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I'm going to say right away that I'm totally on the fence about this one. Did I like it? Did I even realllly not like it? I'm not totally sure. Becky loved it. I'm sure others loved it. But I had some issues, I must admit. I still want to chat about it for you, knowing that others really enjoyed it and I'm not so sure might just encourage you to check it out for yourself (and then argue with me if you love it to!).

The Importance of Wings, written by Robin Friedman, features a young girl that just wants to fit in. Roxanne really wishes to just be a typical American girl with a typical American family. She doesn't want to be Israeli, she doesn't want her mom to be living in Israel, and she doesn't want her dad to work crazy hours for a cab company and emotionally check out. She just wants to have feathered hair with wings, pot roast for dinner, and a mom to take her shopping.

Unfortunately, Roxanne's reality is a bit different. Her dad does work long hours as a cab driver and her mother is in Israel. A lot of the time she and her sister, Gayle, have to fend for themselves for food, as their dad isn't there and when he is, he doesn't really care. When Liat moves in next door, another Israeli girl around their age, and she happens to be a tough, strong-minded girl, proud of her heritage, Roxanne starts to reconsider her viewpoints on being American. Maybe being an Israeli isn't so bad.

The importance of cultural stories for our middle grade readers is essential. I just felt this one fell a bit flat, lacking in a realistic main character. We can all relate to the idea of not fitting in for one reason or another, so the subject definitely has a relatability factor, which is a positive for sure. Roxanne, however, seemed forced to me, almost as if an author was really putting the right words in her mouth, rather than a preteen girl's words. And Liat moving right next door, another Israeli that just happened to be Roxanne's polar opposite, I don't know, I just didn't totally buy it. I don't think the writing convinced me of the unconventional.

I also had a problem with the two issues in the book. On the one hand, I felt that the issue of the father and mother both checking out and leaving two girls pretty much alone, was enough for a book. The emotions for a great story are definitely there, but then there is the issue of cultural identity thrown in too and I don't think either got the right amount of justice.

Maybe you'll love it, maybe you won't, I'm still on the fence.

To learn more, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.

The Importance of Wings
Robin Friedman
176 pages
Middle Grade
Charlesbridge
9781580893305
July 2009

Thank you to the publisher for a review copy!

Sometimes trees can look heathy on the outside, but actually be dying on the inside These trees fall unexpectedly during a storm.

This is part of a news article Parker Rabinowitz, the outwardly perfect, honor roll, athletic, hopefully Princeton-bound senior, who is the protagonist of Robin Friedman's novel NOTHING thinks about writing for the new teen section of a local newspaper. But it is less about trees than it is about himself. Because Parker is bulimic, suffering under the weight of parental expectations, the pressures he puts on himself and his inability to separate himself and his own needs and desires from his parent's expectations.

That line really hit me when I read it, because when I was actively bulimic, I wrote several poems with a very similar theme - if I can dig them up I'm going to send them to Robin - where I'm inside crumbling and wondering why no one can see that, feeling like tiny chunks of myself are falling off each and every day yet everyone acts as if I'm just the same and tell me how well I'm coping. That dissonance between the outer facade and the inner reality comes across very effectively in NOTHING - as does Parker's longing to tell someone about his problem, his feeling of isolation and loneliness, yet his inability to cross over the wall of his own "perfect", coping facade to admit vulnerability.

Yes. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. I remember when I finally did "fall unexpectedly during a storm" and was in the hospital" and I said to one of the doctors, "I feel like I'm screaming for help and no-one is listening."

He said, "Have you ever tried just asking for help?"

Me: *crickets*

It's been a long learning process, and even now I have to fight my perfectionist streak and my feeling that it's "weak" to ask for help. But I've become much better at it. And it's certainly a much healthier option than standing in front of a toilet and sticking your finger down your throat, right?

Robin also portrays the family dynamics effectively. Sure the media plays a role in our desire to be thinner and thinner, but eating disorders are as much about control as they are about looks - and much of the background for the control issues derives from the family of origin.

Brava to Robin for writing this important and powerful book. I'm so glad that there is a well-written book with a male protagonist with an eating disorder, because the incidence of eating disorders (and generally disordered eating which isn't clinically an eating disorder) amongst males is on the rise.

And I have an extra thank you to Robin because this book was originally called PURGE. When Robin and her publishers changed the title to NOTHING, I wrote and asked if we could take the title PURGE and they said yes!
So DOUBLE thanks to Robin, for writing such a sensitive and on-target book that I'm sure will reach and help many, many teens and also for finally giving me a title for my book!

The Girlfriend Project by Robin Friedman (Bloomsbury, 2007). From the promo copy: Reed Walton, seventeen-year-old Ultimate Nice Guy, has never had a girlfriend or even kissed a girl. At this rate, the Princeton-bound senior may be headed for the priesthood. But Reed's next-door neighbors and best friends since kindergarten, Lonnie and Ronnie White, have hatched a plan on the day before senior year starts at Marlborough Regional High School. And, ready or not, The Girlfriend Project is about to change Reed's life in ways he can't imagine."

