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3.0 

A Wild Winter Swan

By Gregory Maguire
A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

After brilliantly reimagining the worlds of Oz, Wonderland, Dickensian London, and the Nutcracker, the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked turns his unconventional genius to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans," transforming this classic tale into an Italian-American girl's poignant coming-of-age story, set amid the magic of Christmas in 1960s New York.

Following her brother's death and her mother's emotional breakdown, Laura now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in a lonely townhouse she shares with her old-world, strict, often querulous grandparents. But the arrangement may be temporary. The quiet, awkward teenager has been getting into trouble at home and has been expelled from her high school for throwing a record album at a popular girl who bullied her. When Christmas is over and the new year begins, Laura may find herself at boarding school in Montreal. 

Nearly unmoored from reality through her panic and submerged grief, Laura is startled when a handsome swan boy with only one wing lands on her roof. Hiding him from her ever-bickering grandparents, Laura tries to build the swan boy a wing so he can fly home. But the task is too difficult to accomplish herself. Little does Laura know that her struggle to find help for her new friend parallels that of her grandparents, who are desperate for a distant relative’s financial aid to save the family store. 

As he explores themes of class, isolation, family, and the dangerous yearning to be saved by a power greater than ourselves, Gregory Maguire conjures a haunting, beautiful tale of magical realism that illuminates one young woman’s heartbreak and hope as she begins the inevitable journey to adulthood.

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152 Reviews

3.0
Thumbs Up“Solid read and simple story. I think it was quite slow, as the main point of the book (the swan-boy falling in through Laura's window) doesn't even happen until halfway through the story. It's strange, because in contrast, there are many events that happen that also get resolved within the next page, so it feels rushed without actually getting to the point or feeling like it adds to the main plot until the end. I liked the characters, as well, but I felt that they were almost purposeless - perhaps from Laura's perspective, she cannot fully trust anyone and explain her own mind or perspective, so everyone feels distant and far-away, but as a reader, the story feels very lonely. Regardless, I didn't dislike the book, and I enjoyed how Hans, the swan-boy, acted as a catalyst for Laura to change and grow.”
Slightly Smiling Face“I started this book in the waiting room and finished it by the end of day. I devoured it so fast, although it felt like I had lived this book for weeks. Laura is such a complex protagonist, she was an accurate depiction of a teenaged girl, strange flaws and all. Her struggles with relationships, friendships, and school felt extremely relatable amd heartwrenching. Her cultural and generational separation from her grandlarents is the most accurate family dynamic ive ever seen depicted in a book. But the minor characters were what really stood out. I can't say I liked her grandparents, but I understood and related to them as people. They were truly human, and I could feel their love for each other and for Laura, despite them being so misunderstanding of her struggles. John Greenglass and Sam and Mary were a delight, they felt real and fun. I mostly loved and respected the depictions of diversity and immigration and found them wholly accurate: the depictions of how the grandparents made every attempt to fit into American society yet be proud of the fact that they are Italian, Laura's simultaneous interest and disinterest in her culture, etc. The depiction of what seems to be an undiagnosed learning disability felt accurate. My one issue with the book's characters is the way Sam's dialogue was occasionally written. It seems quite stereotypical and very much like a caricature of a black person in the early 1900s, rather than 1960s NYC, where the book is set. Maguire is not black and so this depiction does not sit right with me, especially as Sam is the only major black character and is extremely intelligent, so his stilted and accented dialogue gives me pause. The rest of the book is however beautifully written, Laura's inner dialogue is funny and her thoughts are complex and sad. I felt like I was living inside her body when I read this book, her thoughts and feeling became my thoughts and feelings. I deeply appreciated the swan boy Hans' sheer monstrousnous. I expected, in a fairytale such as this, for him to be a sweet docile thing that was to be protected by Laura. Instead, he is this completely otherworldly being, not good or evil, who simultaneously needs to be protected and be the thing Laura protects her family from. If you go into this book expecting a romance, you will be disappointed. This is a coming of age masterpiece, through and through, and Hans' inclusion is merely a means to and end as Laura embraces herself and learns to grow and branch out in the world. My final thoughts are that I loved the writing style immensely, I felt like I was in a fantasy world, despite the fact that this is normal 1960s New York, and the only magical thing to happen is a boy with a wing instead of a left arm exists. And I loved the ending, not too sad, not too happy. I felt Laura's growth, and although her issues with her family were not solved, I could feel that they were on a path to understanding. I will say there are some triggers for this book: it's the 1960s so some characters both face and express racist thoughts, there is a description of bullying that involves Laura naked, there are two deaths that happen before the book begins and heavily influence Laura's actions, and there's depictions of mental illness that may be triggering for people who've experienced a loss. Anyways, I'd highly recommend this book if you want to both cry and believe in hope and change. And also if you just like weird stories.”

About Gregory Maguire

Gregory Maguire is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked—the beloved classic that is the basis for the blockbuster Tony Award–winning Broadway musical of the same name and the major motion picture—Son of a WitchA Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. His series Another Day continues the story of Oz with The Brides of Maracoor, The Oracle of Maracoor, and The Witch of Maracoor, and his other novels include A Wild Winter Swan, HiddenseeAfter AliceConfessions of an Ugly StepsisterLost, and Mirror Mirror. Some of his novels for children include Cress Watercress, Leaping Beauty, and Egg & Spoon, winner of a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor. He lives in New England and France.

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