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The Importance of Wings
Product Code: 93305 ISBN: 978-1-58089-330-5 Ages: 10 - 14 Availability: In stock. Price: $15.95 Shop A Local Bookstore
An Israeli immigrant's journey to become a "real" American With their mother caring for relatives in Israel and their father driving a cab all hours of the day, Roxanne and her sister, Gayle, spend a lot of time watching television reruns of Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, and Wonder Woman—perfect examples of perfect Americans. Roxanne is desperate to be like them. When Liat, a fellow Israeli, moves into the “Cursed House” next door, things begin to change and Roxanne realizes that maybe real life isn’t like TV—maybe it’s even better. The novel is set on Staten Island, New York, in the early 1980’s. This book is good for your brain because: Multiculturalism, Individualism, Friendship, Family, and Growing Up  A Note from the Author: Why did I set this story in the 1980s? Several reasons. First, because of my own memories. I am a child of the era of Boy George, Rubik's Cubes, John Hughes movies, and Cabbage Patch Kids, and I enjoyed reliving the pop culture of my youth. I'll also admit to another motive: lack of technology. If I had set the story today, I would have needed to incorporate an ever-changing array of twenty-first-century communications (email, texting, cells, Facebook, iPod, blogging). I wanted a story devoid of modern distractions, a story where TV reruns could actually be a part of a girl's coming-of-age (as they were for me), a story where kids could still gather outside on stoops. Finally, our post- 9/11 world makes any story involving Israel and the Middle East more complex than ever. While this subject has always been intricate, there was a time, believe it or not, when even that was a bit simpler. --Robin Friedman Click here to read an article about Robin. Download the discussion guide. Download the cover image! If you like this book, you'll love these: Reviews Booklist - May 15, 2009
Eighth-grader Roxanne misses her mother, who has gone home to Israel for several months to care for a relative. It's the early 1980s, in Staten Island, and Roxanne's other big concern is her family's lack of throrough-going Americanness; being Israeli, she has decided, is a problem. She and her nine-year-old sister live on a diet of television, cold cereal, and waiting for their father to return late each night from driving his cab. Then Liat, a girl Roxanne's age, moves in next door and challenges the sisters to explore the possibilities around them and accept their identity as Israeli Americans. The denouement, in which Liat's father packs her up for another move, this time back to Israel, feels rushed. But Friedman does an exquisite job in bringing the two older girls to life and showing how each has responded to her family's upheavals and current circumstances. Minor characters are also compelling and, for the most part, endearing.
Prose and Kahn - June 2, 2009
This unusual story of friendship, fitting in and identity is narrated by thirteen-year-old Roxanne. She's a timid Israeli immigrant living in Staten Island with her sister, Gayle and her father. She desperately misses her mother, who has returned to Israel to nurse a sick relative. She and her sister, just as desperately want to fit in, to become American. She's terrified of appearing foolish and constantly worries about the opinion of others. She changes her name from Ravit to Roxanne in order to sound more American and she and her sister watch endless hours of televsion - Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch and Wonder Woman. When Liat moves into the "cursed house" across the street, Roxanne is thrilled to learn that they're the same age. Liat is also from Israel, completely disinterested in changing her name and is also utterly fearless. She's a lot like Roxanne's hero, Wonder Woman. While the novel is set during the 1980's, its pop culture references, to Pac Man, among others, should be fairly easily accessible to twenty-first century readers. It also realistically portrays the experience of a young immigrant and the angst anyone might feel about fitting in is timeless. Kirkus Reviews - June 1, 2009
Roxanne (Ravit) Ben-Ari is an Israeli-American girl growing up in 1980s New York City. Family life is less than idyllic, with her mother away in Israel and her father working late into the night as a cab driver. The long afterschool hours are spent watching favorite television reruns, eating sporadically from a nearly empty refrigerator and managing to get by with homework assignments. Roxanne aches for her mother's safe return and longs to fit in with her all-American schoolmates, the very reason she changes her Hebrew name. When Liat, a new Israeli girl moves into the empty "cursed" house on the block, Roxanne's attitude on life and her family circumstances is transformed. Liat's Israeli pride brings a fresh perspective that encourages a new confidence in Roxanne, who can then identify with and appreciate her family and dual cultural lifestyle. Told in a first-person voice that is both sardonic and sincere, Friedman's novel succeeds in bringing forth some common issues that challenge any immigrant American child who must straddle separate ways of life while striving for that true-blue American image.
