The Blue Wings

Aerts's offbeat novel tenderly depicts the bond between 11-year-old Josh and 16-year-old Jadran, brothers who are so close they fall asleep matching the rhythm of their breaths. Affectionately called "Giant" by Josh and the siblings' single mother, physically large Jadran has a mental disability, and Josh has always proudly served as his "guardian angel." Soon after their mother's boyfriend, Murad, and his daughter, Yasmin, move in, the family visits a local lake to see the soon-to-be migrating cranes; when the flock leaves behind an injured baby, Jadran insists on taking it home. His obsessive attempts to teach the bird, called Sprig, to fly lead to Josh breaking his leg, in turn forcing the decision for Jadran to live full-time at his "special school." Rebelling against the separation, and under the guise of returning Sprig to his now-faraway flock, the boys make a madcap escape via tractor, wheelchair and crane in tow. Their adventure strains credulity, and depictions of Jadran seesaw between respecting his moments of insight and patronizing his emotional immaturity and volatility, but the brothers' love and loyalty, as well as the newly blended family's growing union, gives the story a strong emotional foundation. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Gr 5-8--Even though Josh is five years younger than his 16-year-old brother Jadran, their mother calls him Jadran's "guardian angel." Because Jadran has an unnamed cognitive condition that manifests in obsessive trains of thought and (sometimes violent) outbursts, she relies on Josh to take care of him. At Jadran's school, The Space, students are told "If you really want to do it, you can do anything!" which is likely why he believes he and his family--including his mother's new love interest, Murad, and his daughter, Yasmin, both of whom just moved in--can rehabilitate an injured crane left behind by a crane family who flew south for winter. After an accident where Jadran causes Josh serious injuries, The Space offers Jadran residency because it is "better for everyone." Believing that brothers belong together and that the crane--who the brothers have dubbed Sprig--also deserves to be with his family, Jadran steals a tractor from The Space and he, Josh, and Sprig set off on an unlikely adventure to save each other. While illustrating the headspace of an 11-year-old grappling with his absent father, his neuroatypical brother, and new family members in a compelling way, the all-too-neat ending that seems to skate over Jadran's true needs is concerning. No characters' races are mentioned; Jadran, Josh, and their mother are assumed Dutch-white; Murad and Yasmin are Muslim. VERDICT An additional purchase where foreign translations or stories about brotherhood are highly coveted.--Brittany Drehobl, Morton Grove P.L., IL