An amazing read that is part Southern Gothic, part Carnivale and a dash of Depression-era Steinbeck. Mr Mustian paints a vivid tale of tragedy, love, heartbreak and redemption through the story of Johnny. The characters are well written and I could not put this book down!! Excellent is the only word to describe it!

I could not wait to finish this book. I hated it. At first I thought the writing style was mimicking the reflections of a child,but when it continue throughout the whole book, I really struggled. The plot jumps made little sense. There were a large number of run on sentences. The overuse of pronouns made it hard to understand who was talking about who. The ending was confusing...why murder a father you never knew? The epilogue was maybe the only redeeming factor for this book. I will not recommend it and I do not want it on my shelf.

Great story. As a teacher I would use this in my classroom because of the subtle yet slap you in the face themes that can be drawn. The characters you were supposed to like....you really did...and the ones you were not ....you did not!

This novel explored the experience of being different in America in the 1920s and 1930s. For Johnny , it was his wings that made him different and through a series of different timelines, we follow his story. There are also others who are different that he encounters along the way, including other side show characters, negroes, blind women and a man who has lost an arm through amputation. Without preaching, the various cruelties, prejudices and injustices are portrayed, with a very satisfying ending. This is a book that will stay with you as you ponder the many threads. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to review this book.

I enjoyed this book because I could relate to being born different than "normal" and know what it is like to endure the stares and comments. I also know very well what it is like to search for meaning and where you belong. While the book take place in the 30s and in the South, this kind of treatment and outcasting still takes place today to those who are seen as different.
My thanks to Mark Mustain for having the gift to write this story and if only one person reads it and is a bit kinder to others than the book is a success.

Thank You to NetGalley for the advanced e-copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars. This is a piece of literary fiction with great disability representation (mixed with magical realism) set in the Depression-era South. Our protagonist is a boy with wings who is always forced to leave his home and found family as soon as he finds it.

This would be a great read if you like literary fiction and want to discuss symbolism. It brought up lots of “book club” questions for me, like: what did it do to my perspective that the reader was made a circus “spectator” to Johnny’s life rather than having access to his interiority? What is up with the author’s choice to skim over major events/scenes/catalysts in Johnny’s life (e.g. violent transitions between one “home” to another)? Can Johnny fly—and is it meaningful that the author obscured this? Also, the age-old conversation of realism: the author is not Black and uses racial slurs pretty liberally (said by white racist characters). I’ll be interested to follow the conversation about language and identity in writing historical fiction.

There are some nice visual details in here, but ultimately it wasn’t for me. The whole book feels like a summary of giant swaths of Johnny’s life, and we barely know him by the end of it because there is no access to his thoughts, motivations or feelings. Every single time an interesting plot event happens it’s entirely skipped or obfuscated and then alluded to for the rest of the book. It seems like Johnny might be able to fly?? But I guess I’ll never know.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

DNF
I tried I really did to like this book picked it up multiple times, but it was really really slow to develop and honestly I didn't feel that the writing was very good. It was not atmospheric, although it should have been since most the book takes place in a circus. I just felt no connection to the story.

I really liked the historical and societal aspects of this book. It think the characters were interesting on multiple levels and I enjoyed reading this book a lot

I’m not sure how to feel about this book. The overall story concept was good, I could see what Mustian was trying to get at, but unfortunately he didn’t quite hit the mark. I loved the relationship between John and Winifred, as well as his friendship with Elias, and I loved the scenery descriptions.

All that being said, the writing style was really hard to follow, to the point where I almost DNF. There was a lot of guess work for what happened, and to me, the ending didn’t make sense. There’s so many open questions we never get an answer to. Who pulled John out of the fire? How did Winifred survive? They were so in love, wanting to run away together - are we really meant to believe that John never looked for her after the fire? I think having these answers would make for a fuller story and a more satisfying ending.

**Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC! This book will be released on March 15th, 2025**

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Recommend? Yes, with caution for triggers
Finished: 1.8.2025
Format: Advance Digital: thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC 

A boy with a secret, a mother with a duty to protect his secret, and the many people who enter his life to discover & try to exploit boy and secret, both. This book takes the classic coming-of-age trope & wraps it in wings made of adult self-interest, religious zealotry, maternal stand-ins and normalcy wrested from the grips of an exceptionally turbulent life.

Read this if you like:
Disability rep
Found family
Flashes of HEA
Coming-of-age

Triggers: racial slurs, ableist slurs, religious zealotry, suicidal ideation, suicide (minor character off-page), alcoholism (secondary character on-page), grievous bodily harm & death on-page

Reviewer’s Personal Notes (all opinions are my own, and are intended for readers and not for the author)

Favorite quote: “You want to be everyone else, and yet they’re all of them strange and different, unique to each other whether you know it or not. There is no normal life. It takes time to accept this, and even then, it can go in spurts.”

High: Reading first-person POVs from all but our main character was a really interesting piece of storycraft. The technique created a spectator-view mimicking his life in the side show, while shielding his innermost thoughts from the prying eyes of the reader. There is a fair amount of surrealism in the last 1/3 of the book that makes one question if there is an unreliable narrator at work, or if the surreal has supplanted the expected.

Low: Utilizing language common to the 1930’s feels jarring and despicable to any human with feelings, though it would have been inescapable during that period. I feel that I am not the right reviewer to fully enter into a conversation about the need for such language, but what I can say is that it needs to be listed among the triggers for this book; it is used to underscore the brutishness, self-importance and inhumanity of those spewing such hate; and it is not glamorized or encouraged by the author.

