Birdwing , by Rafe Martin (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, $16.99; ages 12-up). Remember the Grimms' story "The Six Swans"? A wicked queen turns her stepsons into wild swans; the spell will be broken only if their little sister stays mute for six years and weaves each of them a nettle shirt. When the time is up, she has not quite finished a sleeve on the last shirt. The brothers regain human form, but the youngest is left with one arm and one wing. The end of that fairy tale is the starting point for this extraordinary novel. The youngest brother is now a teenager in the household of his father, the king.

Alone among his brothers, he still feels part of the wild world, even as he works to overcome what the human world sees as a handicap. In the best fairy-tale tradition, "Prince Freak" sets out to discover how he must live. The marvelous thing about Birdwing is that, given its highly literary origins, it is so tough, colloquial, funny and moving. But then, having been sent back to the Grimms, you realize Martin has merely emulated his masters. A book for kids who appreciate the likes of William Mayne and Ursula K. Le Guin. - Washington Post.