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A review by corabookworm
The Boy with a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
I had to read this book for my English class and while it wasn't a bad book to read for school it wasn't something I really enjoyed.
First, the bird-in-the-chest thing. My English teacher said (SO many times) that this WASN'T a metaphor for anything, it was really a JUST bird in his chest and that's what the book was about. But it's really hard to read this book and not notice parallels to queerness/transness or just feelings of "otherness". But if it was an allegory, it felt kind of incomplete and disjointed. And if it really WASN'T a metaphor, then it was just an example of magical realism that fell flat for me. Because magical realism doesn't really intrigue me when its ONE thing happening to ONE guy for the ENTIRE book. It only kind of vaguely branched out at the end? But otherwise it was just centered around him and the bird in his chest didn't really matter for most of the book, if that makes sense. It feels like it would've been almost the same story if the bird hadn't been there.
Second: what the heck were the adults in this book. Like it was kind of interesting to analyze them and realize the author made them not-great on purpose. But WHY would you constantly smoke around your severely asthmatic kid. And WHY do the adults just give kids drugs and alcohol for fun. Like what.
Final problem with this book: I just really didn't want to read about an underage boy doing drugs and having sex and masturbating this much. You know? Like, I get it's a coming of age story and those things play a part. But it's just very much not my cup of tea.
Now, the GOOD stuff: This book wasn't actually bad! It just wasn't my cup of tea! Under the magical realism/metaphor stuff and the weird sexual stuff, this is a very bright and sweet coming of age story. Owen was sweet, Gail was hilarious, and I treasured his interactions with Tennessee and Clyde and all his other people. Reading about queer kids finding groups of queers is just such a specific feeling of comfort and I really enjoyed that about the book. There were several funny moments and lines. Many of the ''issues" I had with this book could definitely be brushed away knowing that this is a debut novel and simply wasn't the kind of book/content I like to read. If you like coming of age stories with an added element of sci-fi/magic/whatever, you may enjoy TBWABIHC.
First, the bird-in-the-chest thing. My English teacher said (SO many times) that this WASN'T a metaphor for anything, it was really a JUST bird in his chest and that's what the book was about. But it's really hard to read this book and not notice parallels to queerness/transness or just feelings of "otherness". But if it was an allegory, it felt kind of incomplete and disjointed. And if it really WASN'T a metaphor, then it was just an example of magical realism that fell flat for me. Because magical realism doesn't really intrigue me when its ONE thing happening to ONE guy for the ENTIRE book. It only kind of vaguely branched out at the end? But otherwise it was just centered around him and the bird in his chest didn't really matter for most of the book, if that makes sense. It feels like it would've been almost the same story if the bird hadn't been there.
Second: what the heck were the adults in this book. Like it was kind of interesting to analyze them and realize the author made them not-great on purpose. But WHY would you constantly smoke around your severely asthmatic kid. And WHY do the adults just give kids drugs and alcohol for fun. Like what.
Final problem with this book: I just really didn't want to read about an underage boy doing drugs and having sex and masturbating this much. You know? Like, I get it's a coming of age story and those things play a part. But it's just very much not my cup of tea.
Now, the GOOD stuff: This book wasn't actually bad! It just wasn't my cup of tea! Under the magical realism/metaphor stuff and the weird sexual stuff, this is a very bright and sweet coming of age story. Owen was sweet, Gail was hilarious, and I treasured his interactions with Tennessee and Clyde and all his other people. Reading about queer kids finding groups of queers is just such a specific feeling of comfort and I really enjoyed that about the book. There were several funny moments and lines. Many of the ''issues" I had with this book could definitely be brushed away knowing that this is a debut novel and simply wasn't the kind of book/content I like to read. If you like coming of age stories with an added element of sci-fi/magic/whatever, you may enjoy TBWABIHC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Stalking
Minor: Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Abandonment
SPOILERS!! More detailed explanations for Content Warnings:
>> Character has to hide a distinct part of themselves (bird) for fear of being attacked and experimented on; has panic attacks about the "Army of Acronyms" (cops and doctors) finding him
>> Character is bullied and beaten
>> Character is kept confined to a house for most of his childhood by paranoid mother
>> Drug/alcohol use by teens (also briefly kids) and adults with smoking/drinking problems
>> One scene that could've been read either as just a weird sexual encounter or sexual assault (character tries to pull away a few times)