Wings (Mysterious Mr. Spines Series #1) »

Jason Lethcoe lives in Newbury Park, California. Katrina Damkoehler lives in New York,New York.

When Edward's mother dies, his aunt sends him to a school for troubled youths. There, Edward develops an itch in his back that he can't scratch, and when he gets angry it seems like he can move things with his mind. When the itch erupts into a set of wings, an evil teacher tries to cut them off. Edward is rescued by Mr. Spines, who reveals that Edward is a Guardian, a magical being who guards and guides souls in the Woodbine, a stopover between life and death.

Edward will now have to battle the most evil force in the Woodbine, the Jackal, and his army of fallen Guardians. They have destroyed the bridges that lead to the afterlife, trapping countless souls. Edward is unprepared for so much responsibility and he runs away and becomes lost in the Woodbine. There he must find his own voice and learn to master his powers as he is pulled from side to side by magical forces he is only beginning to understand.

Publishers Weekly

The fast-paced first book in the Mysterious Mr. Spines series opens at the sinister boarding school Edward has attended since his mother's death (classes include "Care and Maintenance of Sewer Pipes" and "Bottle Cap Production"). When a pair of feathered wings suddenly erupts from the teenager's back, Mr. Spines, a "gnarled creature" with prickly quills and a stovepipe hat, springs the boy from the school. He reveals Edward's true identity: he's a Guardian, one of the winged protectors of the Woodbine, where humans go after they die and where a nefarious fallen Guardian, the Jackal, has a fortress. Mr. Spines is determined to transport Edward to the Woodbine to reunite him with his mother. Lethcoe (The Misadventures of Benjamin Piff) introduces a cadre of inventive mixed-species characters and offers several gripping, split-second escapes from villains. Clearly a setup for future installments, little is resolved by the end of this volume. Some readers will readily embrace Lethcoe's fantasy world (an included glossary helps somewhat), but others may not find enough to keep their attention. Ages 10-up. (Mar.)

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