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We Never Asked for Wings: A Novel
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Published:
Books on Tape 2015
Status:
Available from OverDrive

Description

From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers comes her much-anticipated new novel about young love, hard choices, and hope against all odds.
 
For fourteen years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children—Alex, fifteen, and Luna, just six—in their tiny apartment on a forgotten spit of wetlands near the bay. But now Letty’s parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life.
 
Navigating this new terrain is challenging for Letty, especially as Luna desperately misses her grandparents and Alex, who is falling in love with a classmate, is unwilling to give his mother a chance. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything she’s worked for and her family’s fragile hopes for the future.
 
Vanessa Diffenbaugh blends gorgeous prose with compelling themes of motherhood, undocumented immigration, and the American Dream in a powerful and prescient story about family.
Praise for We Never Asked for Wings
 
“Deftly blends family conflict with reassurance: Wings is like Parenthood with class and immigration issues added for gravitas.”People (Book of the Week)
 
“This poignant story will stay in readers’ hearts long after the last page. . . . Diffenbaugh weaves in the plight of undocumented immigrants to her tale of first- and second-generation Americans struggling to make their way in America. Moving without being maudlin, this story avoids the stereotypes in its stark portrayal of mothers who just want the best for their children.”RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
 
“Diffenbaugh is a storyteller of the highest order: her simple but poetic prose makes even this most classically American story sing with a special kind of vulnerable beauty.”Bustle
 
“[A] gripping, heartfelt exploration of a mother’s love, resilience and redemption.”Family Circle
 
“Satisfying storytelling . . . Diffenbaugh delivers a heartwarming journey that mixes redemption and optimistic insight [and] confirms her gift for creating shrewd, sympathetic charmers.”Kirkus Reviews

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More Details

Format:
OverDrive Listen
Edition:
Unabridged
Street Date:
08/18/2015
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781101888643

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Citations

APA Citation (style guide)

Vanessa Diffenbaugh. (2015). We Never Asked for Wings: A Novel. Unabridged Books on Tape.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Vanessa Diffenbaugh. 2015. We Never Asked for Wings: A Novel. Books on Tape.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Vanessa Diffenbaugh, We Never Asked for Wings: A Novel. Books on Tape, 2015.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Vanessa Diffenbaugh. We Never Asked for Wings: A Novel. Unabridged Books on Tape, 2015.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.

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Shared Digital Collection21

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Grouped Work ID:
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Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 16:07:41
Date Updated:
Dec 06, 2020 02:42:21
Last Metadata Check:
Dec 08, 2024 07:33:11
Last Metadata Change:
Nov 24, 2024 07:43:17
Last Availability Check:
Dec 08, 2024 07:33:14
Last Availability Change:
Dec 06, 2024 16:46:12
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Dec 12, 2024 02:10:21

OverDrive Product Record

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We Never Asked for Wings
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From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers comes her much-anticipated new novel about young love, hard choices, and hope against all odds.
 
For fourteen years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children—Alex, fifteen, and Luna, just six—in their tiny apartment on a forgotten spit of wetlands near the bay. But now Letty’s parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life.
 
Navigating this new terrain is challenging for Letty, especially as Luna desperately misses her grandparents and Alex, who is falling in love with a classmate, is unwilling to give his mother a chance. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything she’s worked for and her family’s fragile hopes for the future.
 
Vanessa Diffenbaugh blends gorgeous prose with compelling themes of motherhood, undocumented immigration, and the American Dream in a powerful and prescient story about family.
Praise for We Never Asked for Wings
 
“Deftly blends family conflict with reassurance: Wings is like Parenthood with class and immigration issues added for gravitas.”People (Book of the Week)
 
“This poignant story will stay in readers’ hearts long after the last page. . . . Diffenbaugh weaves in the plight of undocumented immigrants to her tale of first- and second-generation Americans struggling to make their way in America. Moving without being maudlin, this story avoids the stereotypes in its stark portrayal of mothers who just want the best for their children.”RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
 
“Diffenbaugh is a storyteller of the highest order: her simple but poetic prose makes even this most classically American story sing with a special kind of vulnerable beauty.”Bustle
 
“[A] gripping, heartfelt exploration of a mother’s love, resilience and redemption.”Family Circle
 
“Satisfying storytelling . . . Diffenbaugh delivers a heartwarming journey that mixes redemption and optimistic insight [and] confirms her gift for creating shrewd, sympathetic charmers.”Kirkus Reviews
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: AudioFile Magazine
      • content: Narrators Emma Bering and Robbie Daymond are the best part of this novel, which is unrealistic and abounds with stereotypes. Letty Espinosa had her first baby as a teenager, and her parents raised her children while she worked as a bartender. Things drastically change when her parents suddenly return to Mexico and Letty, at age 33, must care for her kids for the first time. While Bering is ideal as flighty, irresponsible Letty and spirited 6-year-old Luna, she's flawless as Latino parents Maria Elena and Enrique. Daymond inhabits 15-year-old Alex as he copes with school, meets his absent dad, and protects his fragile girlfriend. Daymond and Bering deftly convey compassion for the poor and for immigrants--legal and illegal. However, the novel's contrived conclusion will disappoint many listeners. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
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From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers comes her much-anticipated new novel about young love, hard choices, and hope against all odds.
 
For fourteen years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children—Alex, fifteen, and Luna, just six—in their tiny apartment on a forgotten spit of wetlands near the bay. But now Letty’s parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life.
 
Navigating this new terrain is challenging for Letty, especially as Luna desperately misses her grandparents and Alex, who is falling in love with a classmate, is unwilling to give his mother a chance. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything...
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