A Flightless Fairy Takes Wings

By: Cadie Todd and Mickail Thomas

A review of Donya Hassanshahi’s A Fairy Without Wings.

Donya Hassanshahi is a 15-year-old sophomore here at Redwood High School. She was one of many, many students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This time struck many people, leaving a lasting impression that created many struggles with mental illness, trauma, and more.

This period inspired Hassanshahi to translate her emotions into beautiful works of poetry, creating a collection of literary art that can connect people and help them see their emotions represented in art.

Hassanshahi recently published her first book titled The Fairy Without Wings, a book that shares the mental struggles many have experienced through this time, as well as issues with loving oneself and the desire of that acceptance from others.

Hassanshahi begins her foreword with the statement “It’s okay not to be okay,” easing readers into the topic of the poetry, as well as creating a form of empathy that connects her to her audience.

Now, the poetry is, in one word, incredible. The poetry contains emotionally invoking language and messages that’re guaranteed to leave an impact on the reader, in one way or another.

Containing struggles about fitting in, losing and gaining relationships, feeling overwhelmed, and many more concepts that high school students can relate to, the poetry has a way of feeling personalized, all from Hassanshahi’s writing style.

For those who have an enjoyment from poetry, or those who would like to delve deeper into poetry, Hassanshahi’s The Fairy Without Wings is an amazing start, filled with complex poetry that still finds itself consumable and relatable.