The Wall and the Wing

Ruby, Laura

ISBN 10: 0060752564 ISBN 13: 9780060752569

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2006

Synopsis

In a future New York where most people can fly and cats are a rarity, a nondescript resident of Hope House for the Homeless and Hopeless discovers that although she is shunned as a "leadfoot," she has the surprising ability to become invisible.

About this title

About the Author:

Laura Ruby is a Chicago-based writer and author of LILY’S GHOSTS, a mystery novel for children. A Parent’s Choice Silver Honor Award winner and a nominee for the 2004 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, LILY’S GHOSTS was also selected for Chicago Public Library’s "Best of the Best" and the New York Public Library’s "Books for the Teen Age" lists. She writes short fiction for adults, which has appeared in such magazines as Other Voices, The Florida Review, and Literal Latte.

As a child, Laura liked to ask people nosy questions such as "If everyone in the world was either a jerk or a creep, which one are you?" and "Would you rather have the power of invisibility or the power to fly?" She discovered that there are an awful lot of jerks flying around this world and not nearly enough invisible creeps. THE WALL AND THE WING is her tribute to them both.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8–In a New York City of the future, almost everyone can fly–except for leadfoots like 12-year-old Gurl, an orphan at the Hope House for the Homeless and Hopeless. When she sneaks out one night to rummage for food, she discovers that she can make herself invisible. When Mrs. Terwiliger, the matron who runs the institution, finds out about Gurls ability, she blackmails her into stealing clothing and perfumes and into fixing a $20,000 plastic surgeon bill by hacking into his computer. Bug, a new boy determined to fly, befriends Gurl and the mysterious cat she has found. They run away, only to be caught by notorious gangster Sweetcheeks Grabowski, who realizes that Gurl is a Wall, a person born every 100 years or so who can become invisible. He, too, has designs on her and will do anything to hang on to her. This poor-little-rich-girl story is packed with wildly eccentric characters, such as the Professor, who relies on his Answer Hand, which he bought on eBay, for information. There are also rat men with red eyes and filed teeth, a zipper-faced monster, a cat that showers and blow dries her fur, and mechanical monkeys that absorb the secrets and memories of the orphans. All of this fast-paced wackiness is told with humor, often black, that will have young readers giggling even as they cheer for Gurl and Bug, the Wall and the Wing.–Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0060752564
• ISBN 13: 9780060752569
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 336