Robin Friedman has worked as a children's book editor, freelance writer, newspaper reporter, and advertising copywriter. Her novel How I Survived My Summer Vacation (Cricket, 2000) has been published in three countries. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband, Joel, and their cats, Peppercorn, Peaches, and Butterscotch.

What was your inspiration for creating this book?

I had never written anything for teens before (my first book, How I Survived My Summer Vacation (Cricket, 2000), is for tweens, and my second book, The Silent Witness (Houghton Mifflin, 2005), is for children), but every time I went to a conference--or even a Barnes and Noble or Borders--I was struck by how vibrant, robust, and exciting the YA market seemed to be. I definitely wanted to be a part of it.

Most of the YA novels I read revolved around girl protagonists and girl stories. It started me thinking about what it would be like to write a modern romance from a boy's point of view.

What was the timeline between spark and publication, and what were the major events along the way?

The writing part was a complete joy for me! It was thrilling and fun and exhilarating; I wrote the entire novel in two months.

But, then, it took a year for it to be accepted, and another year for it to be published.

What were the challenges (literary, research, psychological, logistical) in bringing it to life?

I was floored by how many editors told me it was too "tame," meaning too wholesome and innocent. That just astounded me.

I was also disappointed by how many editors wanted the main character to be a girl (that was the whole point!) and how many commented that it was too light-hearted.

Sometimes I really had to scratch my head at comments like that, and it made it hard to keep believing in it. I almost lost my faith many times, and almost gave up entirely in the end.

What were your earliest literary influences?

I loved Judy Blume (author interview), the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, and anything having to do with King Arthur.

Did you face any challenges to finding success?

I've been in this business for twelve years and suffered many failures along the way. The Girlfriend Project is my second novel, but it took me seven years from my first novel to get another book published.

When my first book was published, it was in a climate before Harry Potter, chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Barnes & Noble, and the Internet. Those things were around, but they hadn't quite established themselves as the powerhouses they are today. They literally changed everything, and it took me a long time to accept the loss of the kinder, gentler publishing industry I knew.

Today's publishing industry is aggressive, competitive, and often rough-and-tumble, but it also contains genuine gems that we didn't have before, such as the camaraderie and companionship offered by online communities (such as yours!) that make supportive connections possible. I'm so grateful for that.

What gives you the greatest joy in your writing life?

There's so much. The actual writing part is so engrossing, joyful, and magical that I wish I could bottle it and take it out when I need a sip!

I love the discussions that I have with my editors, in which they treat my characters as "real people;" that still tickles me every time. I love to read reviews in which the reviewer understood my intent--and result. I love meeting readers and other people who are passionate about books.

I get a thrill from the smallest thing, like holding my book for the first time, to the biggest thing, like finding out it will be translated into Chinese (that's my good news from last week!).

What encouragement helped you along the way?

Sometimes I couldn't bear to go into a bookstore, because it would only remind me of my lack of success. Conferences such as BEA (Book Expo America) would often reduce me to tears.

The only encouragement I had--with the exception of the devotion of all the people in my life--was my own very real need to write.

I think that quality is something all of us have, ultimately. Whether we're published or not, successful or not, mid-list or front-list, creating stories with words is where our passions lie, and nothing can ever change that, or take it away from us.

What can your readers expect from you next?

My next YA novel, Purge, is about a seventeen-year-old boy who develops bulimia. It will be published by Flux in 2008.

Finding Wonder Woman, my next tween novel, is about a thirteen-year-old Israeli immigrant girl who learns the true meaning of fitting in. It will be published by Charlesbridge in 2010.

My new novel, Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007) received a five-star review from Karin Perry at TeensReadToo.com! Karin calls the novel "...a stimulating paranormal mystery mixed with romance. The relationship between Quincie and Kieren is touching and so deep that the reader feels Quincie’s pain at the thought of losing Kieren, while at the same time understanding Kieren’s reasons for keeping Quincie at arms length..." Read the whole review.

Speaking of Tantalize itself, though, Alison Dellenbaugh (AKA She Who Brought Her Own Fangs) offers her report on the novel's launch party at Alison Wonderland. So does Jo--news with many party pics!--at her LJ. And Tanya Lee Stone offers cheers. See the full launch party report.

More News & Links

Interview with Robin Friedman on The Girlfriend Project from Little Willow at Slayground. The Girlfriend Project will be published by Walker in April. Read an excerpt. (By the way, The Girlfriend Project official site is an excellent example of a book-specific site and was designed by Lisa Firke of Hit Those Keys.

The lovely and talented Newbery Award honor recipients offer a show of solidarity for this year's recently challenged winner, Susan Patron, at Cynthia Lord's LJ, "from Jennifer Holm, Kirby Larson, and Me."

Alma Fullerton offers new interviews with authors Kristy Dempsey, Dori Chaconas, and Douglas Rees. She also offers a new interview with agent Nadia Cornier of Firebrand Literary. Nadia says: "I'll overlook a lot for a great story. I mean, I've read some fabulous books that are perfectly crafted but really boring stories - but a really perfect story, even if it isn't perfectly crafted will have such MEANING and resonance. I want those." Read the whole interview.