About:
Gut wrenching, magnificent...familiar. Just a few words to describe Kyrie McCauley's IF THESE WINGS COULD FLY. This book follows Leighton and her two younger sisters as they live through an abusive father and their complacent mother. It's Leighton's last year of high school, so she grapples with escaping her house for college, as well as the guilt of leaving her two sisters behind in a house that seems to fall apart around them. Amidst all of this, a strange influx of crows begins to appear in the town. As the boiling pot of her home begins to pour over, the population of crows soars, almost coincidentally. Woven together, we see a small town that turns a blind eye to those in need children caught in the realization that their father could finally tip past the breaking point at any moment and destroy their lives forever.
Kyrie McCauley in her author's note explained that she experienced domestic violence as a teenager and wrote If These Wings Could Fly so that those who never experienced it might better understand the complexity of domestic violence. Using the crows in this context was symbolic, like a storm brewing and building up and up. Becoming stronger day by day. They can't be ignored. They refuse to be ignored. Leighton would have done everything to protect her little sisters. And they would have done the same. Their bond was strong. It was the cement of their resistance. The fuel to go on and live day after day in this horrible environment.
From The Publisher:
Perfect for fans of Laura Ruby, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Mindy McGinnis, Kyrie McCauley's stunning YA debut is a powerful story about the haunting specter of domestic violence and the rebellious forces of sisterhood and first love. Winner of the William C. Morris Award!
Tens of thousands of crows invading Auburn, Pennsylvania, is a problem for everyone in town except seventeen-year-old Leighton Barnes. For Leighton, it's no stranger than her house, which inexplicably repairs itself every time her father loses his temper and breaks things.
Leighton doesn't have time for the crows-it's her senior year, and acceptance to her dream college is finally within reach. But grabbing that lifeline means abandoning her sisters, a choice she's not ready to face.
With her father's rage worsening and the town in chaos over the crows, Leighton allows herself a chance at happiness with Liam, her charming classmate, even though falling in love feels like a revolutionary act.
Balancing school, dating, and survival under the shadow of sixty thousand feathered wings starts to feel almost comfortable, but Leighton knows that this fragile equilibrium can only last so long before it shatters.
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