Books1987 : Book Tour: Shade of Wings

Shade of Wings is a speculative young adult novel about a family of New York City crows struggling to survive the outbreak of West Nile virus during the sizzling summer of 1999.

Shade of Wings

by Pam McGaffin

Genre: YA Teen Animal Fiction

For fans of Laline Paull, a speculative young adult novel about a family of New York City crows struggling to survive the outbreak of West Nile virus during the sizzling summer of 1999.

Four-year-old Duncan needs to hurry up and find a mate—at least, according to his sister, Cloud. But she doesn’t know about the mistake that’s preventing him from leaving their family to start another.

Though he’s the eldest, Duncan doesn’t see himself as a father. Yet that’s what he must become when both his parents die of the mysterious illness that’s killing crows across New York City. He devotes himself to caring for his siblings, including three fledglings—but he soon discovers he can’t protect them from the “blind death.”

Meanwhile, a zoo pathologist’s worst fears are realized. It starts with dead flamingos. Then critically ill New Yorkers start showing up in hospital emergency rooms.

Some blame the crows.

A profound story of loved ones sticking together in the face of tragedy and hardship.” - Kirkus Reviews

An amazing and heartfelt read. McGaffin confirms what so many of us already know, that humans should learn from the smart ones around us, even if they're crows." - Lori Matsukawa, TV News Anchor and author of Brave Mrs. Sato

"Utterly original! I’m in awe of Pam McGaffin’s deft storytelling—she makes a family of crows both fascinating and deeply relatable. I love a book that leaves me seeing the world with fresh eyes, and Pam accomplishes that in spades.” - Andrea Ezerins, author of When the Forest Dreams

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He and Sky went to the fountain to forage before dusk. The longer they take, the more she thinks he’s getting back at her for making him wait. She still feels the spot on her breast where his kick landed. She’d never seen him so angry. He became someone she didn’t know. Now she’s not sure she knows herself. Everything she thought she understood about being a number two helper—second to Duncan—was thrown into doubt when he attacked . . . as if she were the enemy. Before, when they still had parents, she shrugged off their sibling squabbles, crow fights being more common than play. Sometimes the two got confused. Either way, you forgave and moved on, no harm done. But this was different. This marked a before and after in their relationship, their roles. His eruption was perhaps the inevitable result of too much pressure, from all they had lost, all that had changed in just a few days. But why take it out on her? He seems to think that he alone bears the weight of that shift. He doesn’t know that every time she closes her eyes, she relives the soft rustle and thump of their father’s fall to the ground and Mother’s wailing cry, followed so quickly by her passing, silent and unmarked. And hanging over it all is the fear that they, too, might succumb to a sickness that’s as random as it is deadly.

Still, there’s nothing to do but carry on. The fledglings’ drop from the nest was only the first of many trials to come. Until they can fly and do their own foraging, they will demand constant attention. Worm, in particular. He and Duncan had taken so long to get down the tree. She and Sky tried to keep Kyra and Lucas calm and still as they waited. And waited. And waited, the fledglings growing crankier and crankier. And who could blame them in this heat? Then Sky, who never complains, said she was “dying” of thirst. They all were. So, Cloud led them down to the riverbank for a drink and a dip. The fledglings loved splashing in the water once they overcame their fear. Lucas, that rascal, found a tire and was happily playing in its pool of green sludge until Cloud ordered him out.

Pam McGaffin always knew she would write books when she grew up.

So, at age 51, after a long career in journalism and public-relations, she quit her day job and went to work. After seven years, countless rewrites, and a seat-of-her-pants course in modern publishing, she released her debut novel, The Leaving Year, with SparkPress Aug. 14, 2018.

Set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where she grew up, The Leaving Year, is a coming-of-age story about love and loyalty, family and friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in our search for meaning.

For her second novel, Shade of Wings, she looked to New York City to tell the story of the West Nile virus outbreak from the point-of-view of the first US victims – American crows. She hopes readers fall in love her hapless hero, Duncan, and his plucky crow family. She certainly loved giving them life.

Before tackling novels, Pam wrote short stories and articles. Her short fiction has appeared in the online literary journals, Eclectica and Amarillo Bay, and her articles have been published in many Puget Sound-area publications and websites, including The Daily Herald (in Everett, WA), Bicycle Paper, the MS Connection newsletter, and Seattle Children’s Story Project.

She has a BA degree in Communications Journalism from the University of Washington and certificates in fiction writing and advanced literary fiction from UW Extension.

When she isn’t writing or thinking about writing, she likes to read, walk the dog, swim, bike, garden, and watch birds.

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