modern wiring, then I am truly surprised he would let his only son (who he has just found after years of searching) hop in a machine that was constructed using only rustic medieval tools and components. And why wouldn't he return to the 20th century with Will?

I would recommend Wildwing to fans of light, engaging historical fantasy novels.  If you would like to learn more about Wildwing or author Emily Whitman, please visit her website, facebook, or Harper Collins author page.

Read the first twelve chapters of Wildwing here!

Flower Friday - Hebe

'Blue Mist' Hebe

This week's featured flowers are 'Blue Mist' Hebe!  This perennial shrub blooms all summer long and stays green year round.  We have a few different varieties of Hebe, and they are all evergreen perennials but are very different in size and color.  'Blue Mist' is right in between our larger and smaller varieties and has flowers that are a light periwinkle purple and seem to glow at dusk and dawn.   Bees and butterflies love these flowers.  This shrub gets to be around two feet tall and two feet wide and it puts on a striking display of flowers each summer, with thousands of tiny flowers blooming along six inch racemes.  The perfectly symmetrical leaves are almost as lovely as the flowers, and the flowers burst out in all directions giving this plant a shape that reminds me of a mound of fireworks.  Hebe is in the Veronica family of plants, so the flowers are very similar to Speedwell while the overall shape of the shrub is quite different.  To learn more about about 'Blue Mist' Hebe, check out Kwantlen Polytechnic University's 'Blue Mist' Hebe page, OSU Extension Service's Hebe article, or the Hebe page at Dave's Garden.

A few book and blogosphere updates:

1.  Can't wait to pick up Brenna Yovanoff's The Replacement next Tuesday?  You can read the first chapter here via Amazon's 'More to Explore' feature.  Brenna also shared the book playlist on her blog this week.

2.  Looking for something fun to read over the weekend?  You can read the entire first book in Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series or preview some upcoming books like Diana Peterfreund's Ascendant, Anna Godbersen's Bright Young Things, Francesca Lia Block's The Frenzy, or Emily Whitman's Wildwing using HarperTeen's Browse Inside feature.  

3.  Madeleine at Wordbird is hosting a 'Megalodon of a Giveaway' to celebrate her one year blogoversary.  She is giving away an Amazon giftcard and eleven awesome books (pictured to the right --->).  Stop by Wordbird to find out how you can enter before October 4th.

Flower Friday - Hollyhock + Friday's Fab Five

Hollyhock - Alcea Rosea 'Nigra'

This week's featured flowers are Hollyhocks!  These dark burgundy Hollyhocks bloom from mid-summer into early fall.  The flowers are so dark that they look black until you see them up close or happen to catch the sunlight shining through them.   This plant gets to be over seven feet tall and puts on a striking display each summer.  Our Hollyhocks have suffered from rust & fungal damage for the past couple of years, so the leaves are not as lovely and unblemished as they could be, but that doesn't seem to stop the flowers from blooming beautifully and they still seem to spread a little more each year.  The buds are also very pretty and are shaped like little green meringue cookies.  I've read that these flowers can be used to make a natural dye and that the flowers, buds, and leaves are all edible.  To learn more about about Alcea rosea 'Nigra', check out the Alcea rosea 'Nigra' page at Heritage Perennials, the Alcea rosea 'Nigra' page at Dave's Garden, or the Alcea rosea 'Nigra' page at Gardeners' World.

A few book and blogosphere updates:

1.  Do you love zombie stories?  If so, you may want to check out The Living Dead 2, a new anthology featuring several fabulous authors including Kelley Armstrong, Carrie Ryan, Brenna Yovanoff, Kelly Link, and Cherie Priest.  Want a sneak preview?  You can read Carrie Ryan's short story Flotsam & Jetsam here.  

2.  Cindy Pon is giving away three fun books - Everlasting by Angie Frazier, Wildwing (ARC) by Emily Whitman, and Entwined (ARC) by Heather Dixon.  You can enter to win all three books here (ends 9/20).

3.  Julie Kagawa shared a teaser from the final book in her Iron Fey trilogy, The Iron Queen.  It is full of Ash-y goodness and can be found here.

This fun meme is hosted by Froggarita's Bookcase.  Every Friday Froggarita asks five questions so we can all get to know each other better.  The only rule is that you can't use the same answer twice within your five!   Ready to play?  Leave your answers in the comments or leave us a link to your own Friday's Fab Five post. 

1. What is your favorite season?

Spring

2.  What is your favorite activity in that season?

Watching the flowers begin to bloom.

3.  Which season do you hate?

Hmm... I don't really hate any season.  They all have good and bad points.

4.  Why?

The pros of each season:  Spring = Flowers!  Summer = Fresh berries in the garden!  Fall = Pumpkins & Halloween!  Winter = Holiday celebrations, sparkly lights, and more hours of daylight from the solstice on!

The cons of each season:  Spring = Wet & muddy.  Summer = Too hot!  Fall = Dark days.  Winter = Gray & cold.

5.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when I say Autumn?

Halloween.  I love Halloween!  :-)