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The Importance of Wings
An Israeli immigrant's journey to become a "real" American.
With their mother caring for relatives in Israel and their father driving a cab all hours of the day, Roxanne and her sister, Gayle, spend a lot of time watching television reruns of Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, and Wonder Woman—perfect examples of perfect Americans. Roxanne is desperate to be like them.
When Liat, a fellow Israeli, moves into the "Cursed House" next door, things begin to change and Roxanne realizes that maybe real life isn’t like TV—maybe it’s even better. The novel is set on Staten Island, New York, in the early 1980’s.
With their mother caring for relatives in Israel and their father driving a cab all hours of the day, Roxanne and her sister, Gayle, spend a lot of time watching television reruns of Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, and Wonder Woman—perfect examples of perfect Americans. Roxanne is desperate to be like them.
When Liat, a fellow Israeli, moves into the "Cursed House" next door, things begin to change and Roxanne realizes that maybe real life isn’t like TV—maybe it’s even better. The novel is set on Staten Island, New York, in the early 1980’s.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
4 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Robin Friedman
9 books12 followersGrowing up, Robin Friedman loved to write, but it was not until after she had worked as an editor in New York City and attended a year of law school that she finally decided to pursue a career as a children's book author. Beginning her writing career in 2000, Friedman is the author of How I Survived My Summer Vacation: And Lived to Write the Story and The Silent Witness.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
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June 23, 2012This intermediate chapter book is geared more for a girl’s audience. I would say the target audience is girls from 3rd grade and up. This book is appealing to young girls because it touches on a lot of problems most girls have as they are coming of age, such as being made fun of, feeling like you don’t fit in, and having a crush on a boy that doesn’t see you that way. This book is fast-paced and very relatable and would be great for reluctant readers. This book won a 2010 Sydney Taylor book award.
March 8, 2019
This book is about an Israeli immigrant who tries her best to be like an American but has trouble at school, etc. Her family is not as wealthy as other families and she spends her free time at home with her sister watching TV. Her mom went to Israel to help out family members for many months and Gayle and her Emily miss her miserably. When new neighbors move in, a girl that moves there become their friend who changes their lives a lot. I don't like this book very much because Emily is so negative throughout the book but it did keep me hooked most of the book.
June 18, 2017
it was sad in the end but definitely a book to learn from! make a sequel!
February 5, 2018
this was a fun easy book, I actually really liked it because it was relevant for my interest in books
September 25, 2021
This book was amazing! This book is a lovely story of finding yourself, and finally accepting who you are, as the main character, Roxanne, was able to do.
November 9, 2016
My first thought while reading this was that its written in such a 'now' way that it didn't feel as if it was the early 1980's. Other then some topical news mentions, this book could have been set today (2009) instead of nearly 30 years ago. Robin Friedman mentions in a blurb in the back of the book that she purposely set the novel in the 80's for several reasons--1) because she grew up in the 80's, 2) to avoid the whole 'technology' evolution with new tech always being introduced and 3) the post 9/11 world makes any story set about Israel or the Middle East complex, so she wanted to show that at one time the complex was a little more simple.
I've never had to worry about not fitting in because of a difference in race or religious creed, it's just always been a matter of course for me to want to be different. The other girls didn't want to read, I did, so well guess I'll be different then. The need that Roxanne feels to be as American as possible--going as far as to change her name so it sounds more anglicized and devoting most of her free time to watching The Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie and shows like that depicting what a 'true American' family or girl was supposed to be like...I've never felt that. But reading about her insecurities, her all-encompassing fear of being left behind and considered uncool, I could relate with those feelings. Who hasn't felt like that at one time or another? Even the most confident person has doubts--they might not show them, or admit them, but they do.
I wanted so much for Roxanne to be accepted, but like her, once I met Liat I began to see a different way for her to belong. She could be Israeli and American at the same time, melding the two cultures together to make a more complete version of who she was. I did question her common sense though, especially her taste in crushes. But that could easily be blamed upon her obsession with being 'All American'. I don't think her crush reflected badly on who she was, but rather who she wanted to be.
The book feels slow in some passages and in others too quick (such as Roxanne's change of heart), so that led to some uneven reading at times. Since this is told from Roxanne's first person POV in the present tense, we don't get a real sense of what others are thinking. I would have liked to know what Liat was thinking at times, because sometimes it felt like she was just putting up with Roxanne and other times as if she really cared. I think she was exasperated with her often, especially whenever Roxanne would make a silly or insensitive comment about their own customs.
