I'm having a lot of trouble writing this review.

For the most part, the book was good or maybe even a little better. The writing was evocative and flowed well. Pallas sounded a bit mature for a 12 year old, but she's characterized as precocious and I enjoyed her narrative anyway. The portrayal of a polyamorous family collective raising a child was well done and original. I enjoyed Peasgood's POV in particular - though it's no coincidence that it dealt most concertedly with the Waterbabies plotline; I generally am not particularly fond of magical realism, but the summoned creature revenge plot was more interesting to me than the interpersonal relationship parts, and I do think it got short shrift, tucked away into narrative corners instead of being front and center, and resolved too quickly.

But the thing that overwhelmed everything for me, which colored the whole book in a negative light, made me put it down, rest my head into my hands, and scream into a pillow, was the treatment of <spoiler>the relationship between Xochi and Leviticus. I was extremely troubled by the consistent message, from Xochi herself but also from other adult characters in the book who were meant to be watching out for her, that age is just a number/some young people are very mature for their years, the idea that there are people or relationships which are special and to whom the laws about age of consent shouldn't apply - this is extremely classic abuse/pedophilia conditioning, and fairly terrifying to encounter in a book apparently aimed at teenagers. It bothered me that so many of the supporting characters described Leviticus as an extremely good person, the best guy, as if this somehow excused the decade-plus age difference, when in fact it made the message even worse. It made me extremely uncomfortable that their relationship was romanticized throughout. As much as I disliked Xochi being treated prematurely as an adult by some of the characters, I also thought Leviticus's acceptance that she was too young for him, his acknowledgement that he felt like he was in Lolita as he notices her coltish legs and characterizes her breasts, but his apparent inability to avoid the chemistry between them, was terribly unhealthy. That Pallas reminds Xochi in the last chapters that she is a teenager too (true!) does not help anything; as I was desperately hoping for someone to end things, even for a pedestrian reason, the book closed on the apparent happy acceptance of the relationship by everyone. Delightful.</spoiler>

Look, this book has plenty of content warnings that already seem to make it borderline as a YA book: language, rape, alcohol use, sexual references, graphic drug use, etc. The tone and writing feel more adult than classically YA, though I understand that marketing and age categories are sometimes a bit tricky and fluid and invented. I'm not saying that teens need to be sheltered and spoonfed only stories about pony parties or anything like that. But young people also don't come with their understandings of right and wrong at factory default setting; they form their ethical codes based on the information they're given, including what they read. And the way the narrative seems to give its blessing to, or at least shrug its shoulders at and mumble something about apparently undeniable chemistry and teens who've grown up fast, the underage relationship crosses a line for me in characterizing this as YA.

An engaging read that will captivate its target audience. I loved the realistic references to the 70's and 80's Bay Area as well as the lyrical writing Michelle Ruiz Keil uses to weave her story. I would highly recommend this story to my students.

I really enjoyed this otherworldly novel. Xochi is a unique character that has faced a lot of trauma, forcing her to grow up very quickly. She has to figure out her place in this world, which is already difficult without magical creatures trying to enact revenge on your behalf. I loved it and can't wait to read more by this author!

Full review here: gabimorataya.wordpress.com/2019/04/18/all-of-us-with-wings-an-otherworldly-latinx-fantasy/

This book was a wild ride! There are several twists and it's a fantastic tale. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. It's definitely an auto-buy for our library.

Wow. Intoxicatingly beautiful. I've never read anything quite like it before. Beautiful, lush language. The characters! OMG. Starting out with their names, and then how perfectly crafted they are.
I don't think I've emerged from the "reading dream" that experiencing this novel was. Excellent.

*thanks to the publisher and the author and Netgalley for a digital ARC of this gorgeous book!

This was a really interesting read. It reminded me a bit of Bone Gap and Wicked Like Wildfire. Similar to these, I was confused at times but I wasn't deterred. The magic that was woven into the story was believable and not too over top.

I’m not sure I get it yet, but the book is a wonderful dream of a book. Richly imagined with compelling characters, it is a good fit for older teens. The drug use in the book makes me wary to recommend to any student under 16/17 years old.

There was a lot to like about this novel, and I imagine it will appeal to its target audience, especially as it is written under the #ownvoices rubric, and features diverse characters. It is a well-written and at times suspenseful urban fantasy with many interesting and sympathetic characters. It portrays 70s-80s San Francisco very vividly, including reference to the AIDS epidemic. It deals sensitively with a teen-age girl dealing with neglect and trauma and finding an oasis in a "found family."

My only reservation, for its age-group, was a lot of sex and drugs. Don't get me wrong - I know these things are part of life, and particularly part of the rock music world. But heroin use? In a YA novel? Even though it was in the context of a mistake - the main character is drunk out of her skull and some not-very-nice people give it to her and try to involve her in a threesome - there is a suggestion that one of the other positive and more adult characters had been a user, and it was all presented very casually. I have read reviewers of other books complaining about the sex or drug use and thought they were being unrealistic or prudish, but in this case I myself was quite shocked, which doesn't happen often.

However, I would not let that stop me from recommending the book to students or to anyone who likes urban fantasy. As I said, there's a lot to like.