The Things with Wings

On his first time out as author, children's book editor Holch packs this allegorical tale with plenty of far-out flights of fancy. A typical underachiever, 11-year-old Newton Bellnap hates to read and fears change, which is a problem because his actor parents keep moving the family around. Facing a predictable spring vacation in yet another new town, Newton discovers that Angel Falls offers more mysteries than he can handle. Add to these his blossoming friendship with Vanessa, an iconoclastic classmate, and the mystifying annual migration of thousands of Emerald Rainbow butterflies, and Newton's break turns into an existential quest for the meaning of life. Holch counteracts Newton's somewhat annoying passivity with Vanessa's likable brashness, and keeps the pace going at a clip by adding layers of curiosities (a mysterious man in a black hat; an illness affecting all of Newton's classmates). Some readers may feel overwhelmed by the scattered threads and find the philosophy heavy-handed (famous quotations and cryptic messages break in throughout). And the miraculous changes in Newton (who becomes a reader) and Vanessa (who is reconciled to her depressed widower father) at the book's close are a bit pat. Nevertheless, this book will appeal to those who like their fantasy thick and deep. Ages 10-13. (May)