Review by Booklist Review
Seventeen-year-old Owen was born with a hole in his chest--no skin there, just ribs--and in that hole lives a talking java sparrow named Gail, who has been with Owen since he was five days old; that's when Owen's frantic mother spirited him out of the hospital, away from what she called "the army of acronyms," people who wanted to conduct experiments on the baby. For the next 14 years, Owen lives secretly in his mother's house, forbidden to so much as step outside, lest he be discovered. Finally having enough, he begins stealthily leaving the house. But then an accident happens, Owen is discovered, and his mother drives him from their small Montana town to Puget Sound, where Owen will live secretly with his Uncle Bob and Bob's daughter, Tennessee. Managing to keep his physical anomaly a secret, Owen is at liberty to go to school and spend time on the shore of the Sound. He meets a boy named Clyde at school, and the two fall in love, despite Clyde's dangerously homophobic father. But then Owen is discovered once again, and all bets are off. Lund gets an A+ for originality and high marks, as well, for so richly realizing her brilliantly conceived novel. The book is beautifully written, too, with well-developed, empathic characters (including Gail!). Altogether an irresistible read.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lund's accomplished debut imagines an LGBTQ allegory with a blend of magical fantasy and stark reality. A talkative bird named Gail lives inside the rib cage of Owen Tanner. After a nurse discovers Gail during an emergency doctor's visit for Owen's asthma at 14, his mother moves him from their home in Montana to the outskirts of Olympia, Wash., to live with his uncle Bob and teenage cousin, Tennessee, where he is safe from the clutches of the doctors his mother calls "the Army of Acronyms." There, at 16, Owen's suicidal ideations tempt him to wade into the ocean to "live with the mermaids." He discovers a kindred spirit in Tennessee, who is exploring her sexual identity, and who places a ring of salt around the house to protect him. Together, they navigate the traumas and heartbreaks of their formative years, with Gail present at every step of the way: Owen crushes on a neighbor named Clyde, the boys contend with Clyde's abusive "thief of joy" father, and the trio of Owen, Tennessee, and Clyde plan to run away after a climactic "last hurrah" involving a psychedelic rave. Lund's emotive prose treats Owen's burgeoning development with grace and care. This fine effort succeeds at bringing new life to the coming-of-age story. Agent: Cassie Mannes Murray, Howland Literary. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
First in the "Kithamar" trilogy, set in an ancient city with a blood-bathed history, Nebula-nominated, Hugo-winning Abraham's Age of Ash tells the story of a thief named Alys whose hunt for her brother's murderer reveals secrets that could bring down rulers (40,000-copy first printing). With Clean Air, award-winning author Blake introduces a postapocalyptic world where trees are so overgrown that pollen chokes the world and people must live in domes that someone is viciously slashing. From Hugo nominee and internationally best-selling Dutch author Heuvelt, sends Nick Grevers and climbing partner Augustin up a remote mountain in the Swiss Alps called the Maudit ("cursed" in French), whose eerie stillness presages the horror to come (150,000-copy first printing). In The Thousand Eyes, a follow-up to Larkwood's LJ-starred debut, The Unspoken Name, Csorwe has defied the wizard she served and disappeared into the unknown to lead a quiet life with her mage-girlfriend--but not for long; bits and pieces of an ancient goddess are arising in the worlds of the Echo Maze, and Csorwe must join with old companions to resist (150,000-copy first printing). Owen, The Boy with the Bird in His Chest in Lund's debut, is hidden away by his mother for years to protect him but decides to risk an outing in the woods that turns catastrophic (60,000-copy first printing). Successful YA author Ross's first adult fantasy, A River Enchanted takes place on an island as magical as Prospero's, where spirits responding only to a bard's music thrive--and the trouble they are stirring up forces just-returned musician Jack and his nemesis, heiress Adaira, to cooperate (50,000-copy first printing).
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A boy with a bird in his chest navigates all the perils of adolescence while learning to accept and celebrate his queerness. Arriving during the yearly floods in Morning, Montana, Owen is born with a mysterious heart ailment. His mother, Janice, takes him home, expecting the worst. Instead, she awakens one morning to see a baby bird settled "inside the rib cage, next to his heart and lungs." So begins Owen's life as a boy with a secret, a boy who is kept inside by his mother, a boy with only the bird, Gail, for company. And so begins Lund's symbolic tale of growing up queer in the early 2000s. Isolated and hidden from the rest of the world for most of his childhood, Owen begins to long for companionship as he enters adolescence. But his mother's concern for his safety from "the Army of Acronyms" is warranted; when he enters a doctor's office in an emergency, the doctor calls him a "Terror," and Owen barely escapes. To protect her son, Janice takes him to live with her brother and his daughter, Tennessee. What follows is Owen's coming-of-age story: his efforts to survive high school, his sexual awakening, and his growing pull toward water and the ocean. In a lovely piece of magical realism, Gail is physical proof of Owen's difference from the people around him, but she also plays a parental role, offering advice and care. Owen's queerness is presented both as an essential piece of his identity from birth and as a piece of himself that he must keep secret. He struggles with self-confidence and belonging and with suicidal thoughts. Yet in the end, it is love that will save him--love, Gail, and the infinite beauty and power of the ocean. The novel follows the conventional structure of a bildungsroman, but the symbolism is decidedly unconventional. And while it takes a little while to sort out the layers of literal versus figurative meaning, the strangeness sets it apart from other coming-of-age stories. Embrace magic and suspend your disbelief and this novel may just take you on a beautiful, necessary journey. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
