Ava's a well-written character --- she's a believable 12 year-old, with her emotions sometimes on a bit of a rollercoaster, just over a boy she likes (not to mention the whole feather thing). Lucky for her, she's got a good best friend (even if she's a bit odd at times), and a supportive father. She's annoyingly impulsive at times, but at the same time, pretty thoughtful about what she begins to learn about the Swan Maidens.

I also liked how the author gives us a different twist on the whole growing-older-you-are-changing time of life that we experience at 13 (or around that age). The early teenage years are a period of sometimes turbulent changes (physical, emotional, etc.) -- and here, the twist is that Ava is changing into something completely unique. It's definitely a different way of approaching that period in a girl's life -- and what I really appreciated was that Ava doesn't berate herself for being different. At first, she's not that happy about her looks, especially compared to the popular girls at school, then understandably, begins to panic when the feathers start coming in. However, when she discovers the power that lies in her feathers, and understands what it is to be a swan, she then embraces who she is. Her change is what makes her feel powerful. That's positive -- and that's a powerful message to girls reading this book. Her change also makes her view some of her other classmates differently; if she has this magical secret, maybe someone else does, too. Just the idea is something exciting (and imagine if that kind of thing could explain someone's behavior, for example).

FULL REVIEW on my blog: Fluidityoftime.blogspot.com ( )