When Emmy found out she was pregnant, she had high hopes for their future – hers and the baby she bore. But when Mahalia was born, Emmy found that life as teenage mother is not easy. What happens when you can’t love the baby you thought you’d adore?

Leaving the baby with its father, Matt, Emmy flees, going to stay with her godmother Charlotte. As she struggles to overcome her guilt at not being able to love her baby, Emmy befriends Martin, a stay at home Dad, and his son, Pete. As she gradually finds a way back to being herself, Emmy wonders if it’s too late to become a good mother to Mahalia.

Little Wing is a companion book to Mahalia (2001) which tells Matt’s story, but whilst the two complement each other for a rich reading experience, this new offering can be read on its own. Reading this one, however, is likely to have readers searching for the other.

This is a poignant tale with the reader living Emmy’s gradual healing, wanting to support and encourage her in her efforts to find herself and happiness. Horniman is a sensitive writer, tackling one teen pregnancy and its aftermath in a compassionate and realistic way.

Little Wing, by Joanne Horniman
Allen & Unwin, 2006

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