Enormous Wings BOOK REVIEW

• Date Published:
  May, 2026
• Length:
  304 pages—Listening Time: 9 hours 40 minutes
• Genre:
  Fiction
• Setting:
  Present day, Vista View Retirement Center, Austin, Texas
• Awards
  Indie Next Pick 2026; New York Times Bestseller
• Languages:
  English
• Sensitive Aspects:
  Abortion, high-risk pregnancy at advanced age, women’s bodily autonomy, reproductive rights politics, media exploitation of a pregnant older woman, religious and moral debates about pregnancy termination, ageism and treatment of the elderly, references to legal restrictions on abortion in Texas, law-enforcement involvement around reproductive decisions, scrutiny of nontraditional romantic and sexual relationships in old age
• Movie:
  There is currently no movie adaptation planned or in development for Enormous Wings.
• Recommended for Book Club:
  Oh, yes!

No matter what your views on women's reproductive rights might be, as we age, other worries take precedence. Abortion is simply not as prominent in our lives as it was in our earlier years. But Laurie Frankel thought otherwise.

I didn’t see that coming.

Honestly, you and I are probably more concerned with things like whether our knees will cooperate on the stairs or if we’ve saved enough to avoid eating instant noodles at 75. We’ve lived through decades of decisions, consequences, and hard-earned wisdom. We’re past the stage of "What if I get pregnant?” and are more firmly entrenched in “What if I forget why I walked into this room?”

So when a novel asks you to revisit reproductive choice—not as a distant political debate, but as something immediate, personal, and deeply human—it kind of stops you in your tracks.

That’s exactly what Enormous Changes at the Last Minute—sorry, Enormous Wings (and yes, even the title feels like a wink)—does. It leans in close and whispers, "What if the thing you thought was behind you... wasn’t?"

What if aging didn’t simplify your life the way everyone promises but instead complicated it in entirely new, unexpected ways?

And what if the choices you thought you’d outgrown came back, not to haunt you, but to challenge everything you thought you knew about yourself?

Frankel has this way of taking a “what if” scenario and stretching it just far enough to feel unsettling—but never so far that it stops being real. You may initially shout, "What??? "But I promise you'll see yourself here. Maybe not in the exact circumstances, but in the questions. In the hesitations. In that quiet, persistent voice that asks, "What would I do if this happened to me?"

And that’s what makes this book such a surprising gut-punch. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t lecture. It simply hands you a situation you thought you’d never have to consider again and lets you sit with it.

Uncomfortably. Honestly. Maybe even a little curiously.

So before you write this one off as “not for me,” let me just ask you something: When was the last time a novel made you rethink a part of your life you assumed was already settled? If you are even slightly curious, read on.

At seventy-seven, Pepper Mills is supposed to be settling into the quiet, tidy final act of her life. She’s just moved into a retirement community, the kind with group activities, medicine organizers, and an unspoken agreement that everyone is pretending to age “gracefully.” Pepper’s worries are the usual ones for her stage of life: health, finances, staying independent, and figuring out how to make this downsized version of living still feel like her. A surprise plot twist is not on her agenda.

Then Pepper does the one thing the world absolutely does not expect a woman in her late seventies to do: she falls in love. The retirement community, meant to be a soft landing, becomes the unlikely setting for a late-life romance that’s tender, funny, and quietly rebellious. Pepper’s new relationship nudges her to reconsider what “the rest of her life” might look like and whether she’s required to fade politely into the background just because she qualifies for the senior discount.

And just when the dust seems like it might settle, Pepper discovers she’s pregnant. That impossible premise—a grandmother-age woman and a very real pregnancy—is the engine of the story. From there, the novel follows Pepper as she navigates an avalanche of questions: medical, ethical, emotional, and deeply practical. Her unexpected situation draws in family, friends, and fellow residents, all of whom have opinions, fears, and stakes of their own.

Instead of turning into a medical thriller or a political soapbox, the plot stays grounded in Pepper’s day-to-day reality: doctor visits, awkward conversations, shifting family dynamics, and the logistics of building a future when you’re not supposed to have one that long. The novel traces how this late-life pregnancy forces everyone around her to confront their assumptions about aging, autonomy, and who gets to make big, life-altering choices. Throughout, the focus stays on Pepper’s journey—drawing a vivid picture of what she wants, who she trusts, and how far she’s willing to go to claim a life that still feels fully, defiantly her own.

I’m not going to tell you what happens to Pepper. I’m not even going to hint. Her story takes a sharp, surprising turn, and half the joy of this novel is feeling your eyebrows climb higher with every chapter as you realize where Laurie Frankel is bravely (and a little wickedly) taking you. What I can promise is this: once you start, you won’t be able to put this book down. The premise hooks you, the stakes keep tightening, and Pepper herself is so vivid, stubborn, and alive that you’ll keep turning pages just to see what she decides next.

