What an amazing book.  I could not put this book down.  Such a life affirming read about a young teenage girl dealing with loss, loyalty compassion and fear.  Definitely need to have the tissues ready.

Scars Like Wings is a heart-breaking book in which we meet Ava, a teenage girl struggling to deal with the physical and emotional scars of surviving the catastrophic fire that killed her family. Erin Stewart delicately and beautifully captures not just the pain of the countless surgeries, masks and compression suits, but also the guilt and grief that eats away at Ava, and her writing reduced me to tears on more than one occasion.

Alongside Ava, we have Piper, a larger than life character who pushes Ava to start living again, and who seems to have everything worked out, but who, in reality, is free-falling. The friendship that these two girls forge quickly becomes something that they both need more than anyone can possibly understand, because at the end of the day, the only person who can truly understand is the one who has lived the same experiences and battled the same demons.

This book is a story about becoming comfortable in your own skin, in the truest sense of the phrase. It is about discovering your new normal after your life has been unimaginably and permanently altered. It is devastating and raw and beautiful, all at the same time, and as I sit here I am struggling to fully explain how it made me feel. This truly is a book that everyone needs to read for themselves, because nothing I can say will ever do it justice.

This is one of those beautiful books which everyone should read. It takes us through the journey towards of acceptance from a burns victim and how they struggle to find their place in the world. Emotional and touching, it really makes you think and bears reading and rereading.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Great book. I loved reading it. Very interesting and covers alot of information

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley. 

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. 
Natalie.

This was an unforgettable debut, perfect for fans of Wonder by R.J Palacio. Following Ava Lee as she returns to high school after a house fire that resulted in the deaths of her parents and cousin and leaving her with burns on 60% of her body. A highly emotional, heartfelt novel following characters that were realistically written making it easy to become invested in their stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Simon & Schuster Children's UK for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was good in a teenager kind of way. But then that is the genre. It was up to date in its writing and references. Some clever writing. A feel good story line with a predictable ending but still good. Girl does good in tragic circumstances. No real twists or turns that leave you guessing. Easy read aimed at teenagers in my opinion.

This book starts a year after Ava survived a fire that killed her parents and sister cousin and after months of recovery, it's time she goes back to school instead of being homeschooled. Also time for a support group. Ava has suffered extreme face burns and does not look forward to leaving her house everyday.

With this topic, some Ableism is expected. Internal Ableism is something every Disabled person has to deal with at some point, But I did notice some by Ava that wasn't internal, both physically disabled characters mock mental disabilities. "Spastic" is used which I know that author being American; she might not know that term is offensive and it could be argued that Ava is being ableist against herself but that term is very specific so I think it probably should have been changed for the UK publication. Though, don't worry the term Selective Mutism was used as an insult and not capitalised correctly, so there went my goodwill to this book. This could have been used as a way of making the character unlikable, yet even then unchallenged Ableism is not the way to do it. If not familiar with Selective Mutism then you might not pick up on what a shitty thing this is to say. Maybe the author just doesn't that there is an anxiety disorder called Selective Mutism. Either way, it is a disorder and its not okay to use it that way. I get all the characters are the worst.  You don't need to use Ableism against other people to make a character unlikeable. Ableism is not acceptable in media unless its there to be challenged and it was not challenged.

This book does deal with Internal Ableism and with having burn survivers that makes sense. It's mostly Ava coming to grips with her new appearance and a touch on her loss of mobility. There also ableist related bullying and a mean girl thing going on. 

So I am Disabled, so I appreciated the emphasis on how bad inspiration porn is, but I did think some of the advice given by the supposed therapist was terrible. My Disability is invisible so I don't get questions unless I open that conversation but you do not owe anyone an explanation or time, about what you've went through.Kids are slightly different, but Adults should know better and you do not need to be a role model for them. 

The characters are all unlikable,I mean I think Piper is meant to be the worst but so are lot of the character we're meant to like. Pipper could just be 16-year-old with bad coping mechanisms. But there are points that we are meant to be liking and relating to these characters and I still would happily throw them off a bridge or as the kids say Yeet them. Ava has a really shitty attitude about everything, some of it is understandable and she meant to develop away from it. It just this seems like always been this way, even before the fire. I think more time was needed for character-development.