School Library Journal - July 1, 2009
When Roxanne’s mother returns to Israel to care for an ailing relative, the 13-year-old and her younger sister are left to fend for themselves. They eat cold cereal and canned mushrooms for dinner every night or buy hotdogs from the neighbors, and spend their afternoons and evenings watching television while their father works late nights as a cab driver in Manhattan. But when Liat moves into the “cursed house” next door, Roxanne slowly discovers that her obsession to become all-American might not be as important as she once thought. Confident and unconcerned with what others think, Liat is proud to retain her Israeli name (Roxanne has changed hers from Ravit) and is not embarrassed by her father’s clothes, thick accent, wildly decorated car, or outrageous girlfriend . . . this is a readable coming-of-age story that captures many universal aspects of the contemporary immigrant experience coupled with middle school angst, first crushes, and the importance of finding one’s own wings.
Poisoned Rationality - June 30, 2009
My first thought while reading this was that its written in such a 'now' way that it didn't feel as if it was the early 1980's. Other then some topical news mentions, this book could have been set today (2009) instead of nearly 30 years ago. Robin Friedman mentions in a blurb in the back of the book that she purposely set the novel in the 80's for several reasons--1) because she grew up in the 80's, 2) to avoid the whole 'technology' evolution with new tech always being introduced and 3) the post 9/11 world makes any story set about Israel or the Middle East complex, so she wanted to show that at one time the complex was a little more simple.I've never had to worry about not fitting in because of a difference in race or religious creed, it's just always been a matter of course for me to want to be different. The other girls didn't want to read, I did, so well guess I'll be different then. The need that Roxanne feels to be as American as possible--going as far as to change her name so it sounds more anglicized and devoting most of her free time to watching The Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie and shows like that depicting what a 'true American' family or girl was supposed to be like...I've never felt that. But reading about her insecurities, her all-encompassing fear of being left behind and considered uncool, I could relate with those feelings. Who hasn't felt like that at one time or another? Even the most confident person has doubts--they might not show them, or admit them, but they do I wanted so much for Roxanne to be accepted, but like her, once I met Liat I began to see a different way for her to belong. She could be Israeli and American at the same time, melding the two cultures together to make a more complete version of who she was. I did question her common sense though, especially her taste in crushes. But that could easily be blamed upon her obsession with being 'All American'. I don't think her crush reflected badly on who she was, but rather who she wanted to be. The book feels slow in some passages and in others too quick (such as Roxanne's change of heart), so that led to some uneven reading at times. Since this is told from Roxanne's first person POV in the present tense, we don't get a real sense of what others are thinking. I would have liked to know what Liat was thinking at times, because sometimes it felt like she was just putting up with Roxanne and other times as if she really cared. I think she was exasperated with her often, especially whenever Roxanne would make a silly or insensitive comment about their own customs. The title itself refers to a certain hairstyle from that era, but also to Roxanne's change in attitude. 'Wings' was the quintessential meaning of being an All-American girl to Roxanne and she felt that having the hairstyle was the most important thing in the world to her. With one remark Liat gives her such a hard metaphorical slap in the face that I could feel the sting. I didn't blame Liat for that though--Roxanne's remark was careless and ill-timed given the events before. All in all I enjoyed reading The Importance of Wings--it was a different style for me, a different author in fact, but I'm glad that I had this chance. Roxanne reminded me of myself more often then not when I was her age--so desperate to be anything but what and who I was, just to escape the uncomfortable realities of the world around me. Becky's Book Blog - July 27, 2009
