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sauriaiel's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thenextgenlibrarian's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
3.25
A coming-of-age YA novel about a girl finding her voice and her wings to fly.
šŖ½
Meet Dove āBirdieā Randolph. Sheās always been the good girl her parents want her to be: dating the boy they approved of, quitting soccer to focus on academic and taking tutoring courses in the summer to graduate at the top of her class. When Birdie starts dating someone new, Booker, a sweet boy with a troubled past, she starts to push the boundaries of what her parents will allow. At the same time her aunt who she hasnāt ever really spent time with is now living with them, trying to stay clean from her alcohol addiction. Through talks with her cool aunt, Birdie starts to challenge what sheās always known and fights for more.
šŖ½
Normally I love Brandy Colbertās books but this one was a bit underwhelming. I still believe it to be such an important novel with themes of family, sex positivity, asexual and queer representation. However even with the twist at the end, I still never fully connected with Birdie or her story. I wasnāt a fan of her mom and how strict she was with Birdie, who was pretty perfect. 3.25āļø
CW: child abandonment, alcoholism, alcohol, drug use, racism, racial profiling, family estrangement, bullying, death of a parent (cancer), physical assault (recounted)
šŖ½
Meet Dove āBirdieā Randolph. Sheās always been the good girl her parents want her to be: dating the boy they approved of, quitting soccer to focus on academic and taking tutoring courses in the summer to graduate at the top of her class. When Birdie starts dating someone new, Booker, a sweet boy with a troubled past, she starts to push the boundaries of what her parents will allow. At the same time her aunt who she hasnāt ever really spent time with is now living with them, trying to stay clean from her alcohol addiction. Through talks with her cool aunt, Birdie starts to challenge what sheās always known and fights for more.
šŖ½
Normally I love Brandy Colbertās books but this one was a bit underwhelming. I still believe it to be such an important novel with themes of family, sex positivity, asexual and queer representation. However even with the twist at the end, I still never fully connected with Birdie or her story. I wasnāt a fan of her mom and how strict she was with Birdie, who was pretty perfect. 3.25āļø
CW: child abandonment, alcoholism, alcohol, drug use, racism, racial profiling, family estrangement, bullying, death of a parent (cancer), physical assault (recounted)
mnvivian's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ekhrtly's review
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
juliamariereads's review against another edition
3.75
Solid contemporary. Easily recommend for 8-high schoolers.
nklosty's review against another edition
5.0
This well-written book kept me interested the entire time. I particularly liked the relationships within Birdie's family. The dynamics felt real as did the interactions. The struggle of honesty and teenagers is a topic that has numerous tales, all of which could be true. 95*
jwinchell's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Birdieās strong voice that had doubts and worries and struggled with breaking her momās rules. Sweet Booker with a troubled past and her Aubt Carlene fresh out of rehab again have Birdie thinking about the whys of her momās strict rules for her and her high achieving self. Break the rules she does and thatās when this book crosses over into high school material. Steamy!! When a family secret is finally out in the open, Birdie is free to be her complex self and to say to her mom that she wants to play soccer again. Recommended.
emmapennpls's review against another edition
I realized that YA writing is no longer for me!
kayladbruns's review
3.0
This was my first book by Brandy Colbert and I was excited to start it. This covers some serious topics and also has quite a bit of diversity. However, what kept me from really loving this book were the characters and the lack of plot.
This book just follows along with Birdieās everyday life while she manages love, family, and finding out about herself. For the most part, I did like Birdie. She came off as an average teenager. Really naĆÆve, but still an average teenager.
I canāt say that I connected with any character here sadly. I didnāt grow up the same as Birdie so when I say I that I didnāt really like her family, you have to take that from a different point of view. My parents were never strict and never forced me to do things that I didnāt love. Also, I think the worst to me was her mother. She super judgmental and pushed her beliefs onto Birdie. I think that teenagers should get to form their own opinions about the world, not just what their parents want them to. The best character to me was her aunt Carlene. While she was NOWHERE near perfect, she didnāt let the bad days win and she really pushed herself to finally be on the recovery road that she wanted to be.
We did get a bit of a romance here and I really enjoyed our love interest, Booker. He was sweet and someone that Birdie really paired well with. I would have loved to see more about the two of them.
I think the best part of this novel was how much diversity we received. There were so many discussions of race, sexual orientation, and also dealing with alcoholism. It didnāt feel forced and was thrown into even regular conversation between characters.
To wrap up my review, while I wasnāt wowed by my first Brandy Colbert read; I can see why her work is well loved in the book community. The characters and lack of plot are what held me back but I think that so many readers will enjoy this one.
TW: Alcoholism; talk of drug use
āØI received an ARC via The Novl for an honest review.
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This book just follows along with Birdieās everyday life while she manages love, family, and finding out about herself. For the most part, I did like Birdie. She came off as an average teenager. Really naĆÆve, but still an average teenager.
I canāt say that I connected with any character here sadly. I didnāt grow up the same as Birdie so when I say I that I didnāt really like her family, you have to take that from a different point of view. My parents were never strict and never forced me to do things that I didnāt love. Also, I think the worst to me was her mother. She super judgmental and pushed her beliefs onto Birdie. I think that teenagers should get to form their own opinions about the world, not just what their parents want them to. The best character to me was her aunt Carlene. While she was NOWHERE near perfect, she didnāt let the bad days win and she really pushed herself to finally be on the recovery road that she wanted to be.
We did get a bit of a romance here and I really enjoyed our love interest, Booker. He was sweet and someone that Birdie really paired well with. I would have loved to see more about the two of them.
I think the best part of this novel was how much diversity we received. There were so many discussions of race, sexual orientation, and also dealing with alcoholism. It didnāt feel forced and was thrown into even regular conversation between characters.
To wrap up my review, while I wasnāt wowed by my first Brandy Colbert read; I can see why her work is well loved in the book community. The characters and lack of plot are what held me back but I think that so many readers will enjoy this one.
TW: Alcoholism; talk of drug use
āØI received an ARC via The Novl for an honest review.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter
sydneyamber's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25