Wildwing

Author: Emily Whitman
Genre: Young Adult – Historical/Fantasy
Publication Date:
Publisher:  Greenwillow Books
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages:  320
Date Scoot Read: February 2011
Source: Nook Book
Scoot's Rating: 6- Good read with small flaws.

Synopsis (via Goodreads):
When Addy is swept back in time, she couldn't be happier to leave her miser-able life behind. Now she's mistaken for Lady Matilda, the pampered ward of the king. If Addy can play her part, she'll have glorious gowns, jewels, and something she's always longed for—the respect and admiration of others. But then she meets Will, the falconer's son with sky blue eyes, who unsettles all her plans.

From shipwrecks to castle dungeons, from betrothals to hidden conspiracies, Addy finds herself in a world where she's not the only one with a dangerous secret. When she discovers the truth, Addy must take matters into her own hands. The stakes? Her chance at true love . . . and the life she's meant to live.

Scoot’s Review:

Being raised by a single mother in the early 1900s makes Addy’s life pretty hard.  Fights at school lead her to being forced to work as a housemaid for an eccentric older man.  Stumbling across a machine that takes her to the past Addy believes she can claim a new life for herself in a different time.  Presented with a twist of fate Addy ends up being mistaken for a Lady, and is given the respect and power she felt she always deserved.  But life is not all roses when Addy realizes the price she will have to pay for that power and the people she will have to lose to keep it.  Is it worth the sacrifice? Each setting of this book was historical, being set in the early 1900s and then the 13^th century so it was a fun jaunt into history.  The historical elements were well written and realistic to their time periods, showing the more gritty side of the past – that it wasn’t just fluff and pretty dresses and doting servants.  I enjoyed the overall plot and the idea of traveling through time, especially some of the subplots. Also, the title makes much more sense now after realizing how much we would learn about Hawking while reading it.  The writing was easy to follow and the story flowed well, but the characters seemed a little lacking. I was constantly annoyed with the pride and/or selfishness of Addy.  I was not a fan of what she was willing to sacrifice to get what she wanted – regardless of who she might trample on the way there. She started out well and I liked her at first, but I grew to like her less and less as the book continued with the choices she was making.  In the long run she turned out to be a semi-decent person, but she was frustrating to me most of the time.  Will was great – no frustration there, if not all that much depth.  The somewhat forbidden romance was sweet and kept you always on the edge of danger – and I, of course, was a big supporter of that.  Overall I was happy with the ending, despite all the hardship/frustration leading to it.  It was a good read – it is just hard for me to really like a book where I am not a big fan of the leading character.