cover image Self-Portrait with Wings

Self-Portrait with Wings

Susan Kohn Green. Little Brown and Company, $13.95 (206pp) ISBN 978-0-316-32677-3

Jennifer dreams of performing well on ice skates, but is simply not as graceful as her fellow skater, Penelope. After Jennifer draws a picture of herself wearing wings, invisible gossamer wings sprout from her body overnight. What seems at first a gift quickly becomes a curse. She confides in her best friend Angela; because the wings can be seen by looking in a mirror, the friends invent drapes for them, pretending they are part of a costume for Jennifer's freestyle skating event. But the complications prove too great for both girls, and only by re-thinking the way she came to have the wings can Jennifer rid herself of them for good. Green's book is a deft first effort that reveals the downside of fantastic events. Readers will wince in sympathy when Jennifer's wings cause her pain, and understand her ambivalence toward her new powers. This is a good read, with surprises to the very end. Ages 10-up. (May)