Wing Jones

Author: Katherine Webber
Publisher:Walker Books
Year: Jan 2017
Pages: 378
ISBN: 9781406369090
Genre:Young Adult Contemporary
Reading Time: 14 - 17 Jan
Binding: Paperback
Goodreads

Blurb:
 With a grandmother from China and another from Ghana, fifteen-year-old Wing Jones is often caught between worlds. When tragedy strikes, she discovers an extraordinary talent she never knew she had. Wing's running could bring her family everything it needs. It could also keep Wing from the one thing she truly wants.

Review:
 This was not a book I would have usually picked up, contemporary isn't a genre I read a lot of. I prefer far fetched fantasy, it's such a way to escape! On the 20th of February I'll be going to a Waterstones event with Katherine Webber and Stephanie Garber (author of the highly anticipated Caraval), so I wanted to read it in preparation! Despite my hesitation, I'm so glad I picked up this book, it was refreshing to have something outside of my usual fantasy binging!
 Our eponymous character is aged fifteen, naive and rejected. The odd one out, she fits in nowhere. A great central character for the book. Whilst everyone may not be part of a racial minority such as Wing, everyone feels an outsider in some way. You can relate to her, see parts of her family in your own whilst also learning about the experience of someone like Wing during teenage years. The boy crushes, family grumbles and bullying. The earlier experiences in Wing's life give her more than the average person's daily grievances, there is more depth to her character that Webber writes well into a teenager's mind.
 Another reason I often don't read contemporary is that the situations are so real. The tragedy that occurs could happen to anyone and the consequences be so much worse. Reading about Wing dealing with the trauma her family faces is both heartbreaking and encouraging. Some light can come out of such deep darkness, Wing finds the way she can escape and it's beautiful. As the reviews say, it makes you want to pull on your own running shoes and dart straight out you front door.

 It's an enlightening read, quick to chew through and an excellent debut for Webber! I can't wait to read more from her!