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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

This story is set in the 1980s; the main character is almost exactly my age. The title, of course, refers to the perfect flip of feathered hair, created with a round brush and a blowdryer. Josie was baffled and fascinated as I explained how vital good wings really were to my preteen identity back then. But Roxanne, 13, has even more problems than I did: she’s Israeli and desperate to assimilate, her dad’s away all day driving a cab, her mom’s off visiting family in Israel, she lives in Staten Island next to a house all the neighborhood kids think is cursed, she’s afraid of gym class, and she’s not popular. So she escapes into reruns: Little House on the Prairie, Superfriends, The Brady Bunch, Wonder Woman—all illustrations of the elusive, ideal American life she craves. Then another Israeli girl, Liat, moves in next door, and Roxanne gradually learns to reframe what’s important. This was Josie’s favorite book on the list, and it’s very readable. I like that it depicts completely secular Israelis, a portrayal that may surprise many American kids.

The Importance of Wings by Robin Friedman (Charlesbridge, 2009) is the story of Roxanne, a young Israeli immigrant, who idolizes Wonder Woman and wants so much to have a “Brady Bunch,” all-American life. Then Liat, also from Israel, moves next door, into a house that some claim is cursed. A quiet, thoughtful book that speaks to the heart.

Life is hard, especially for shy kids in middle and high school if they look differenct from the "in" group, have a touchy family situation, a lack of athletic skills, a poor self-image and allow themselves to be bullied. The "wings" in the title describes the feathery hairstyle (like the late Farrah Fawcett's) in this middle grade novel set in the early 1980's. Not to wear one's hair in that style, in addition to being a non-athlete, is the kiss of death in this school or at least in our heroine, Roxanne's, opinion. Israeli-born Roxanne has a severe self-image problem. Striving to be American instead of Israeli, she has changed her name from "Ravit" and had her much more self-confident younger sister change her name as well. It is not until Liat, a marvelously self-confident Israeli teen her own age moves next door, that Roxanne starts letting her guard down, stops idolizing idiots, and becomes more self confident. Roxanne bemoans the fact that her family doesn't resemble The Brady Bunch. Her mother is away in Israel caring for her aunt, and her father lacks imagination and free time to spend with the family. New friend Liat has learned how to adjust to sorrow and change; her mother has been killed in a bus bombing attack in Israel and her peripatetic painter father keeps moving every year. She does not allow herself to be pushed around by classmates, as Roxanne does. Roxanne's character is written with little subtlety and seems rather one-dimensional. The book's printing, vocabulary and overly generous spacing between lines makes it visually suitable to younger grades, not for the teen readers the publisher may be aiming for. There are few books about regular kids who are Israeli-American, so this one fills a niche for some readers. But mostly it is focused on the theme of teen-peer bullying and its ramifications for young girls.

Roxanne was born in Israel, but now that she lives in the United States, she wants to be a real American. She has changed her name, speaks English, and tries to fit into all activities. She wants to excel at sports and comb her hair to have "wings" like the other girls. These last two things escape her, since she isn't athletic and her hair is too curly to hold the "wings."

Next door is a vacant house that everyone says is haunted. One day a father and his daughter, Liat, move in. They are Israelis. While Roxanne and her sister spend most of their time watching television, Liat sees the world as "real," not "cool" the way Roxanne wants to be seen. She shows Roxanne the futility of "wings" and other fashionable American things. Liat doesn't have to win or fit in because she is proud of her true self. From Liat Roxanne learns to be more self confident and more satisfied with who she is. Being herself and caring less how others see her makes her life happier and easier. Then the unlucky house burns down and Liat and her father return to Israel. Roxanne feels the emptiness and loss of her friend. She decides to use her Hebrew name again and be an Israeli American--her true identity.

Although this story is aimed mainly at Jewish readers, I think it would appeal to a much larger audience, since so many children today have hyphenated identities. In addition, the larger message of self-acceptance is a universal one.

All 13-year-old Roxanne wants is to be just like everyone else in her school. She exchanges her foreign-sounding name--Ravit--for the name of a popular classmate. Even her hair won't cooperate, refusing to feather into wings on the sides, and Roxanne despairs of ever fitting into a perfect Brady Bunch world. After her family moved to New York from Israel when she was five, Roxanne became responsible for correcting her parents' spoken English, and she worries that they are missing a lot more than the American idioms that escape their grasp. Roxanne obsesses over the family's ethnic food choices and turns her nose up at the family's traditional delicacies, longing to feast on American junk food. Roxanne's thoughts about what constitutes being an American--Americans must be good at sports--are decidedly stereotypical, and it takes a new neighbor to help her feel comfortable with her own cultural identity and ideas about coolness.

Friedman will receive the 2010 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award's Older Readers Category for The Importance of Wings, published by Charlesbridge. Ah, the drama of being in eighth grade! There's the boy you have a crush on who likes someone else. There's getting dressed in gym class and being picked last for teams. There's your parents, who are so unlike Mike and Carol Brady and not even like Ma and Pa Ingalls. And there's your hair, that won't go in the popular feathered back style that everyone else is wearing. When an Israeli girl moves next door, Liat "not only shows Roxanne how to give her hair 'wings,' but she helps her 'wing' her way toward maturity and self-esteem," asserted Debbie Colodny, a member of the Award Committee. Another Award Committee member, Kathy Bloomfield, affirmed this praise: "With appealing and affecting writing, Ms. Friedman grabs the reader immediately and takes her on a journey of self-discovery, confidence building and empowerment that will leave her hoping for a sequel." Friedman's book about male bulimia, Nothing, was named an AJL Notable Book for Teen Readers last year.

Roxanne loves to watch reruns of Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, and Wonder Woman. She wants to be a true American like the characters. The story of an Israeli immigrant girl living on Staten Island, NY in the 1980s is satisfying on many levels.