Be Light Like a Bird

October 3, 2016
After 12-year-old Wren's father dies in a plane crash, Wren and her "angry and distant" Ma leave Georgia and begin hopping from town to town in search of a fresh start. In each place it's the same routine: Wren's mother works a lot, falls quickly in and out of love, and they move once again. Seeking stability and a place to go birding, like she used to do with her father, Wren comes up with a plan to buy a house in their third town, near Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. When Wren befriends a "quiet, nerdy" classmate named Theo, they bond over the loss of a parent and work together to save a local nature preserve from becoming a landfill. In a quiet but potent novel about grief, Schröder (My Brother's Shadow) gently traces Wren's struggles as she comes to see both of her parents in a different light. Readers should be easily drawn into Wren's honest, thoughtful narrative as she carries her father's words with her, remembering her past even as she opens her eyes to the future. Ages 9â12.

July 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-Wren is grieving. Her father has just passed away, his body lost at sea after a flying lesson crash. She would like nothing more than to talk with, cry with, or even just get a hug from her mom, but her mother is grieving in a different way-she's angry, and she doesn't want to talk about it. After burning all of her husband's papers and getting rid of all his possessions, she packs up the car and drives Wren north out of Georgia, to a new life. A couple of weeks later, they move on again. And then again. Finally, they can't get any further north than Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and Wren decides she won't let her mom move them anymore. Being the new kid in sixth grade isn't easy, but she does manage to get to know Theo, a boy who also has a deceased parent. Wren and Theo discover that the town dump is planning to expand and fill in the wetland where Wren likes to bird-watch, and they begin to form a friendship as they research and start an environmental movement against the plan, with the help of several caring adults in town. In this book, readers experience the many different forms that grief can take and the varied effects it can have on people. Despite the heavy theme, the story is not mired in mourning, and the empowerment that Wren and Theo begin to feel as they work together is uplifting. Some of the secondary characters are one-dimensional, and the arc of Wren's mother's journey is a little uneven; however, overall, this is a thoughtful novel. VERDICT A moving and ultimately heartwarming journey through loss. Hand to readers who loved Ali Benjamin's The Thing About Jellyfish.-Jenny Berggren, Longfellow Middle School, Berkeley, CA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
A young girl's first-person narrative of her journey through grief to acceptance.After her father's death in an airplane accident, 12-year-old Wren is enveloped in a cloud of grief. With no body to bury, she mitigates her sadness by burying the animals she finds dead along the road. Wren's mother retreats into anger, leaving Wren to feel abandoned by both parents. After several brief moves, the mother and daughter, both white, end up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where Wren continues the bird-watching she so loved with her father. Through a school assignment, Wren learns that Pete's Pond, her birding locale, is slated to be destroyed to expand a landfill. She and her project partner, Theo, who's also white, lead a protest to stop the plan. Wren wrestles with whether to compromise her values to join the popular girls at school, deciding instead to be true to herself. By the predictable but satisfying ending, Wren has grown, with the help of Theo, whose mother previously died, toward acceptance, forgiveness, and a new definition of family. While it's preachy in parts, the maudlin is averted by Wren's authentic voice and the inclusion of engaging characters and substantive issues, ranging from peer pressure and bullying to infidelity and environmental concerns. Skillful characterization carries this quiet novel along. (Fiction. 9-12)

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July 1, 2016
Grades 5-8 Wren finds it hard to believe that her father is dead, especially since there is no body. She needs to talk about it, but her mother shuts down all attempts at conversation and gets rid of all her husband's things, and the two of them leave town. They finally settle in Pyramid, Michigan, where Wren slowly makes a few friends and discovers a small pond, where she enjoys bird-watching. When the pond becomes threatened by a landfill, Wren and her friend Theo decide they must speak up. This quiet, introspective story focused on grief and the environment reminds one of a serious Carl Hiaasen novel. The setting is beautifully rendered, and though the rich cast of characters may feel too contrived, middle-school readers won't notice. Wren is a likable young girl with more wisdom than the typical 12-year-old, and she moves a little too quickly into the social-activist role, but this thoughtful tale still delivers an important message about caring for others.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2017
When twelve-year-old Wren's father dies in a plane accident, her bitter and distant mother moves them three times in the weeks following. Settling in Upper Peninsula Michigan, devastated and lonely Wren returns to birdwatching--a hobby she shared with her dad--which helps her grieve and ultimately leads to new friendships. A quiet and thoughtful look at how complicated grief can be.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)