If you’ve ever wondered what a child-friendly version of ACOTAR looks like, let me introduce you to the book series that walked so Sarah J. Maas could run: the Wings Series by Aprilynne Pike.

We start the saga with Wings, where we follow fifteen-year-old Laurel, who is trying to survive her first year in a public high school after years of home-schooling. Aside from making friends with a handsome biology nerd named David, her life seems pretty ordinary, until she wakes up one morning with a massive, glowing flower sprouting out of her back.

Confiding in David, the two use his microscope to make a wild discovery: the blossom is actually a plant, and Laurel doesn’t even have a heartbeat. Soon, she crosses paths with Tamani, a brooding, mysterious young man lurking on her family’s land. He reveals the shocking truth: Laurel isn’t human. She’s a faerie, a highly evolved plant sent to live in the human world so she can eventually inherit and protect a crucial piece of property.

Things quickly spiral from teenage drama into high-stakes danger when a sinister developer named Barnes tries to force her parents into selling that exact land. Barnes, of course, isn’t who he appears. With her father’s life on the line and trolls closing in, Laurel has to team up with David and Tamani to guard the gateway to Avalon, save her family, and step into her true identity.

I originally read all four books (Wings, Spells, Illusions, and Destined) when they first came out back in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Now, as an adult, I decided it was time to dive back in to see if the magic held up.

Spoiler: it definitely did.

To start, I wish I could turn back time and give my younger self a serious head swivel. Initially, I was firmly Team David. He was the kind, encouraging lab partner who helped Laurel navigate high school, and I believed he was the ultimate choice.

Fast forward a decade, and adult-me was practically screaming at the page. Tamani, the intensely loyal sentry guarding the fae realm, is clearly who she should be with. The love triangle undoubtedly carries heavy Twilight-era vibes, but Tamani’s arc throughout the four books makes the emotional payoff incredibly satisfying. I won’t say much more about the sequels, you can find out for yourself!

What really makes the series stand out, though, is the worldbuilding. Forget tiny magical beings with glittery bug wings; in this universe, faeries are actually botanical. When a faerie hits maturity, a literal blossom erupts out of their back. When poor Laurel sprouts her first bloom, she is utterly mortified, panicking in her bathroom and trying to hack off the petals so no one at school notices. Depending on your faerie caste, your flower is completely unique, which is such a cool, bizarre spin on the standard fae gimmick.

The first book gained such immense popularity that back in 2009, Disney acquired the screen rights to adapt it into a movie, and there were even discussions about casting Miley Cyrus as Laurel. Admittedly, I was not a Hannah Montana fan at the time, so the mere whisper of Miley playing Laurel left teenage-me utterly VEXED. In retrospect, my dramatic panic was for nothing; the film never happened. Given that those initial reports emerged a casual seventeen years ago, it’s clear the project is firmly buried in development hell.

Revisiting this series was such a fun nostalgia trip. It’s light, fast-paced, and very much targeted at an 11+ audience, but it has all the classic tropes fantasy lovers still obsess over today: hidden realms, deadly guards, and high-stakes duty versus love.

This was actually the very first book series that ever had me completely glued to the page, the kind of story where you look up and realise you’ve devoured an entire book in a single day. It might be a throwback, but it still holds a special place on my bookshelf.

If you’re looking to scratch that nostalgic itch, or just want to discover a cosy gem from the golden era of YA fantasy, I highly recommend stepping back into Avalon!