Here are some reasons you should bump Enormous Wings straight to the top of your TBR stack:

A seventy‑something heroine who refuses to fade out

You get to spend time with a main character who is not 27, not “almost 40,” but fully, gloriously in her late 70s—and still making huge, messy, fascinating life choices. She’s not a side character or comic relief; she is the story.

It treats older women like people, not props

No magical wise crone, no fragile grandma in the corner. Pepper is complicated, stubborn, loving, scared, hopeful, and occasionally inappropriate—which is to say, she’s real. You’ll see pieces of yourself and your friends in her, and it feels weirdly validating.

Big questions without the lecture

The book dives into reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and aging, but it never turns into a manifesto. Instead, it hands you a wild “what if?” scenario and lets you think and feel your way through it, without scolding or preaching.

A page‑turner disguised as literary fiction

You think you’re signing up for a quiet character study, and suddenly you’re three hours in, your tea is cold, and you have to read “just one more chapter.” The premise is juicy, the stakes are high, and the tension builds in such a sneaky, satisfying way.

Late‑life romance that isn’t cringey

There’s genuine tenderness and attraction between older adults, and it’s handled with warmth and humor instead of embarrassment. It’s a reminder that desire and connection don’t come with an expiration date.

Perfect for book club fireworks

This is one of those novels where everyone will have an opinion—about Pepper’s choices, about what they’d do, about what’s “right” at 77. You’ll get debate, confession, and probably at least one “I can’t believe she…” moment at your next meeting.

It respects your life experience

This isn’t a story explaining the world to you; it assumes you’ve lived, loved, lost, and worried—about health, money, kids, grandkids, politics, the whole pile. It adds another layer to that experience instead of talking down to it.

You’ll keep thinking about it after you close the book

The details of the plot will stay with you, sure, but more than that, the questions it raises about aging, choice, and what it means to still be becoming at 77 will keep echoing around in your head—in the best way.

Get Laurie Frankel Books

Laurie Frankel writes heartfelt, wise, and unexpectedly funny novels that tackle big, thorny issues—family, identity, justice, and choice—through intimate, character-driven stories that linger long after you’re done reading.

Bookshop.org was created as a socially conscious alternative to Amazon, with the goal of helping local, independent bookstores thrive. This is why Readers With Wrinkles supports their efforts. Please join us in this effort by purchasing your next read here.

Purchase Laurie Frankel books on Bookshop.org

If you loved Enormous Wings, here are some other books that will hit a similar sweet spot with the crowd—big themes, strong voice, and lots to talk about:

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
One of my favorites! A Seattle family’s life tilts when their youngest child reveals she’s trans, and the parents must navigate secrecy, safety, and acceptance in a world that isn’t always kind. It’s warm, funny, and packed with complicated questions about parenting, identity, and who gets to decide what a “normal” family looks like.

Family Family by Laurie Frankel
A famous actress who once placed her twins for adoption keeps getting dragged into the same “tragic adoption” narrative—until her now-grown kids crash the storyline with their own, very different truth. It’s a twisty, emotionally smart look at reproductive choices, adoption, and the stories we tell about what makes a “real” family.

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
In a town poisoned by a chemical company, the mother of teenage triplets has spent years fighting for justice, and her daughters each take their own approach when new truths come to light. It blends activism, corporate wrongdoing, and family love with offbeat humor and a big heart.

American Fantasy by Emma Straub
A 50‑year‑old divorcée boards a boy-band nostalgia cruise and finds herself surrounded by women “of a certain age” rethinking desire, fandom, and midlife reinvention. It’s funny, fizzy, and surprisingly tender about second (or third) chances and what women are allowed to want after forty.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
A trad wife influencer obsessed with old‑fashioned domesticity wakes up in actual 1855 and has to live the pioneer life she’s been romanticizing online. The story starts playful and becomes a sharper, more suspenseful look at women’s roles, fantasy versus reality, and the cost of nostalgia.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A grumpy middle-aged widower who owns a failing bookstore has his life upended by an unexpected child left in his shop and the community that grows around them. It’s charming, bookish, and full of “found family” energy, with life‑changing surprises arriving well past youth.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
On New Year’s Eve in the 1980s, an 80‑something former ad woman walks across Manhattan, revisiting old haunts and old wounds while reflecting on her unconventional life. It’s witty, reflective, and deeply interested in what it means to age without giving up your appetite for the world.

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
Two very different sisters come of age in the 1950s and 60s and then age into the present, carrying the weight of changing expectations around women’s bodies, sex, motherhood, and ambition. It’s sprawling, emotional, and ideal for readers who like big, time‑spanning stories about women’s choices and the consequences that ripple across decades.