Title: Wings to Soar
Author: Tina Athaide
Major Themes: Refugees, Historical Fiction, England
Synopsis: Viva’s family are refugees, and now, separated from her father, she wonders if they will ever be a happy family with their own home again.
Recently, I realized it might be helpful to keep a bit of an eye on some of the newer children’s books that are releasing, in the hopes that I can encourage others toward good books that are new on the market. While looking at some of the recent listings, most of which are not at all the kinds of stories I’m interested in, I came across Wings to Soar. The plight of refugees is something I’ve been aware of for quite a while, but haven’t taken much time to research or try to find stories about. I was pleased to find this, though—and even more pleased once I got into it to discover that it was well-written and engaging!
Publisher’s description:
It’s 1972 and Viva’s Indian family has been expelled from Uganda and sent to a resettlement camp in England, but not all of them made the trip. Her father is supposed to meet them in London, but he never shows up. As they wait for him, Viva, her mother, and her sister get settled in camp and try to make the best of their life there.
Just when she is beginning to feel at home with new friends, Viva and her family move out of the camp and to a part of London where they are not welcome. While grappling with the hate for brown-skinned people in their new community, Viva is determined to find her missing father so they can finish their move to Canada. When it turns out he has been sponsored to move to the United States, they have to save enough money to join him.
Told in verse, Wings to Soar follows a resilient girl and the friendships she forges during a turbulent time.
My thoughts:
Wings to Soar is a touching, gripping story, one I greatly enjoyed reading. I wasn’t sure at first, reading the description, whether I would enjoy it or not—it sounded like it could be the kind of book that could be very finger-pointy and politically correct. What a relief to get into the story and realize it’s not at all that way! This is just the story of a girl and her family—and how she tried to find a home in a new country for herself and her family.
There was a lot to love in this story. I haven’t read many books written in verse, like this one, but it did a good job conveying the story in only a few words. The sections, too, were relatively short—a page, maybe two, so not hard to pick up and put down (although I found the story gripping enough that I had a hard time putting it down!). I really enjoyed how the food from Viva’s home culture was described, and particularly enjoyed her love of words and the way she kept a word notebook with definitions of new words she was using.
Wings to Soar is the kind of book I hope to share with my siblings someday. Not only does it give a bit of a picture of what it’s like to be a refugee, but it also gives an idea of what the 1970s were like. It’s a story of a family and a nation—and how home isn’t a location, but wherever your family is together. It’s a bit of an adventure story, and in some ways, it’s quite difficult because of some of the things the family had to face together (I found the racism the family faced hard to read about). But overall, I greatly appreciated the story. It’s a goodie!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
WARNING: Multiple times, Viva is critical of her mom and sister. Pg. 21: Oh, for the love of God and all that is almighty. Pg. 54: child is disobedient. Pg. 79: praying to a saint. Pg. 105: heck. Pg 122: lying. Pg. 127: lying. Pg. 171: someone throws a brick through the window. Pg. 188: lying. Pg. 190: darn. Pg. 231: Oh my God! Pg. 315: golly. Pg. 328: Oh my God!
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Kindle | Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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