Boy with Wings

Boy with Wings is a story of the sacrifices and freedom inherent in making one’s own special way—and of love and the miracles that give our lives meaning.​

About Boy with Wings

What does it mean to be different?

When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he’s a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny’s yearslong struggle to find a place he belongs. From a turpentine camp of former slaves to a freak show run by a dwarf who calls herself Tiny Tot and on to the Florida capitol building, Johnny finds himself working alongside other outcasts, struggling to answer the question of his existence. Is he a horror, a wonder, or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life? Accompanying Johnny’s journey through love, betrayal, heartbreak, and several murders, Boy with Wings is a story of the sacrifices and freedom inherent in making one’s own special way—and of love and the miracles that give our lives meaning.​

You can purchase a copy of this book on Midtown Reader (signed), Amazon, B&N, Google, and Bookshop.org.

About the Author

Mark Mustian is the author of the novel The Gendarme, an international bestseller shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing and published in ten languages, and the new novel Boy With Wings, winner of the 2025 Grand Prize for Fiction from Next Generation Indie Book Awards. He’s the founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Florida and Michigan.

You can connect with him on his website, Substack, Facebook, Bluesky, and Goodreads.

Disclosure: This is a spotlight tour, I did not receive compensation for this post.