Violet Wings by Victoria Hanley

"For Zaria Tourmaline, the three years without her mother and brother have been lonely ones, living with a cold and distant guardian while she completes her education. Just as she is ready to join the world of adult fairies and genies, she finds a spellbook written entirely in her mother’s hand. But this treasured object is not safe from a new enemy, a fairy with more power than Zaria ever dreamed existed. Only among the humans–who must never know fairies and genies exist–can Zaria hide the spellbook; but hidden magic, it turns out, can expose a fairy in ways she never thought possible." -from Amazon.com

Overall: 3.5/5

After the past couple years of filling my mind with O.R. Melling, Holly Black, Melissa Marr and the like, it was hard for me to get back into the idea of fairies being cute and helpful creatures with pretty wings and magic wands. Because of this, it took me a little time to get into the story.

I did, though. Get into the story, I mean. Hanley managed to take what seemed to be an over-done and cliched idea and turn it into an entirely new world that was impressively detailed. You can just tell how much time and thought was put into this story, probably before there were even words on the page.

It was cute and fun, but also dealt with a lot of very real moral dilemmas. Where's the line between doing what you've always been told is right, and doing what you personally believe is right?

It was a very enjoyable book, but clearly meant for someone more in their pre-teen/middle school years. I would highly recommend it to any tweens out there.

Characters: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Writing: 3/5

Ending: 3/5

Cover: 2/5