All his life, Johnny has been different. He was born with wing-like appendages on his back. He’s been the object of stares, whispers, and rumors. At times it was so bad that his mom hid him away out of fear for his life. After many years of living in secrecy and fear, she decides to leave their small town and seek a fresh start elsewhere. Sadly, tragedy befalls them and he ends up alone. At first he’s taken in by a small community but is soon discovered and forced to leave. Eventually he ends up as part of a traveling sideshow where he’s not the only one who’s always been considered a freak. It becomes his home, his family, but it’s not without problems. I especially enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of this book. Johnny's story was very compelling and heartbreaking. It was a bit drawn out for me at the end.

I enjoyed the historical context of this novel and the different social issues that were covered. That said, the ending was confusing to me as I'm not sure what the true role of Doyle was supposed to be. I was even more confused by the scene where Doyle was accepting of his other son's wanting to be a minister as it didn't fit and seemed contradictory. I enjoyed Johnny's connection with Elias and felt connected to Johnny through the hardships he faced.

The story follows the uneasy life of Jonny Cruel during the troubled times of the South leading up to the Great Depression and start of WWII. Johnny was born out of wedlock with strange appendages on his back that continue to grow and develop into wings. Throughout his young life he is tormented and treated as an outcast but temporary finds refuge with a traveling oddities show. Throughout this story Johnny makes friends, finds love, suffers loss, desires revenge, questions his existence, purpose, and ultimately just longs for acceptance. The author does a fantastic job portraying the harsh conditions of racism, the magical elements of a traveling oddities show, the turbulent times of the Depression, and an ending that will not be forgotten. It is a story we all can relate to as we grow, become comfortable with ourselves, and find meaning to our lives. The book will be released March 17, 2025 in US.

This book started out so well!!! Throughout the first half of the book, I thought it was going to be a 5 star read. Unfortunately, somewhere in the middle, things began to fall apart. Things jumped around a bit, leaving the reader to infer what happened in the spaces. As we got into the ending, our main character does an about face with who he is, and what he wants.

Johnny Cruel was born with a deformity and declared an abomination by the town. His mother does what she feels she needs to do to protect him, but when things get too much, she tries to escape with him and dies. He is then bought and sold like property until he ends up in a freak show, where his deformity is not a detriment but a selling point. This changes the trajectory of his life whether for good or bad.

I wanted to like this, and the descriptions in the beginning and how Mustian paints the characters was fantastic. I don't know what happened as the book progressed, it became scattered and hard to follow, with an abrupt improbable ending, that tried to bring the story full circle but it ended up falling flat.

Interesting and original story about difference. I liked the way the narrative was told (now and then from different characters) which make that the story slowly unfold. Unfortunately, this book was for me a little too long and I was hoping for something more (although I can't put the finger on what exactly). There were also maybe too much references to religion for my liking (which I had the feeling that it didn't really helped the storyline). Thank you Koehler Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Set against the backdrop of a world that is both fantastical and deeply grounded in the emotional realities of adolescence, the story follows a young boy named Johnny, whose life is changed forever when he is born with a set of wings. The novel blends elements of magical realism with gritty emotional depth, creating a compelling narrative about growing up, understanding one’s own potential, and confronting the complexities of the world. This takes place in the 1930s south, where he joins a circus and ends up in a freak show.

I believe that the wings, both a source of wonder and isolation, become a metaphor for his transition from childhood to adolescence—a time when everything seems to change, and the boundaries between the familiar and the unknown blur. Eliot’s struggle to make sense of his new reality drives much of the novel, and his journey is one of self-acceptance, navigating the challenges of growing up, and learning to embrace his unique abilities, despite being chastised by society and bullied. It's a story about survival and acceptance.

The premise is there, but I struggle with the writing style. I so badly wanted to love this book. I love how the mom fought for Johnny. I always love a book with character development and fun adventures along the way. Johnny has a unique story and I wish I could say I finished it all. Dnf

I tried to read this book because I wanted to know what happens to Johnny Cruel, but I couldn't focus and lost interest so I DNF'ed this book.

I accessed this e-copy on NetGalley as a spotlight book. My opinions and statements are my own.

A very intriguing book about not only being different, but also about survival. It has an important reminder to practice more kindness and less judgment of those that are not exactly like you or have different views. A great quote from the book that supports its energy is: “I am what God made me. What a boring life otherwise it might be.” 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

The Boy With Wings, by Mark Mustian, is a novel-length story about Johnny Cruel, a boy born out of wedlock in the Florida 1920s. He is looked upon as an outcast from birth, and superstition and fear swirl around him to the point of threatening his life. His mother, who loves him dearly, is virtually powerless in her quest to keep him safe and allow him to have a normal life. When she passes on, life turns downward for the boy, who appears to be growing wings on his back. Can he survive to adulthood? What will he do when he faces the truth of his family? The writing style is abridged, almost cut too short when the perspective comes from Johnny himself. It comes in needed details and not much more. This way we are aware of his thinking process. Other characters in the book have chapters of their own, which describe their experiences with Johnny. We learn of their faults, failures, lusts, and weakenesses when it comes to dealing with Johnny, and their own lives.
Some parts are hard to digest, and it seems the author tends to sweep certain characters into the 'bad category' bunch without showing that there are differences in everyone, and not every person who is that color of skin, or who has that occupation, is that way. This made the story more fictional to me than real. I was wondering how the ending was going to go, and all but gave up on something redeeming, but I am glad I stuck with it until the end. I found some of the time gaps frustrating, since a lot of time was invested in a host of characters, all to be essentially dropped in the next episode of Johnny's life. This pulled me out of the story. All in all, it is a fast-paced, gritty, and well written fictional piece about a boy who is really different from others, and how he grows to meet his challenges. A recommended read.