Interpersonal relationships were forged, broken, and mended in this novel. Some characters were visibly chained, whereas others were chained metaphorically. Here, too, Elle constructed an interesting dichotomy: that of suffering and pain resulting in power and resilience.
Chains provided magic users with power, but they were bound to the user through pain. One particularly compelling image present throughout the novel was that of chains. It did not condone these acts, but explored the detrimental impact these events had on young people. Young adult fantasy stories tend to sugarcoat things, but “Wings of Ebony” did not. What was shocking about this novel was the combination of dark fantasy elements, gang violence, and murders. Magic empowers people, especially young people, therefore young adult novels, such as this one, that feature black protagonists with magical abilities are important. While Rue faced discrimination, she still possessed both magical and inner strength.
Black characters were often “left out” of fantasy and science fiction novels, or they took the place of villains or side characters. Elle not only expertly addressed historical and modern accounts of racism, but also addressed occurences of racism in genre fiction. “Wings of Ebony” explored important and relevant topics of racism, poverty, feminism, heritage, and violence. Despite the violent and frightening events she experienced, Rue strove to keep her family safe and her friends close. Rue grew up in a poor neighborhood known for gang violence and faced discrimination as a young black girl, particularly when she found out about her own magical abilities and was forced to reside in a fantasy realm where all of the magicians were white. This heroine, known as Rue, avoided falling into the stereotypical heroine role: the shy, fragile and weepy damsel in distress who craves romance and attention. The heroine of “Wings of Ebony” differed from many other young adult fantasy heroines. Both worlds were ignorant of each other, which resulted in both harmless, if not comedic, misunderstandings, or occasionally serious conflicts in which relationships are strained. In “Wings of Ebony”, the two worlds first appeared as polar opposites, but Elle meshed the two worlds together in such a way that they cannot be seen as separate. In a number of fantasy novels, the protagonist either obtained satisfaction in their new life or rejected it entirely. Most interestingly, good and evil presented themselves in both worlds. Elle’s “Wings of Ebony” merged a refreshing fantasy world involving artificial magic and precious stones with a realistic world involving poor neighborhoods, shootings, and racism.
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