The title itself refers to a certain hairstyle from that era, but also to Roxanne's change in attitude. 'Wings' was the quintessential meaning of being an All-American girl to Roxanne and she felt that having the hairstyle was the most important thing in the world to her. With one remark Liat gives her such a hard metaphorical slap in the face that I could feel the sting. I didn't blame Liat for that though--Roxanne's remark was careless and ill-timed given the events before.
All in all I enjoyed reading The Importance of Wings--it was a different style for me, a different author in fact, but I'm glad that I had this chance. Roxanne reminded me of myself more often then not when I was her age--so desperate to be anything but what and who I was, just to escape the uncomfortable realities of the world around me.
I've never had to worry about not fitting in because of a difference in race or religious creed, it's just always been a matter of course for me to want to be different. The other girls didn't want to read, I did, so well guess I'll be different then. The need that Roxanne feels to be as American as possible--going as far as to change her name so it sounds more anglicized and devoting most of her free time to watching The Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie and shows like that depicting what a 'true American' family or girl was supposed to be like...I've never felt that. But reading about her insecurities, her all-encompassing fear of being left behind and considered uncool, I could relate with those feelings. Who hasn't felt like that at one time or another? Even the most confident person has doubts--they might not show them, or admit them, but they do.
I wanted so much for Roxanne to be accepted, but like her, once I met Liat I began to see a different way for her to belong. She could be Israeli and American at the same time, melding the two cultures together to make a more complete version of who she was. I did question her common sense though, especially her taste in crushes. But that could easily be blamed upon her obsession with being 'All American'. I don't think her crush reflected badly on who she was, but rather who she wanted to be.
The book feels slow in some passages and in others too quick (such as Roxanne's change of heart), so that led to some uneven reading at times. Since this is told from Roxanne's first person POV in the present tense, we don't get a real sense of what others are thinking. I would have liked to know what Liat was thinking at times, because sometimes it felt like she was just putting up with Roxanne and other times as if she really cared. I think she was exasperated with her often, especially whenever Roxanne would make a silly or insensitive comment about their own customs.
The title itself refers to a certain hairstyle from that era, but also to Roxanne's change in attitude. 'Wings' was the quintessential meaning of being an All-American girl to Roxanne and she felt that having the hairstyle was the most important thing in the world to her. With one remark Liat gives her such a hard metaphorical slap in the face that I could feel the sting. I didn't blame Liat for that though--Roxanne's remark was careless and ill-timed given the events before.
All in all I enjoyed reading The Importance of Wings--it was a different style for me, a different author in fact, but I'm glad that I had this chance. Roxanne reminded me of myself more often then not when I was her age--so desperate to be anything but what and who I was, just to escape the uncomfortable realities of the world around me.
September 26, 2012
This book is a really good book. his book would go on my favorites list. This book is about a girl named Roxanne, her Isreali name is Rivet. She has a little sister named Gayle, her Isreali name is Galei. Next door to them is a house that is cursed. Whoever lived there something has happened to them. For example there is a girl who they called Stood-Up Serena. They call her that because at her senior prom she got stood up by her date and she walked into the woods which is right behind there house and she vanished. Another example is a family moved in and their youngest child fell down the stairs and broke his/hers neck. The next week when the parents were going to the funeral they got killed by a milj truck smashing into them. A girl moves in to the cursed house her name is Liat, she is also Isreali. Her and Roxanne become best friends. At the end of the book Liat's house goes do into flames and when it's done there is nothing there. They move it Rivka's apartment, Rivka is her dad's girlfriend since his wife past away in a bombing in Isreal. They decide to move back to Isreal. Since Roxanne's mom is in Isreal, taking care of her sister she is coming back in 3 weeks after Liat goes to the airport. Liat and Roxanne cry for hours, they are so sad that Liat is moving.
September 25, 2009
Nothing is right anymore: Roxanne's mother is in Israel caring for her sick sister, her father is working long hours as a cab driver, and she is left looking after her little sister, Gayle.
Meanwhile, fitting in at middle school is no easy thing, especially without the right clothes and the right hairstyle: the difficult to construct "wings" of the title.
When a new girl moves into the cursed pink house on her street, life becomes more interesting. Liat is also Israeli; she is also motherless, although permanently so, her mother having been killed in a bombing in Israel; she's tough; and she doesn't care about what other kids think of her.