Roxanne and her sister Gayle (not to mention their taxi-driving father) live next to 'the cursed house.' Their mother is away--she's gone to visit her sister in Israel, care for her sister, I believe--and while the two sometimes cross paths with their father, they feel alone. To hide their alone-ness, the two stay glued to the TV set. Their list of addictions is quite long, everything from The Brady Bunch and Wonder Woman to Little House on the Prairie and Dynasty. Roxanne, in particular, wants to be Wonder Woman. And not to confuse matters any, she wishes her father was more like Mike Brady or Pa Ingalls. There. Listening. Involved.It's the 1980s and Roxanne is so uncool it's pitiful. At least she thinks so. Her inability to have 'wings'--the super-cool hair style that divides the cool and uncool leads to a bit of an esteem problem. But all that begins to change when someone buys the cursed house. A family moves in. A father, a step-mother (or is it just a girlfriend?), and a daughter. A daughter just around Roxanne's age. And guess what, they're Israeli too. For the first time, Roxanne sees that being Israeli doesn't make you automatically weird or uncool. You can be smart, beautiful, athletic, and Israeli. But the new girl, Liat, isn't a snob. She could have wings--her step-mom showed her how--but she prefers to be herself, to think for herself. And without a doubt, Liat is the best friend these two sisters could have. It isn't just anybody that these two would give up watching Grease for. Though Robin Friedman has written several books (Nothing, The Girlfriend Project, The Silent Witness, and How I Survived My Summer Vacation), this was my first opportunity to read one of her books. I just have to say I loved it. It felt so right. I thought it very authentic. I definitely recommend this one! EconKids - August 1, 2009
Back in the 1980s when television re-runs provided a major source of entertainment, shows like Wonder Woman and Charlie’s Angels generated a number of female role models and fashion styles. Hence long feathered hair with wings not only prevailed as the must-have hair style at school, it also represented in Roxanne’s eyes what it meant to be a normal American girl. Roxanne, an Israeli immigrant, longed to be a normal American girl with feathered hair living in a normal American family, but she could not seem to grasp onto that sense of belonging.Her father worked long hours driving a taxi in Manhattan, her mother had gone back to Israel to care for a sick relative, she and her younger sister spent seemingly endless stretches of time by themselves in a house with bare cupboards and no supervision, and her hair certainly would not cooperate to form those perfect wings. It took the arrival of a new girl in town – an independent, courageous, and beautiful Israeli girl who happened to move into the bright pink house next door – for Roxanne to recognize her own insecurities, value her heritage, and become more proactive about her life. Clearly woven into the story is an important lesson about the risk of food insecurity when parents don’t have enough time or money to properly care for their children. This engrossing novel, with its well-developed characters, does an excellent job in playing upon different interpretations of the book’s title. The Importance of Wings makes for an altogether enjoyable and insightful read. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books - September 1, 2009
Being all-American, just like the characters on her beloved television shows, is the goal of eighth-grader Roxanne, who's convinced that her Israeli family and upbringing (she moved to the U.S. at five, in the late 1970s) are what keep her from the acceptance she craves. She has to rethink this excuse for her uncertainty when Liat moves into the neighborhood; Liat, also an eighth-grader from an Israeli family, is tough and beautiful, unfazed by the judgment of the popular girls and happy to bring Roxanne along in her confident dealings with the world--if Roxanne can stand it. Friedman has an open and accessible writing style, and she creates an affecting portrait of a young girl always anxious about meeting everyone's standards. While it's clear that Roxanne's Israeli origins are an excuse rather than the real cause for her uncertainty, it's a nice touch that, with Liat's leadership, she begins to find some inspiration instead of shame there; there's also the deft authenticity in Roxanne's acknowledgment that this brief friendship (Liat and her family soon move back to Israel) meant a lot more to her than to Liat. The ease of the writing makes this a useful title for those readers still fazed by small print and multiple chapters, while the book's integrity and sympathy ensure that they'll relate to Roxanne and her dilemma.
Forwords Books - September 8, 2009
With their mother in Israel helping their ailing aunt, Roxanne and her sister, Gayle, are pretty much left to their own devices while their father works all evening as a taxi driver. Under loved, underfed and overdosed on TV and cereal is a fair description of their lifestyle. What Roxanne wants is a stable home life and to fit in at school.Enter Liat, an Israeli girl who moves into the “cursed” house next door to Roxanne. Liat and her father move from house to house, state to state in search of jobs. Liat has no issues with self-esteem or fitting in. She makes her place wherever she is. With appealing and affecting writing, Ms. Friedman grabs the reader immediately and takes you on a journey of self-discovery, confidence building and empowerment that will leave you hoping for a sequel. While the title of the book refers to the “Farah Fawcett (z’l) Hairstyle” of the 80’s, it is really about what happens when teens discover their inner beauty and self confidence. I highly recommend it for all Jewish libraries. |
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