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A review by jbrooxd
Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis
3.0
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
I enjoyed watching December's relationship develop with her foster mom, Eleanor. Eleanor has a great way of approaching December - and December recognizes and appreciates the effort. Otherwise, though, I didn't click with this one. It took me awhile to reconcile December's bird connection. She thinks she can become a bird and fly away. Is this trauma based or psychosis? She is a danger to herself as she throws herself out of trees in an effort to fly. This seems pretty serious, yet it's not really addressed in the book like it would be if this really happened with a child in foster care. I've worked with kids in out of home care before, so this was a big distraction/issue for me as I read.
I liked the connection December makes with Cheryllynn, a transgender student at her school. The bullied kids teaming up to support one another is a good story thread, but even that relationship didn't make the story click for me. I couldn't connect with the heart of it. I wasn't emotionally tied to the story.
While I usually like foster care/found family sorts of stories, this one wasn't a great fit for me. Other readers may have better luck with this one.
I enjoyed watching December's relationship develop with her foster mom, Eleanor. Eleanor has a great way of approaching December - and December recognizes and appreciates the effort. Otherwise, though, I didn't click with this one. It took me awhile to reconcile December's bird connection. She thinks she can become a bird and fly away. Is this trauma based or psychosis? She is a danger to herself as she throws herself out of trees in an effort to fly. This seems pretty serious, yet it's not really addressed in the book like it would be if this really happened with a child in foster care. I've worked with kids in out of home care before, so this was a big distraction/issue for me as I read.
I liked the connection December makes with Cheryllynn, a transgender student at her school. The bullied kids teaming up to support one another is a good story thread, but even that relationship didn't make the story click for me. I couldn't connect with the heart of it. I wasn't emotionally tied to the story.
While I usually like foster care/found family sorts of stories, this one wasn't a great fit for me. Other readers may have better luck with this one.