Defect (review)

David is a physical oddity: he has distinctive ears and facial features, as well as extra folds of skin that connect his arms and torso; when he extends these flaps of skin, he can glide. Hazy memories of cold examination tables suggest that his troubled mother consulted the medical profession when he was young, but he never underwent surgery and, at fifteen, he has finally come to terms with his odd body. His latest and most promising foster family is the Trotwoods, who stand behind him when his abnormal appearance incites school disturbances, then transfers to an alternative school, where he finds a friend in a free-spirited girl named Cheetah and begins to settle into a contented life. Then he crashes into a tree during gliding practice, and subsequent attention leads to discovery of his wings, which brings him back into contact with the doctors who examined him in his youth. When David is given the option of surgery—both to remove his wings and to create a more normal facial appearance—he faces a difficult decision. Weaver tantalizes readers with glimpses of examination rooms, David's early life in New York City, and his odd physique, creating a slow reveal that invites understanding of and sympathy with David's cynical attitude before knowing the full extent of his deformities. This sets up a very real conflict at the novel's end, when he must choose between looking like—and perhaps becoming—someone else, or keeping his very own freak show alive. His cynicism makes the ending seem a bit sentimental and naïve, but this is a small issue in a touching story that has a lot to say about whether we wear our bodies or they wear us.