Title: Defect

Author: Will Weaver

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Summary:

Minnesota because of his appearance, David has always maintained his secret: That he has wings.
Maybe not wings with feathers like a bird, but unique in the sense that they are between his arms and
torso, acting likes gliders. After trying very hard to conceal his secret, fifteen yeyar-old David realizes
that after he has made a true friend then it wouldn’t hurt to confess to Cheetah. Although in the
process, he is caught on film and his secret is no longer. David, his foster family along with Cheetah are
bombarded with fans and take refugee at the hospital. Once there David is offered the opportunity to
have a complete facial reconstruction and removal of his wings. In the end, the ultimate decision for
David is if giving up or keeping his wings is the right thing to do for him, his family and his only friend
Cheetah.

Character maps

David- Charles Labatier

Shy- David demonstrates that he is shy. He shows this because of his “disturbing looks” and because of
that he would never make friends, never really giving him the chance to break out of his shell.

Secretive- The main idea throughout the entire story is that David thought it essential to keep his wings
a secret, thus he had never spoken of them before or show anyone, that is, until he met Cheetah.

Rebellious- David had shown the inner rebel, especially when he took the leap of faith to show Cheetah
his wings, especially when he wasn’t supposed to leave the hospital grounds at the same time.

Loyal- loyalty has been shown by David, one in particular the loving loyalty he kept in mind for his true
mother. He continued to write letters, all the while knowing they might never get answered.

Charitable- David shows that he is capable of charity, when he meets Brandon. Brandon being a really
sick child, David couldn’t help but feel sad for him and granted Brandon’s wish. Without Brandon
knowing it was David, he showed himself in plain sight for all the children to see him fly. By doing this he
let Brandon believe in angels, and that god is truly there watching him.

Open-minded- When David had been offered the extreme makeover, he considered it. By doing so he
also knew he had two options, and that he could decide which one he could choose (with the help of his
friends and family).
Cheetah-Megan

Kind hearted- With David being the new kid in school, Cheetah took it upon herself to make sure he was
welcomed and not left out.

Unique- Although Cheetah didn’t have wings, she did stand out whether it was a fashion statement or
just that she voiced her opinion and it wasn’t what everyone expected.

Open-minded- Cheetah is not only open-minded and very nice to David about his wings, but she also
accepted him as a friend and didn’t shun him like all the other kids at school.

Supportive- Cheetah showed her supportiveness especially when it came to David’s side in the hospital
on the removal of his wings. Whether or not he would decide to keep them, she would still be his best
friend.

Clairvoyant- Although she did not exactly see through other people’s eyes, she did have the knack for
knowing what the other person was feeling or thinking. David for example, Cheetah knew he was hiding
a secret, she just didn’t know exactly what it was.

Persuasive- Cheetah displayed persuasiveness when she “helped” David decide that they should send
out the flight video instead of someone else getting the chance to do so. They had decided that since it
was going to get tot eh public then they might as well be the ones to break the news.

Themes

One of the most striking themes in this novel would have to be that the importance of family might not
come easily, but it is indeed there when you need it most. In this situation with David and his wings
being a secret is when this theme highlights itself. When he had them revealed to his family, they were
shocked not with his wings, but that he kept them a secret for so long and didn’t tell them. When David
did need it most though, his family was there to support him and his decisions on whether or not to
remove them.

Good quotes would be: “That’s my boy! Earl shouts and hoists David off the ground.” “Ready son? Earl
asks. David swallows and nods. Keeping his eyes on the children, he steps through the door.” With the
first quote, it shows how proud and happy Earl, David’s foster dad, is to see David make his decision on
the surgery. The second reveals that his family will be there with him, that he’ll never be alone.

The next and most obvious theme would be that image doesn’t construct the way a person is, it only
adds to it. In the novel, David is hideous, but that never stopped Cheetah from becoming his friend.
Really, what his looks did for her was realize that true friends don’t come by easily, and that David is one
of the few.

A good quote would be: “And who’s that? Cheetah asks. They all look at the new guy. That would be me;
David says...Cheetah has turned very white. Why would you do that? We’re just getting used to the way
you are. You’re just getting used to the way you are!”
This quote really shows how strongly Cheetah and the Trotwood’s (David’s foster family) feel about
changing David completely. Even though they are shocked, they then realize, it’s up to David to decide
and they would be there with him.

Overall, this novel deserves eight out of ten stars. The story plot was always moving, making me want
to read what would happen next and the characters were very well developed. The only reason I
didn’t give it the last two stars would be that I didn’t like how the story was narrated in the third
person, it made it feel more disconnected when I read it and I thought it would have been better had
he written it in second or first person. I would entirely recommend this book, it makes you look at
your life and realize whatever may be different about me, there is nothing wrong with it.