Liat puts Roxanne's troubles into a new light, and she matures as she deals with her situation.
Unfortunately, the setting of the book in the 1970s, with the TV shows of those years, will not draw in readers, and the concept of a house with a curse (which does play out once again at the end of the book), is a plot device more suited to a younger audience.
Meanwhile, fitting in at middle school is no easy thing, especially without the right clothes and the right hairstyle: the difficult to construct "wings" of the title.
When a new girl moves into the cursed pink house on her street, life becomes more interesting. Liat is also Israeli; she is also motherless, although permanently so, her mother having been killed in a bombing in Israel; she's tough; and she doesn't care about what other kids think of her.
Liat puts Roxanne's troubles into a new light, and she matures as she deals with her situation.
Unfortunately, the setting of the book in the 1970s, with the TV shows of those years, will not draw in readers, and the concept of a house with a curse (which does play out once again at the end of the book), is a plot device more suited to a younger audience.
April 1, 2013
Audience: Excellent chapter book for intermediate grade levels 5-8. Teacher's should use discretion before choosing this as a read-aloud classroom book, as a romantic relationship 'crush' is discussed periodically.
Appeal: The story will captivate readers with the mystery of a "Cursed House" in the neighborhood and the dangerous coincidences that seem to happen mysteriously to anyone who lives in the house. The author also uses Ema's absence as a cliffhanger throughout the book (which is what kept my curiosity piqued).
Application: This is a great book to facilitate conversation within a literature circle about differences and acceptance. Roxanne just wants to live the American life: family dinners, Americanized names, sports, etc. but she can't seem to fit in. Then she meets Liat, and everything changes...including her perspective.
Awards: 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner
March 18, 2009
This is a 2.5 from me.
This book had a lot of really interesting ideas: childhood in the 1980s, whether or not to assimilate as an immigrant, what it means to be Israeli in America, changing nature of friendship, life just on the cusp of coming-of-age, a cursed house and so on. But it just never coalesced into a coherent and interesting story. Which is a shame, because I kept wanting this to be a better book. It reads like a late draft of a book that still needs work.
I would have like to have seen more done with the 1980s setting. I know that it was partially chosen to avoid the political messiness that would have to be involved in a story about Israelis in a later period. But if you have that setting, you should use it more. Also, the transliteration of the Hebrew was strange. I had to keep saying things out loud before I knew what word it was.
Final verdict: It felt so promising - I wish it were better.
This book had a lot of really interesting ideas: childhood in the 1980s, whether or not to assimilate as an immigrant, what it means to be Israeli in America, changing nature of friendship, life just on the cusp of coming-of-age, a cursed house and so on. But it just never coalesced into a coherent and interesting story. Which is a shame, because I kept wanting this to be a better book. It reads like a late draft of a book that still needs work.
I would have like to have seen more done with the 1980s setting. I know that it was partially chosen to avoid the political messiness that would have to be involved in a story about Israelis in a later period. But if you have that setting, you should use it more. Also, the transliteration of the Hebrew was strange. I had to keep saying things out loud before I knew what word it was.
Final verdict: It felt so promising - I wish it were better.
September 26, 2009
Middle-schooler Roxanne spends her days watching television reruns with her sister, mooning over the boy down the street, and dreading gym class. Her father works long hours as a taxi driver, and her mother is on an extended visit to Israel to care for a family member. Although Roxanne was born in Israel, she wants more than anything to be "all-American". It takes some important lessons from her new neighbor, Liat, to teach her how to be herself. This is a sweet coming of age tale that has a strong feeling of autobiography to it. Roxanne's desire to be "American" in every way is mentioned repeatedly throughout the novel, well past what would be necessary to let the reader know about it, but the writing is solid overall. Despite an intriguing suggestion of doom for Liat in the beginning, there is very little tension (or action) in the novel. A nice, if slightly dull, slice of 1980s life.
July 28, 2009
The Importance of Wings is a coming of age tale. Taking place in the 80's, the main character, Roxanne, believes that one of the most important things in the world is to have the right style of hair: "wings." She believes that, if she had these wings, she would be popular in school. All of this changes when Roxanne meets her new next-door neighbor, Liat. Through Liat, Roxanne learns about more important things in life, like family and heritage.
I was excited when I found out this book took place in the 80's because I grew up in the 80's. Like Roxanne, I was obsessed with TV like the Brady Bunch and Dukes of Hazzard.