All these characters have trauma so I feel sorry for them sometimes but they not real and I hate the one character who doesn't have trauma but that's awkward because he's also the only person of colour in this book. He's a "nice" guy who doesn't know shit about the thing he's trying to gatekeep you from. It being a traditionally feminine subject doesn't change that. 

This is a friendship heavy book, which I do love, except its love triangle where no one likes each other. I thought this book was going to go in another way but it doesn't. Piper's friendship to Ava is both a good and bad thing at times, I would have liked to see that explored more. I thought they were going to be more self-reflection of each other problems, which they are but not dealt with. In favour, we have a pointless romance with a "Nice" guy. A lot relationships are introduced and we don't get to them which would have been a lot more interesting than the musical stuff. This book also has homophobia and no Queer characters so definitely not fun. New rule you don't get have homophobia in a book when you have no Queer characters. The benefit of the doubt is that making a statement about toxic masculinity which goes hand in hand with homophobia.

There's also a lot of awkward musical references, like pretending 'Annie' is a vague reference. There are three film adaptions and it been parodied several times. Basically, this book didn't get off on the best foot for me. It does get vaguer but the reaction to them both knowing 'Annie' made me hate both characters in that interaction. 

There are lot of obvious plot things through the novel but can be somewhat forgiven being debut novel. It's there are a lot of them. You can really tell that certain things only happen for plot. The musical they doing is the Wizard of Oz, spoilers Ava gets the part of the good witch, who has a two-minute solo that can be sung by almost anyone. It's not a song that needs an amazing voice but it made out to be this amazing song. She sings 'Over the Rainbow' for her audition. When going for a specific part, you sing that song in auditions for the character. It makes no sense for her to sing that in re-auditions which are basically never a thing unless you barely have a chorus. They have an understudy for Dorthy which makes little sense, why not just have her play the good witch and get chorus girl to do the witch if anything happens. It's not a professional show, you're not going to have perfect casting. This is the Andrew Lloyd Webber version so there is a more difficult song for the good witch to sing. This whole thing makes no sense, it seems to take them weeks to host this audition despite knowing that they need to re-cast. Basically, Stewart wanted Ava not to audition but to still be in the show. I wasn't enjoying myself by this point so I'm over fixating on a thing that was a tool for having a shorter timeline but to show character growth.

The writing style was odd and confusing sometimes. Characters are often referred to as if they being introduced for the first time after their names have been established e.g. "the girl in the wheelchair". "The Boy in black." Its basic first person besides that.

Overall, I give this 2/5 stars for Skin Transplants. Nothing new with the Musical stuff (I'm literally listening to another book that has support group scenes and involves a too on the nose musical as well) or the Burn survival which is fine. There's also a lot of books about teenagers getting burnt in accidents and learning to deal with the physical and emotional trauma of that, so it just another one. As my lecturers used to tell me I'm really negative. I didn't like a lot of this book, it has potential but its ableist enough that I'm never gonna recommend it. More importantly, there was just a lot I didn't enjoy. Would I read Stewart again? Maybe. I'm just kinda done, causal ableism gets old quick and to find it in a book that's meant to be dealing with Ableism is not what I'm here for.

If you are an adult and enjoyed wonder then you will love this. This heartfelt book is from the perspective of a burns victim.

This was a really beautiful YA contemporary book, with some lovely messages. 

If you liked wonder by R.J Palacio, I think you'll love this book. I would say it's a YA wonder. 

I thought this book was really well written. I particularly liked the messages it portrayed about being more than just your scars/appearance. I've not read many books about people with facial disfigurements and burn scars, so this was a really eye opening read. 

Obviously it's a YA book so there are going to be a lot of YA tropes. But honestly, I didn't mind them that much in this particular book. It wasn't too cliche. 

I really liked the main characters in this book. Particularly, Piper. I really liked her sense of humour. 

This book is defintely emotional and poignant. It has a really important message. Although it didn't make me cry at any point, I definitely felt the feels while reading, especially at the end. 

