If These Wings Could Fly: A haunting YA novel of domestic violence, sisterhood, and first love―set in a town besieged by thousands of crows - Hardcover

McCauley, Kyrie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062885022 ISBN 13: 9780062885029

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2020

Synopsis

Perfect for fans of Laura Ruby, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Mindy McGinnis, Kyrie McCauley’s stunning YA debut is a powerful story about the haunting specter of domestic violence and the rebellious forces of sisterhood and first love. Winner of the William C. Morris Award!

Tens of thousands of crows invading Auburn, Pennsylvania, is a problem for everyone in town except seventeen-year-old Leighton Barnes. For Leighton, it’s no stranger than her house, which inexplicably repairs itself every time her father loses his temper and breaks things.

Leighton doesn’t have time for the crows―it’s her senior year, and acceptance to her dream college is finally within reach. But grabbing that lifeline means abandoning her sisters, a choice she’s not ready to face.

With her father’s rage worsening and the town in chaos over the crows, Leighton allows herself a chance at happiness with Liam, her charming classmate, even though falling in love feels like a revolutionary act.

Balancing school, dating, and survival under the shadow of sixty thousand feathered wings starts to feel almost comfortable, but Leighton knows that this fragile equilibrium can only last so long before it shatters.

• Magical Realism: Leighton’s house inexplicably mends itself after her father’s rages, hiding the cracks in their family―and the escalating danger.
• Sisterhood and Survival: Faced with a chance to escape to college, Leighton must make an impossible choice: save herself or stay to protect her younger sisters from their father’s violent temper.
• A Tentative First Love: Finding romance with her classmate Liam feels like an act of rebellion, offering a glimpse of happiness that might be shattered at any moment.
• Atmospheric Small Town Setting: As tens of thousands of crows descend on Auburn, Pennsylvania, their mysterious arrival mirrors the darkness gathering inside the Barnes’s home.

About this title

About the Author

Kyrie McCauley is the author of If These Wings Could Fly, winner of the William C. Morris YA Debut Award; We Can Be Heroes; Bad Graces; and All the Dead Lie Down. She has also been a waitress, nanny, singer in a band, ACLU intern, rally organizer, Truman Scholar, and, most recently, a mother and a writer. She holds a master of science in social policy from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives near Philadelphia with her husband, children, and several ill-mannered but beloved cats. You can visit Kyrie at kyriemccauley.com.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062885022
• ISBN 13: 9780062885029
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400