Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian – Book Review
“Boy with Wings lifts you into a world where cruelty and kindness collide, and resilience becomes its own kind of flight.”
From the very first page, Boy With Wings swept me into one of the most haunting, tender, and uniquely Southern stories I’ve read in a long time. Mark Mustian blends historical fiction, magical realism, and Southern Gothic in a way that feels both dreamlike and sharply grounded in truth.
Set in the Jim Crow South, this novel follows Johnny—born with strange, wing-like appendages and misunderstood by nearly everyone he meets. What begins as a tale of survival transforms into a powerful meditation on identity, found family, and the quiet forms of grace that shape a life.
If you enjoy lyrical writing, deeply human characters, and stories that explore the boundary between cruelty and compassion, this book belongs on your reading list.
📝 All About the Book
Boy With Wings
By Mark Mustian
Published by Köehler Books on March 2025
Genres: Adult Non-Fiction 18+, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Magical Realism
Formats: eBook, Hardcover, Paperback
Pages: 354
Source: iRead Book ToursWhat does it mean to be different? From Mark Mustian, founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music and award-winning author of the international bestseller “The Gendarme,” comes the new Southern gothic novel, “Boy With Wings” (March 2025, Koehler Books).
Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back, frightening his neighbors and leaving him struggling to find a home. Johnny ends up in a “freak show” traveling the 1930s South, where he bares his back to onlookers who come to gape and fawn. Is he a horror or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life?
As Johnny comes to grips with his uniqueness, he embarks on a journey of love and finds the miracles that give our lives meaning. Mustian’s thrilling and emotional story of self-discovery is perfect for book clubs and fans of historical fiction.
📚 Where to Find Boy With Wings
🛒KINDLE | PAPERBACK | HARDCOVER
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Prefer to shop local?
🛍️ You can also purchase Mark Mustian novels from your favorite indie bookstore online.
Bookshop.org is an excellent option that supports indie authors—and book bloggers like me—while avoiding the big-box route.
Also available at:
📘 Barnes & Noble | Google | Midtown Reader (signed-copies)
✨ My Thoughts on Boy With Wings ✨
Boy With Wings is one of those rare novels that feels both mythic and painfully real. Johnny’s journey—beginning with his mother’s desperate attempt to save him—unfolds with the kind of lyricism that makes you slow down to savor the writing. Yet the pacing never drags; each chapter brings new emotional weight, new revelations, and new moments that stayed with me long after I closed the book.
Mustian captures the brutal realities of the era without sensationalizing them. Instead, he channels the rawness of being different in a world that punishes difference. My heart ached for Johnny, for the people who tried to help him, and even for those who failed him. The novel’s magical elements never overwhelm the historical setting—they illuminate it.
One thing that struck me most was how the story balances hope with heartbreak. Johnny’s life is riddled with loss, but never without connection. The found families, the unexpected allies, the moments of tenderness—these are the scenes that give the book its wings.
I read this story in a single weekend, wrapped up completely in the rich writing and emotional pull. Boy With Wings is not loud, but it is profound. It’s the kind of book that lingers.
📘 Review at a Glance
| Genre | Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction |
|---|---|
| Setting | American South, 1930s–1940s |
| Length | 324 Pages |
| Content Rating | PG-13 (adult themes, some language including f-word and limited contextual use of the n-word) |
| My Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ |
| Quick Take | A lyrical, haunting, deeply human story about identity, resilience, and the quiet miracles that help us rise. |
I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review represents my honest and unbiased opinion.
LITERARY AWARDS FOR BOY WITH WINGS
- GRAND PRIZE FOR FICTION - 2025, Next Generation Indies Book Awards
- ERIC HOFFER DA VINCI EYE AWARD FOR BEST COVER DESIGN
- FINALIST - HAWTHORNE AWARD FOR WRITING, American Writing Awards
- BRONZE MEDAL WINNER, HISTORICAL FICTION, Independent Publisher Book Awards
🖋️ Writing Advice from Mark Mustian
From time to time I’m asked, by strangers, students, colleagues and friends, for advice about writing. My responses (after “What do I know?):
• Read. Read good stuff. Read widely, even things you think you won’t like. Make it a challenge. Read more.
• Write a little bit every day. The hardest part for me is getting it down to begin with. Start, even if it’s crap. Even if it’s just a sentence. Begin.
• Revise. Revise again. Again and again and again and again. You can tell who does and who doesn’t. Try setting it aside and picking it back up after a week, a month, a year. You’ll be surprised by yourself.
• Finish. I can’t tell you the number of people who’ve told me: “I’ve got three chapters of a novel written…” Just get it done.
• One thing to avoid, if you can: sex. Not the act, but the writing about it, even if you’re very, very good. Most writers aren’t—that’s why there’s a Bad Sex in Fiction award (I’m not making this up). Be forewarned.
• Another thing to avoid, or at least by hyper-aware of: humor. Humorous writing is great—in fact, it’s one of my favorite things about a book. It’s also hard to do. Few things are worse than a book that tries to be funny and isn’t. I rarely quit on a book, but I’ve tossed more than a few that just don’t hit the humor meter with me.
• Enjoy yourself. No one is pushing you but you. Make writing a pleasure if you can.
More from the author:
To most people, Emmett Conn is a confused old World War I veteran, fading in and out of senility. But in his mind, Emmett is haunted by events he'd long forgotten. In his dreams, he's a gendarme, a soldier marching Armenians out of Turkey. He commits unspeakable acts. Yet he feels compelled to spare one remarkable woman: Araxie, the girl with the piercing eyes-one green, one blue.
As the past and present bleed together in The Gendarme, Emmett Conn sets out on one final journey to find Araxie and beg forgiveness, before it's too late. With uncompromising vision and boundless compassion, Mark Mustian has written a transcendent meditation on the power of memory-and the dangers of forgetting who we are and have been.
👤 Meet the Author: Mark Mustian
Mark Mustian is an internationally acclaimed author best known for his novel The Gendarme, an international bestseller published in ten languages and shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing. His newest novel, Boy With Wings, has already earned major recognition, including the 2025 Grand Prize for Fiction from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
A writer drawn to themes of memory, identity, and the blurred lines between past and present, Mustian brings a deeply human, lyrical style to every story he tells. He is also the founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida—an annual celebration of books, art, and creativity.
When he’s not writing, Mark divides his time between Florida and Michigan, continuing to explore the landscapes, histories, and quiet emotional truths that inspire his work.
Connect with the Author:
Website | Substack | Facebook | Bluesky | Goodreads | Amazon
✍️Closing Notes
If you love stories that blend the strange with the deeply human, this one is absolutely worth your time. Thank you to #iReadBookTours and the author for the opportunity to read and review this unforgettable novel.
If you’ve read this book—or if it’s now on your TBR—I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
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📌 Quick Book Tour Recap:
Book Title: BOY WITH WINGS by Mark Mustian
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 324 pages
Genre: historical fiction/magical realism/literary fiction
Publisher: Koehler Books
Release date: March 2025
Tour dates: Nov 24 to Dec 12, 2025
Content Rating: PG-13: There is adult content, use of the f word and (in limited context) the n word
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[…] Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian […]
This sounds like a very moving story, Gina. Excellent review.