Bird.

Chan, Crystal.  Bird.  Simon & Schuster/Atheneum  2014  298p  $16.99    ISBN 978-1-4424-5089-9   elem/ms   Realistic fiction       E-BN           

Jewel, born on the day her brother John “Bird” died, has always felt disconnected from her parents and mute grandfather. Her friendship with Eugene and their positive influence on each other, as well as her entire family dynamic, come to a head when he has an accident.     Crystal Chan has penned a most lyrical debut novel in Bird. Set in Caledonia, Iowa, the book tells the story of the life of a family after the death of a treasured son, Jewel’s brother John.  In this beautiful novel, the relationships are drawn vividly, the multiracial nature of Jewel’s family is central without the tone being preachy, and the depths of sorrow are addressed.  The modern western world meets the folkloric traditions of Jamaica.  Compromise between cultures is hard to come by for Jewel’s parents, and this often tears her apart.  Her friend Eugene, a boy who also feels disenfranchised in his family, helps her to cope with many of her problems, and she helps him with his.  The book has many wonderful passages, such as this one, which expresses the silence that seems to wrap this family in the ever present death of John:
 

“I stayed outside for a long time collecting cattails in the ditches, until the twisting sensation inside me relaxed and the darkening sky started thundering on the horizon.  Only then did I walk home with my squishing shoes, feeling quieter, my soul water and growing.”

Summary: Jewel, born on the day her brother John “Bird” died, has always felt disconnected from her parents and mute grandfather. Her friendship with Eugene and their positive influence on each other, as well as her entire family dynamic, come to a head when he has an accident.  

Death-Fiction, Multicultural novels             --Lynn Fisher