Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Defect

Defect
Defect
Author: Will Weaver
Genres: Children's Books, Teen & Young Adult
Book Type: Hardcover
GeniusJen avatar reviewed on + 5322 more book reviews


Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

David is more than just odd, or strange, or different. David is kind of a genetic anomaly, truly a freak of nature. His "hearing aids" actually minimize sound, under his hat are bat-like ears, and under his sweatshirt, well, that's the craziest part of all. David actually has wings. Not big feathery things, but a thin layer of tissue that allows him to coast through the air if he jumps from a high point.

Anybody in high school knows that being different isn't usually a good thing. Even the wrong haircut can lead to months of torture. For David, his differences could be life threatening. He's already been shipped from foster home to foster home, from school to school. When he gets in trouble at his most recent school, he prepares to start all over, again, somewhere else. This time though, the only thing that changes is the school. Amazingly, this time he might actually be okay. Sure, he's still not telling anybody about the hearing and the wings, but he's not getting beat up, either. And, he might actually have a girlfriend!

David accompanies his maybe girlfriend, Cheetah, to the Mayo clinic, and finds out some surprising information about himself. Along with a few creepy flashbacks. With this new information, David is going to have some very tough choices to make, and some harder lessons to learn.

I was expecting something completely different from this story, but I couldn't have been happier to be completely wrong! This story is incredibly touching and powerful, and honest. All of the characters are amazing and strong and realistic. The choices David makes may not be the ones you would make, but you feel the weight of them right along with him. And the lessons he learns are the simple but huge kind that everyone needs to be reminded of from time to time. It's a beautiful, simple, incredible thing.