"A Rush of Wings" by Kristen Heitzmann

The back cover's brief synopsis does not do this book justice. There is so much in the plot and characters that readers are immediately sucked into Heitzmann's world. The book starts off with a rich girl running away with a dream of a hawk that haunts her copiously. The narration moves between characters, and readers wonder why the protagonist fled. As she arrives at her new destination, new characters emerge as Noelle catches the admiration of two brothers. Country life is juxtaposed with city life, and horses enter the story, along with painting. Both seek her love and are vastly different. Noelle's ex-fiance also purses her in an effort to find her and get her back. As mysteries unfold with the book's progression, Noelle interacts with the brothers. There is some romance, but nothing is graphic. Female readers are a bit annoyed with Noelle's venerability as a female character, but, after they learn her story, they see her persona fits into the story and is not overtly saying otherwise. Also, albeit a bit cheesy at moments, the twists are unexpected, and there is never a dull or predictable moment. Even if readers skip to the end of the book to read the last line, they'll have the ending wrong if they guessed it. Faith is tied into the book in such a profound way that I will not spoil it. My favorite quote from the book? "She had feared the sky, but it was the ground that broke her" (Heitzmann 174).