Author: Crystal Chan
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn
A girl, who was born on the day her brother Bird died, has grown up in a house of silence and secrets; when she meets John, a mysterious new boy in her rural Iowan town, and those secrets start to come out.
Don't let the fact that the book summary really doesn't say much turn you off of this one. It was an amazing story about a family trying desperately to move on after a tragedy - and so far failing to do so. Their 12 year old daughter is feeling the brunt of this tragedy - the death of her brother on the day she was born. Her family has never come out from under this cloud, in fact her grandfather doesn't even speak anymore.
Jewel has learned to live life this way, until she meets a new boy in town. He helps her see herself as something valuable and smart. He shows her that she has something to contribute. It was beautiful to watch this family slowly begin to pull themselves back together and build their life all over again.
There was a surprising amount of culture in this story. An interesting mix of Jamaican and Mexican. I learned a lot about Jamaican superstitions and they play a role in how this family functions. They are also the cause of many arguments and long time hard feelings. Yet more things for Jewel to find herself stuck in the middle of.
Bird was a great coming of age story about a family that has hit rock bottom and the daughter that pulls them back up again.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
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