Scars Like Wings

Scars Like Wings - Erin Stewart

(Release date: 3rd October 2019) 

Ava's life was changed forever when she was badly burned and left severely disfigured in a fire that killed her parents and her cousin, Sara.  A year, and 19 surgeries later, Aunt Cora (Sara's mum) has persuaded Ava that it's time for her to return to school.  Unable to bare seeing her old friends, she chooses  Crossroads High, with the understanding that she only needs to stay for 2 weeks.
      Then Ava meets Piper, a fellow burns survivor who is wheelchair bound.  Can they work together to conquer their fears and beat the stares at school?  Can they find their new 'normal'?

K's opinion:
With strong, contrasting characters, this book is written honestly, showing the full range of emotions and the reality of living with burns.
Ava is trapped between life before and after the fire.  Sever disfigurement is defining her, as well as her sense of guilt that Sara's parents are now looking after her.  She just wants to hide away and disappear.  By contrast, Piper is confident and seems to be owning her scars and injuries. But what lies beneath those scars?  As the pair become friends, what isn't Piper telling Ava? The contrast between the pair works well.

This is an emotional story about finding strength, finding courage and finding yourself. Tackling the issues of loss, change, friendship and family in a heart-felt way, this is a truly brilliant debut novel that I read in one go and which made me cry (whilst on a sun-

lounger round a pool!)!  It's a story that will stay with you long after you've finished the last page and shows us that it's important to understand that what you see in the mirror is just one part of what makes you you.  

I would like to say that Scars Like Wings is 'inspirational' but won't for reasons that will become clear when you read the book!  Instead, I will say that this is a heart-felt, heart-warming novel that should be read by everybody aged 12+.

O's opinion:
This book shows the troubles that disfigured people have to go through every day: the looks, the constant whispering behind their backs; everyday life is hard on them, and this book shows the feelings that they would have. Ava is shown to be a person who struggles to fit in but, as the book continues and she meets Piper, there is a new side to her. The side that is shown when people aren't mean to her every day, where she feels like she belongs.

This is a good book because it shows how we can help people who have been scarred in accidents by not staring at them or whispering about them behind their backs. I loved how Erin has written Ava as a real person with many different emotions.  It felt real to me.  I will definitely recommend Scars Like Wings to my friends.

Many thanks for Simon & Schuster for our ARC of this stunning novel.