If These Wings Could Fly

Perfect for fans of Laura Ruby, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Mindy McGinnis, Kyrie McCauley’s stunning YA debut is a powerful story about the haunting specter of domestic violence and the rebellious forces of sisterhood and first love. Winner of the William C. Morris Award!

Tens of thousands of crows invading Auburn, Pennsylvania, is a problem for everyone in town except seventeen-year-old Leighton Barnes. For Leighton, it’s no stranger than her house, which inexplicably repairs itself every time her father loses his temper and breaks things.

Leighton doesn’t have time for the crows—it’s her senior year, and acceptance to her dream college is finally within reach. But grabbing that lifeline means abandoning her sisters, a choice she’s not ready to face.

With her father’s rage worsening and the town in chaos over the crows, Leighton allows herself a chance at happiness with Liam, her charming classmate, even though falling in love feels like a revolutionary act.

Balancing school, dating, and survival under the shadow of sixty thousand feathered wings starts to feel almost comfortable, but Leighton knows that this fragile equilibrium can only last so long before it shatters.

• Magical Realism: Leighton’s house inexplicably mends itself after her father’s rages, hiding the cracks in their family—and the escalating danger.
• Sisterhood and Survival: Faced with a chance to escape to college, Leighton must make an impossible choice: save herself or stay to protect her younger sisters from their father’s violent temper.
• A Tentative First Love: Finding romance with her classmate Liam feels like an act of rebellion, offering a glimpse of happiness that might be shattered at any moment.
• Atmospheric Small Town Setting: As tens of thousands of crows descend on Auburn, Pennsylvania, their mysterious arrival mirrors the darkness gathering inside the Barnes’s home.