Plastic Wings by C.T. Callahan

Publication Date: November 22, 2016.

Publisher: Three Little Books Co.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, and Apocalyptic.

Rating: 

Selling points: An amazing woman of color as the protagonist, character development, and unique world with angels.

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository | Three Little Books Co.

Synopsis: When seven-year-old Evie Weiss discovers a strange, sickly boy in her otherwise familiar forest, she has no idea what it holds for her world. He is a dark angel, one of a race of humanoid beings that feed on humanity and tear Evie’s world down around her. Years later, as humanity mounts a counter-attack against the dark angels, Evie remembers the boy in the forest and finds herself torn between her loyalty to her own people and feelings of compassion for these strange creatures that first captivated her as a child.

It is the quest of one girl to unite two worlds so separated by war, but how can she close the gap between two races so determined to hate each other?

Thank you C.T. Callahan for my copy of Plastic Wings. This book has officially become one of my new favorites and I’m truly grateful I won it in your giveaway.

Plastic Wings is one of my new favorite books, and it even sparked my love for fantasy. I’ve only been reading contemporary books for months now, and it’s so refreshing to be reading fantasy again, and one about angels too. I haven’t done that in ages. There are literally so many amazing things to highlight about Plastic Wings; the strong heroine of color that is the most relatable girl ever, the diverse cast and the epic world C.T. Callahan has created, are just a few.

Evie, the main character, is someone I relate to a lot. She loves her family, but disagrees and hates a lot of the things they do. I honestly respect that part so much. Loving your family and disagreeing with them at the same time is okay, and I think that was just so beautifully done. Evie is strong-willed, but she has her flaws too, which is what makes her really stand out as a character and make you fall in love with her. To me, Evie also reads as someone who is on the ace-spectrum. I base this off of two very specific parts of the book (the quotes below have small spoilers, but not a lot. I replaced the names with x and y so that people wanting to see for themselves can do so with minimum spoilers. I think you can read the quotes without the story being spoiled, but I’m warning just in case).

I was never interested in physical intimacy so X instigated the kissing and touching, often catching me by surprise. It took practice and guidance on his part for me to live up to his standards. He’d guide my hands, lead my mouth, and constantly tell me how I could improve.

&

“We’re not screwing,” I said. “Honestly, I don’t even want to.”

Angie rolled her eyes. “I think you’re missing the point of a relationship.”

I didn’t know how to explain to Angie what it felt like to just want to be near someone, to want to hear their laugh like a soundtrack and wake up to their smile every morning. Even with X, I’d never craved physical intimacy, but with Y, just the sound of his voice brought me more pleasure than sex ever could.

Note: I’m not on the ace-spectrum myself, and because of that, cannot speak about the representation as well as someone who identifies as on the ace-spectrum can. If I find further information about this topic, I will edit my review to include it here.

Plastic Wings is a very funny story despite all of the horrors displayed in this world C.T. Callahan has created. A pretty memorable moment taken out of context is this one,

“The shirtless hero was always my favorite trope.”

“Hold still,” I said. “You’re bleeding a lot.”

But if we are being real here, the character that truly brings a lot of sass into this book is Alex. Getting to know him and seeing him and Evie get to know each other was something else and I was at multiple times kicking my legs everywhere because I had, the feels. This should convince you as to why you need to get this book as soon as possible, as in yesterday.

The characters in Plastic Wings have incredible character development, they grow, they evolve and yet they still stay true to who they are. It’s amazing to read and makes you want to get to know the characters even further. I can’t wait for the sequel because I crave more of these characters, answers to my questions and so much more. Plastic Wings perfectly shows a world where the line between good and evil is blurred, and together with some amazing characters, this book is a winner. I recommend it with all of my heart.