‘Flexible Wings’ by Veda Stamps is an intimate telling of a young girl’s love for her family and passion for swimming. Summer is the daughter of two military parents, and even though everyone around her sees them as heroes, Summer cannot seem to come to terms with this fact. To her, they are just her parents – people who are tearing her away from the first home she has lived in over several years that she has not wanted to leave. Leaving her best friend Esmerelda and the people and places she knows does not seem like it will be easy, but there is no getting out of it.
When the family makes the move to Valencia, California, Summer must learn to transform herself into a strong-willed young woman, as her entrance into sixth grade looms ever closer. When her mom is deployed yet again, Summer grapples with feelings of anger at her mother for leaving the family, and insecurity at not being able to make friends during this transitional time in her life. Eager to join the swim team, her parents sign her up before her mom’s deployment, and she begins her competitive career. The coach, in tune with Summer’s needs, and trying to help her succeed to the best of her ability, gives his team pep talks. His focus stems around encouraging his team to be flexible, fearless, and focused – three traits that Summer finds herself being more accomplished in as the novel goes on.
Her flexibility comes about in terms of a metaphor that the author has injected into the novel – a hummingbird. Early on in the novel, as Summer and her family first move into their new home, she comes across a hummingbird, which she describes to be “fearlessly hovering” in front of her. She “can’t believe how fast its wings are – flexible – and colorful!” She wonders “if their flexibility is what makes them able to be so quick and so fearless.” Watching Summer evolve as the novel progressed, into a smart, focused, and driven young woman constantly reminded me of the description of the hummingbird from earlier on in the storytelling. Summer finds flexibility in her new life while her mother is away, she finds the courage to be fearless, and she remains focused on her goals, all the while remaining hopeful that her life will not veer too far off the path that she has liked it being on so far.
Veda Stamps crafted a realistic, courageous, and metaphorical tale of hope, strength, and love, and I am eager to read more of her work. The read was quick and full of encouraging ideas, as well as the normal middle school drama, that make reading young adult and middle grade novels so worthwhile.
You can find ‘Flexible Wings’ by Veda Stamps here.