The interaction in the book seemed realistic but short. I feel like this could have been done as a short story and not a novel. The message is to accept yourself as you are and be happy and not worry about what others think.
I was excited when I found out this book took place in the 80's because I grew up in the 80's. Like Roxanne, I was obsessed with TV like the Brady Bunch and Dukes of Hazzard.
The interaction in the book seemed realistic but short. I feel like this could have been done as a short story and not a novel. The message is to accept yourself as you are and be happy and not worry about what others think.
September 12, 2009
I just finished reading “The Importance of Wings” by Robin Friedman. It is the story of a 13 year old Israeli girl who is living in America. With her mother caring for a sick relative back in Israel and her father working long hours as a taxi driver, she and her sister spend their time trying to be as “American” as possible. They want this so badly that they have even changed their names, but nothing seems to help them feel comfortable in their own skin, that is until they meet Liat.
This is a great coming of age story about family, dreams, and the importance of accepting who we are as individuals. It is recommended for ages 11 – 14. While I enjoyed the references to the time period in which it is set (early 80's), I wish there was a little more emotional depth.
This is a great coming of age story about family, dreams, and the importance of accepting who we are as individuals. It is recommended for ages 11 – 14. While I enjoyed the references to the time period in which it is set (early 80's), I wish there was a little more emotional depth.
April 1, 2010
I loved the connection between the two girls, Roxanne and Liat. Roxanne looks for a role model to be American but finds it in the person most like herself, a little Israeli girl named Liat.
The idea of the Curse fell a little flat, mainly because it wasn't as strong of an analogy as it could've been. I think the father and the boys' anger issues needed to be explored in order to give the work more depth. As it is, I would say it's a easy, interesting read that young girls around 5th and 6th grade could empathize with.
The idea of the Curse fell a little flat, mainly because it wasn't as strong of an analogy as it could've been. I think the father and the boys' anger issues needed to be explored in order to give the work more depth. As it is, I would say it's a easy, interesting read that young girls around 5th and 6th grade could empathize with.
July 12, 2011
eh..... Twas okay. Kinda dull. Kinda rushed. I had like 0 in common with the main character. But eh. It was fine. A good book to read in breaks at play rehearsal. Not really recommended but not worth the energy to not recommend. Yeah the only part I thought was original and worth mentioning was Rivka who was mildly but not really that amusing. It was one of those books that I probably would have stopped reading had it been 200 pages longer but it was so short and had such a big font that i was finished with it before I even realized it.
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April 9, 2009Charming quick read about the daughter is Israeli parents dealing with the tensions between her parents culture and her desire to fit in as an American -- probably relevant to some extent to any immigrant experience.
Set in the 80s, so lots of 80s pop-culture references (the wings in the title would, yes, be those feathered hair wings), which was both fun and a little disconcerting, because it means my childhood has become the stuff of historical fiction. :-)
Set in the 80s, so lots of 80s pop-culture references (the wings in the title would, yes, be those feathered hair wings), which was both fun and a little disconcerting, because it means my childhood has become the stuff of historical fiction. :-)
April 21, 2010
Roxanne is an Israeli girl growing up in the New York suburbs. Her mother is in Israel helping her sick sister, and her father is a busy cab driver, leaving Roxanne and her sister mainly on their own. A new neighbor, an Israeli-American girl named Liat, helps Roxanne move beyond her focus on television and peer pressure to become more of her own person. Boys and television are a big part of the story, making it not suitable for religious readers.
May 8, 2013
I loved The Importance of Wings. It's set in the 1980s, which allowed me to reminiscence about my childhood. I liked how Roxanne and Gayle discovered that being American doesn't mean giving up your heritage. I think Roxanne, Gayle, and Liat will do well in the future.
July 22, 2009
An interesting new 1980s nostalgia book.
August 3, 2010
A stranger comes to town. File under: pubescent girls, 1980s, Israeli-American, Hebrew, social anxiety, one-parent family, gaining courage.
July 21, 2010
Well deserving of the Sydney Taylor Award.
February 26, 2011
was ok but not bookclub material
April 18, 2011
This book was good and has a good message, but it was not one of my favorite books, still worth it!
September 17, 2011
it was alright. it's always strange to read a book set in the 80's - not sure how today's kids react to that.
coming of age story. self-identification.
coming of age story. self-identification.
January 28, 2013
Its not that great but at the same time it was ok. The only thing i didnt like is te charecterization
December 25, 2014
Would be good for tween book club discussion.
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