Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Wings in the Wild simultaneously talks about how helpless we can feel as teens, and individuals, in the face of climate change, but also what we can do. How we can feel empowered. It's a lyrical in verse novel about art and censorship, about justice and sacrifice. Dual POV, Wings in the Wild revolves around two very different teens, but both united by their ability to see and support each other. Being in verse can sometimes be a challenge to portray action and dialogue, but Wings in the Wild never feels like it gets stuck.

An eloquent, lyrical, in-verse tale of two teenagers contending with fire and flood, displacement and loss, as they fall in love and set out to restore the natural beauty of a world being destroyed.

Margarita Engle's wonderful young adult novel Wings in the Wild is dedicated to "los caminantes cubanos y los costarricenses generosos," which translates to "the Cuban walkers and the generous Costa Ricans." She also dedicates it to "[the] tree planters and wing dreamers everywhere." The book's two protagonists are Dariel, the "Song-Boy" and Soleida, the "Tocororo-Girl," tocororo being the Spanish name for the Cuban trogon, Cuba's national bird.

Sixteen-year-old Soleida is the daughter of dissident Cuban artists, who secretly sculpt statues of winged beings into the trees of their garden. A muse for her parents and artistically expressive herself, Soleida rescues birds and snails, is raised on tales of the indigenous Taíno bird-girl legend, and dreams of a freedom she and her family have never known. When a hurricane rips away their home and exposes the forbidden artwork, Soleida and her parents are forced to flee. "Which country will accept us?" Soleida asks. "Hardly any nation in the world/grants visitors' visas to Cubans/because they're afraid/we'll stay."

The son of successful second-generation Cuban immigrants, Dariel lives in drought-ridden California. As a musician, he has an uncanny ability to attract birds and animals whenever he plays his guitar and sings in the old Cuban style known as filin, which his Abuelo (Grandfather) says is the Taíno gift of storytelling. After a forest fire which destroys his family home along with the surrounding woodland, Dariel rages against inaction in the face of climate change. His Abuelo is writing a book about Cuban walkers: refugees who fly from Cuba to South America, walk across the land, and get stranded in jungle camps in Costa Rica, on the border of Nicaragua, which refuses to allow them entry. Dariel goes to Costa Rica to help interview caminantes and there, in a border zone camp, he meets a "bald, silent, traumatized girl" named Soleida.

As Soleida's and Dariel's stories come together, two of the world's most urgent crises, refugees and climate change, merge to form the heart of this compelling and captivating book. Written entirely in heartfelt, crystal-clear verse, the book takes the reader on a powerful emotional journey with these two young people, who, despite the traumas and violence of their experiences, find strength and hope within themselves, joy and solace in their blossoming love for each other, and ingenuity and purpose in their determination to restore the beauty of the natural world being destroyed around them. Through their keen eyes and poetic words, Wings in the Wild retains a remarkable balance of darkness and light, never losing sight of hope in the wake of tragedy and loss. While the book does not shy away from the cruelty and horror of tyranny and the appalling treatment of refugees, it also affirms the kindness, empathy, and generosity of spirit among exiled communities and those who grant them sanctuary.

The glorious, brightly-colored wildlife of Cuba and Central America is vividly evoked with dazzling descriptions and potent imagery. Art, music, history, tradition, migration, exile, and environmental issues are all interwoven in the story, reflective of an ecosystem and pattern in which all unite to form a beautiful, cohesive whole. Wings in the Wild is a terrific read, stressing that the urgency of the problems facing our planet are as personal as they are global, and that individuals and a new generation can do a great deal to address them. Soleida and Dariel are tremendously sympathetic conveyors of this message, and their story should prove enthralling and inspirational.

This story was incredibly beautiful and eye opening. Engle's writing is stunning, and I loved how much she was able to do in such a short amount of time. I feel like it really captured the issues faced by teens all over the world.

I LOVED this book! I have never looked real closely into the history and issues in Cuba but this book makes it so easy to get drawn in to the beauty of hardship faced by it's people. This book is written in verse which makes it a quick and easy read but my no means less powerful. The focus not only on the refugee problems we are facing along with the environmental often made me forget that this book takes place in 2018/19. It was incredibly, if not more, relevant to what we are experiencing in our world today. This book is one that will stick with me for a long time.

I would like to thank NetGalley for supplying a free e-title of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Forced to flee Cuba because of her parents' work as artists, Soleida escapes to Central America, meeting Dairel, a Cuban American musician. Together they fight to protect the rain forest. Novel in verse with many Spanish phrases.

Beautiful novel in verse about a little known aspect of Cuban migration. The ecological themes added depth to the story and the relationship between the main characters highlights the Cuban diaspora very well. Highly recommend.

This is a beautiful novel in verse that looks at climate change and the difference we can make.
I think a lot of readers will like this one, as it is a quick read and looks at some very important topics.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

4 stars

Fans of Margarita Engle will get exactly what they expect and hope for in this latest installment: a tightly packed, lush verse novel that transports readers right to a specific location and makes us feel nearly as if we are characters ourselves.

Soleida and Dariel share perspectives as well as keen interests in the climate crisis and each other. As is the case with all of Engle's works that I've read, the verse is mindfully managed and spare but emotionally evocative, and this style works so well for the amount of passion these characters have. A favorite element here is that while these characters are interested in each other, their passion for the environment and for the future far outweighs any personal (i.e., romantic/sexual) concerns they may have. The commentary is clear but does not dip into the didactic, which I think will appeal greatly to a contemporary audience. Messaging relating to the power of young minds and votes - versus those of folks who don't care because, frankly, they just assume they'll be gone by the time "real" consequences appear is particularly moving.

I really enjoy Engle's work in general, but in terms of the subject matter, this most recent effort really stands out. I'm already looking forward to recommending it to students as a quick read and an engaging perspective on climate and culture.