The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

This is the story of Ava Lavender, a girl born with the wings of a bird. It's also the story of her family: her grandmother Emmeline's journey from rural France, via 1920s Manhattan, to life as a baker in Seattle; her mother Viviane's tragic love story; and her younger brother Henry. 

Having led a sheltered life, sixteen-year-old Ava longs to venture into the wider world, but it's a dangerous place for a girl with wings. On the night of the summer solstice, her story - and that of her family - builds to a terrible, yet triumphant crescendo. 

This unusual debut novel is beautifully-written, full of sumptuous description and steeped in magical realism. A sophisticated, lyrical and highly literary tale of love, longing, and desire, it will captivate readers' imaginations. Some disturbing scenes make this best suited to older teenagers, and indeed it is likely to appeal as much to adults as it is to teens themselves.