A Wish For Wings

by Robert Swindells

Jenna is thirteen and has suddenly realized what she wants to do with her life. She wants to fly. But Jenna's wish for wings has to be put on hold when something awful happens: Grandad's souvenir of his wartime service--a loaded gun--goes missing. Jenna is almost certain that her brother, Ned, has taken it. And that sinister, nasty Gavin Lassiter is involved...

4 pages, Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Robert Swindells was born in Bradford in 1939, the eldest of five children. He left the local Secondary Modern School at fifteen to work as a copy holder on the local newspaper. At seventeen he enlisted in the RAF and served for three years, two in Germany. On being discharged he worked as a clerk, engineer and printer until 1969 when he entered college to train as a teacher having obtained five 'O' levels at night-school. His first book 'When Darkness Comes' was written as a college thesis and published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1972. In 1980 he gave up teaching to write full time. He likes travelling and visits many schools each year, talking and reading stories to children. He is the secutatry of his local Peace Movement group. Brother in the Land is his first book for Oxford University Press. He is married with two grown-up daughters and lives in Bradford.

Author description taken from Brother in the Land.

Reviews

[SBC · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this, as I didn't like the way it was written - a bit too thoughtful and fatalistic, and I didn't find the characters appealing. I was appalled at the way the girl's family treated her - her relationship with her brother, and her parents ignoring or patronising her career goal. The girl wants to be an airline pilot. The overall plot was about a dangerous and nasty school bully getting her brother involved by stealing their grandfather's old war-stolen gun.

[Alyssa Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very lovely little book it was quite short, but I liked it. It had a good message.