AGE: 13 up
Erlinda can’t sleep: tomorrow her
childhood will be over and she’ll be a Flyer. She’ll leave the nest where she’s
been raised with her age group; new winglets on her ankles will enable her to
fly, and she’ll know what her mission is.
Erlinda lives on the planet Mercurium,
to which her human forefathers migrated from Earth. They set up a colony,
protected by a special dome, and have developed the ability to fly. But not all
the migrants joined the colony: outside the dome live the Grounders, those
humans who refused to develop winglets and are ground-bound. The Flyers see
them as enemies and stay away from them, but they need a spy to go into enemy territory.
Much to Erlinda’s surprise, and against her will, this is Erlinda’s mission.
Erlinda has always known that she’s
different—there’s a rumor that her parents were traitors, and she doesn’t know
what happened to them. Now she discovers that only she can be a spy, because
she can make her winglets invisible. So, after training, she sets out for the
unknown, leaving behind her beloved Omine. Yet Omine, a graduate of a military
academy, will lead the attack against the Grounders. Nobody knows about his doubts,
or his love and fear for Erlinda.
Although Taking Wing takes
place in a distant, imaginary galaxy, this clever and gripping novel deals with
issues that concern us in the here and now.
Huan B. Landi is the pseudonym that
Nava Semel has chosen for her new trilogy--she feels that her new venture as a
fantasy writer requires a new authorial identity.
PARTIAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION AVAILABLE (for publishers only)
REVIEWS
This
book certainly has abundant potential, both colorful and tempting, and its
subtle humor saves it from falling into the clichés that it itself presents …
Will definitely be enjoyed by youngsters
Nano Shabtai, Haaretz
A
highly imaginative Israeli author … The book is replete with imagination and
thought-provoking ... [Nava Semel] creates a wondrous world, including a
made-up mythology that supplies a fantastical escape in every sense from the
difficulties of adolescence.
Maya Levin, Laisha