We Never Asked for Wings

by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Scott County Library audiobook 10 CDs
read by Emma Bering and Robbie Daymond
genre: realistic fiction

I grabbed this book when I saw who the author was. The Language of Flowers absolutely blew me away. I may need to re-read it . . . Because I confess that this book underwhelmed me. This "review" probably has lots of spoilers, so please don't let me ruin your experience with the book! (It isn't a very well-written review anyhow.)

She is an amazing writer, but there were a few things that I really struggled with. First of all, the consequences of the kids' actions was draconian. I find it hard to believe that any school would handle this by immediately turning two kids (with no previous issues) over to the police, and that the police in juvey would treat them so harshly. No lawyers, no parents . . . just doesn't ring true for me. Second of all is the lame ending. It's as though the story just stops. Not at all satisfying.

Here are my random notes from while I was listening:

• geography south of San Fran? I need to look at a map! marshy area by airport?
• feather mosaics . . . I tried googling this, but I got mosaics OF feathers instead of ones made FROM feathers. I'm super curious and must look more!
• I had a hard time deciding if I was more frustrated with Letty being a pathetic non-mom or Maria Elena for enabling her all these years. And Luna was such a brat! What horrible behavior for a six year old! Alex was my favorite character from the get-go. 
• They learned about the Icarus myth in sixth grade? I love it!
• mass spectrometer, feathers/wings, climate change. I loved the nerdy science stuff and the way Alex and Wes clicked.
• Loved the men! Rick, Wed, Alex, Enrique, Mr. Everett (the science teacher) - these guys were fantastic!
• No! I couldn't believe that Alex compounded the wrong he'd already done by throwing Mr. E's keys into the bay. I also couldn't believe that Yesenia told him to do it.
• Carmen's 14 year old self and experience with pregnancy vs. Letty's 18 year old experience . . . such different choices, weaknesses, and strengths in these women!
• lots of remarks on "Juvie lockup" and "really?!" and "a guard hit Alex and left a scrape on his forehead?" and "I don't think so." Letty should have been fighting that system big-time!

As I looked for correct character name spellings online, I was glad to see that at least one other reader on Goodreads agreed with me. This book was just a bit disappointing. However, I also saw an interview with Diffenbaugh where she talks about her experiences with educational inequality and underserved communities. . . There's a lot to unpack in terms of these issues and what's going on in our country.

I love what she did with the birds and feathers. I love the relationship between Enrique and his grandson. I love how Wes and Rick stepped up as great guys. I even loved the mixology lessons. But overall, this was just not as excellent as her first book.