If These Wings Could Fly by Kyrie McCauley

If These Wings Could Fly

by Kyrie McCauley

Perfect for fans of Laura Ruby, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Mindy McGinnis, Kyrie McCauley’s stunning YA debut is a powerful story about the haunting specter of domestic violence and the rebellious forces of sisterhood and first love. Winner of the William C. Morris Award!

Tens of thousands of crows invading Auburn, Pennsylvania, is a problem for everyone in town except seventeen-year-old Leighton Barnes. For Leighton, it’s no stranger than her house, which inexplicably repairs itself every time her father loses his temper and breaks things.

Leighton doesn’t have time for the crows—it’s her senior year, and acceptance to her dream college is finally within reach. But grabbing that lifeline means abandoning her sisters, a choice she’s not ready to face.

With her father’s rage worsening and the town in chaos over the crows, Leighton allows herself a chance at happiness with Liam, her charming classmate, even though falling in love feels like a revolutionary act.

Balancing school, dating, and survival under the shadow of sixty thousand feathered wings starts to feel almost comfortable, but Leighton knows that this fragile equilibrium can only last so long before it shatters.

Reviewed by Bianca on

4 of 5 stars

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He’s always sorry. He says it won’t happen again.
I know now that the last is never true. It will happen again. And he probably does love us, but it’s never been enough to make him stop. Instead, it makes it worse—his love for us. And ours for him. It makes it impossible to leave.


A magical realism story about a family living in a house that repairs itself from the damages of domestic violence—a metaphor for people turning a blind eye & being complicit in abuse. Just because the damages aren’t visible doesn’t mean they’re not there.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 15 July, 2020: Finished reading
  • 15 July, 2020: Reviewed