We Never Asked for Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

I loved "The Language of Flowers", Diffenbaugh's first novel, so I didn't want to get my hopes up for this novel. Well, I loved this one as much as her first, maybe more. 

First of all, I loved the title! Sometimes I don't understand why an author chooses the title they do, but this title was perfect. Obviously there is the bird theme throughout the novel, and the collection of feathers. More importantly, Letty's parents finally give her her wings. The characters in this book were all faced with difficult decisions: Maria Elena had to choose between her husband and her daughter and beloved grandchildren; Letty's father had to choose between his home in Mexico and the home he made for himself and his family in California; Letty chose to set Wes free when she got pregnant - because he would have stayed if he had known about the baby; Alex chose to go with Wes to Africa instead of staying home with Yesenia; Letty chose Rick over Wes; Wes chose his career over Letty and the family they could have potentially made. Such difficult decisions, all of them! 

Alex made such a bad decision when stealing - borrowing - Mr. Everett's keys and breaking into his computer!! Sometimes really smart people do really stupid things! He thought he was doing the right thing for Yesenia though - and he was such a good kid. I had a really bad feeling about all of that, and the result was a more significant consequence than I even thought it would be. Yikes. He owned up to it all though, taking full responsibility, which showed a sense of responsibility a lot of 15 year olds wouldn't have. Then he decides to leave Yesenia for four months to spend time in Africa with Wes. Loved it! Oh, I loved that he wanted to wait until marriage to have sex. Very responsible decision.

Rick was awesome too. He was such a steadfast influence on Letty. He didn't "take charge" of her life; he gently guided her to options in her life she didn't think were possible at first. When Wes first came back into her life, I wasn't sure who I wanted Letty to end up with. He had never married; he welcomed Alex with open arms; he didn't hold a grudge against Letty for not telling him about his son. Really wonderful person. Meanwhile, Rick was falling for her and I really liked them together. Eventually though, as Letty was still "waffling", I chose Rick (Team Rick!) and I was thrilled that she did too! Sometimes you just can't go "back". 

So, I loved the theme, loved the characters, and I loved this book. Since it took Diffenbaugh over four years to write this book, I guess we will be waiting awhile for her third novel. I am sure it will be worth the wait.

Wendy's Rating: *****