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A review by smitchy
A Murmuration of Starlings by Franny Billingsley
5.0
I absolutely adored this book. It is old wild west meets magical realism / fantasy. Themes of trust / memory / family / luck / trauma. The language in this book pushes up to a level not often found in children's lit: allegory, metaphor, symbolism, an extensive vocabulary and lyrical language are all used beautifully. Also this cover! Perfection!!
A world were not giving a penny in exchange for a weapon will result in that weapon turning on you. Is it magic or superstition?
Our nameless protagonist is Robber Girl. She is 9 or maybe 11. She rides with Gentleman Jack and his band. He is an outlaw and her hero, her saviour. Today is Day Zero. The day they will rob the stage coach and get the gold that will make Gentleman Jack heir to his grandmother's empire. But everything goes wrong. There was never gold, only a trap to catch an outlaw. Now Robber Girl has to learn tame ways in the house of the judge who trapped Gentleman Jack. Robber Girl isn't tame. She is wild and she knows if anyone can save Gentleman Jack it is her.
But maybe things are not as they seem, and maybe it is time to start believing in herself instead of Gentleman Jack?
Robber Girl at first appears like an unreliable narrator but as the story unfolds we see she has a child's view of her life and the events surrounding her - She has built her view of life in the way she has to survive and to thrive in her life with Gentleman Jack. Her view is obscured due to the lies and half-truths she has been told and has believed because to do anything else would rip her world apart. She also behaves like a child would (a good change IMO from some kid lit that has children acting as teens and teens as adults -precocious beyond their years).
Yes there is some violence (death too) in the story but it is not glorified or graphic, and it is in keeping with the wild west tone of the story. No sex or sexual violence.
A world were not giving a penny in exchange for a weapon will result in that weapon turning on you. Is it magic or superstition?
Our nameless protagonist is Robber Girl. She is 9 or maybe 11. She rides with Gentleman Jack and his band. He is an outlaw and her hero, her saviour. Today is Day Zero. The day they will rob the stage coach and get the gold that will make Gentleman Jack heir to his grandmother's empire. But everything goes wrong. There was never gold, only a trap to catch an outlaw. Now Robber Girl has to learn tame ways in the house of the judge who trapped Gentleman Jack. Robber Girl isn't tame. She is wild and she knows if anyone can save Gentleman Jack it is her.
But maybe things are not as they seem, and maybe it is time to start believing in herself instead of Gentleman Jack?
Robber Girl at first appears like an unreliable narrator but as the story unfolds we see she has a child's view of her life and the events surrounding her - She has built her view of life in the way she has to survive and to thrive in her life with Gentleman Jack. Her view is obscured due to the lies and half-truths she has been told and has believed because to do anything else would rip her world apart. She also behaves like a child would (a good change IMO from some kid lit that has children acting as teens and teens as adults -precocious beyond their years).
Yes there is some violence (death too) in the story but it is not glorified or graphic, and it is in keeping with the wild west tone of the story. No sex or sexual violence.