Just Jennifer

We Never Asked for Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Ballentine Books)

The gorgeous prose in this dual coming of age story focuses on a woman who always relied on her parents to raise her children; now Letty must be the grown-up and raise her own children when her parents return to their home in Mexico.  Fourteen-year-old Alex and six-year-old Luna have grown up knowing the love and care of their grandparents while their young mother struggles with her own life.  One night, Letty realizes her mother has gone to Mexico after her father and chases after the pair, planning to bring them home.  When she arrives in Mexico, she realizes her parents are home and aren’t returning to her life and must sort out how she is going to be a mother without help.  Making a few missteps, Letty works out a routine for her and her children and takes a big chance that will change everything for everyone, but has further reaching consequences than she would have guessed.  Alex, her fourteen-year-old son, experiences love for the first time and finds the father he never knew, the father who never knew of Alex.   Alex is a fierce, caring young man who has learned from his mother, but not that every action has consequences and almost destroys the things he loves most.  Diffenbaugh tackles the tough issues of immigration, extended families and young love with grace and compassion yet never providing any easy answers.  A natural fit for book groups.