Overall, this was a really beautiful impactful book, which made a nice change from all the thrillers I normally read. 

TW: bullying, house fire and suicide

This is one of the books all young girls should read. It was so to the point when it came to bullying, bee that new girl on the first day of school. 

You could almost remember all those feeling from years ago coming back. 

This book is an emotional ride but one I thing need to be read by all

'Scars Like Wings' is keenly observed, and highly memorable. I admire the author's sensitivity, and her realism.

This book is a story of two girls who meet under unusual circumstances and make a lasting friendship.I have given it 5 stars because of its fantastic cover, because everything inside it is so true. And the characters are brilliant, I will be buying this when it comes out!

This is different to the majority of YA books coming out at the moment, there’s no murder or massive mystery going on, it’s a story of coming to terms with massive trauma and life changing events, with friendship at its core. I loved it,

The subject of this book is a difficult one to read in places, and the reactions of some of the kids at school are absolutely awful, but this is real life. The author's research and time spent on this book is clear, and comes across with how realistic it all is. You will love Ava and be completely rooting for her pretty much immediately.

I’d have loved to have seen more from these characters and spent more time with them, which is the indicator of a good book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Scars Like Wings – Erin Stewart

Everyone has scars. Some are just easier to see …
16-year-old Ava Gardener is heading back to school one year after a house fire left her severely disfigured. She’s used to the names, the stares, the discomfort, but there’s one name she hates most of all: Survivor. What do you call someone who didn’t mean to survive? Who sometimes wishes she hadn’t?
When she meets a fellow survivor named Piper at therapy, Ava begins to feel like she’s not facing the nightmare alone. Piper helps Ava reclaim the pieces of Ava Before the Fire, a normal girl who kissed boys and sang on stage. But Piper is fighting her own battle for survival, and when Ava almost loses her best friend, she must decide if the new normal she’s chasing has more to do with the girl in the glass—or the people by her side.
The beautiful, life-affirming debut from Erin Stewart that’s being called the YA answer to Wonder. Perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson, Nicola Yoon and John Green

Sometimes you just really want a jolly good YA novel and that was exactly what this was. I mean, like the great YA novels it deals with some big issues, loss of parents, suicidal thoughts and life changing injuries as well as bullying but all in a funny and heart breaking way. This had some wonderful smart and sassy teens and managed to make a truly horrible situation engaging without being preachy or making victims or examples out of our main characters. Both Piper and Ava are incredible characters that react to their situations in completely different ways. In fact, I don’t think there was a character I didn’t like! My only real issue with this was that I am getting a bit bored of every YA book I read referencing Lin Manuel Miranda. We get it. He’s awesome, kids like theatre but ya’ll need to stop.

There were elements of this I liked, but ultimately I've read the same concept done better a number of times now. I really struggled to like Ava, and the other characters in the book weren't developed enough. This, coupled with the lack of a real plot, meant that what should've been an affecting and heart wrenching story, just...wasn't. Link that with Ava's basic theatre taste and I just wasn't wowed.

Such a thought-provoking book. We meet Ava Lee, who is a burns survivor but with significant scars on her face and body, in the fire, she lost her parents and now living with her aunt and uncle. It is now time to return to school, how will the other students be with her?
We follow Ava through her struggles and her achievements, friendship and self-acceptance it is heartbreaking at times, I felt the pull and was almost in tears reading some of it.
Erin Stewart did an amazing job writing this, it flowed well and I would recommend it

This was such a well done book in terms of dealing with Ava and her life after surviving a house fire that killed her parents and cousin. Ava’s relationship with Pippa helps her remember who she was before she was the girl who was in the fire. This book was really well written.

Amazing voice and characterisation. Beautifully balanced between the dark and difficult subject matter, the loss and grief, and hope, and the idea that we are stronger together. Life-affirming. One that will linger long after reading. Issue-driven, character-driven, contemporary YA at its best.

The author brought these characters to life, sharing their stories with compassion, truth and expectations of others. Two survivors of different but equally horrific accidents. The friendship they develop and the strength they gain from this is inspiring. They both have their own demons to tackle and although they do it in different ways, they come together (with the help of family and new friends gained along the way) A wonderful read.