Wing Jones

Wing idolises her brother Marcus. He is the star of the school football team and destined for a scholarship. She herself is a mouse, bullied at school for her mixed race convinced she is no good and longing to be noticed by Aaron. Then tragedy strikes and Wing catapulted into a family breaking under the strain discovers that she has a talent that is hers alone, a talent that might just prove her salvation.

This is a very assured debut. Webber takes a number of themes that are familiar to YA novels – race, identity, relationships, family crisis – and manages to knit them together to create a story that engages the attention and keeps the pages turning. She avoids the cliché of a terminal illness, building the tension around a situation that could indeed affect any family . She also provides a happy ending with just enough grit to avoid mawkish romanticism. Wing is an attractive character and I enjoyed the cameos of the two grandmothers. Her style (present tense, first person narrator) will ensure that its audience is quickly engaged with the heroine and her situation and providing easy identification with her drama. A contemporary fairytale.