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narteest's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
thought provoking, literary, interesting in how it was written.
thought provoking, literary, interesting in how it was written.
cornmaven's review against another edition
4.0
I am not sure how I feel about this novel. Very Catcher in The Rye-esque, in fact Cullen Witter references that estmeemed classic. Clearly this is a story about grief, how people react and deal with deep unending grief. Cullen retreats to fantasy, talking in 3rd person at those moments. His parents do other things. His friend Lucas Cader embraces joy as a shield for his grief. His aunt talks nonstop. All very interesting.
The bird is the Ivory-billed woodpecker, in here called the Lazarus bird. It is considered extinct, but controversy surrounds a supposed sighting, and Phillip Hoose wrote a wonderful book about it.
Cullen's brother Gabriel disappears at one point. There are two seemingly separate stories being told in this book, but they come together near the end, and connect with Gabriel.
The writing is exquisite. Very sophisticated, and I understant why it won the Printz Award. BUT, I could not decide at the end whether Cullen's last fantasy was in fact real. Did his brother return or not? And what of all this bird symbolism and fundamentalist religion stuff? I could not decide what the metaphors were - hope against hope, perhaps?
So I loved and I was confused by it. But what I wasn't was sorry I had read it.
The bird is the Ivory-billed woodpecker, in here called the Lazarus bird. It is considered extinct, but controversy surrounds a supposed sighting, and Phillip Hoose wrote a wonderful book about it.
Cullen's brother Gabriel disappears at one point. There are two seemingly separate stories being told in this book, but they come together near the end, and connect with Gabriel.
The writing is exquisite. Very sophisticated, and I understant why it won the Printz Award. BUT, I could not decide at the end whether Cullen's last fantasy was in fact real. Did his brother return or not? And what of all this bird symbolism and fundamentalist religion stuff? I could not decide what the metaphors were - hope against hope, perhaps?
So I loved and I was confused by it. But what I wasn't was sorry I had read it.
sherasliberry's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant. Going along then boom we see how everything connects. Left pondering if those things in our lives we lost or gone missing will come back.
rachelbaack's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Summary: In the small town where Cullen Whitter lives, a man claims to have spotted a rare woodpecker, which brings hordes of tourists to the town. Amidst all the madness, Cullen’s little brother Gabriel goes missing, and Cullen begins trying to find him. Meanwhile, the book focuses on an alternate timeline that features a failed missionary named Benton Sage and his roommate, Cabot Searcy. This is an incredibly compelling piece of fiction.
beckyb16's review against another edition
2.0
So if the story is about a bird, it's already ranking pretty high in my book! :) There is something near and dear about a good bird story - and for that, yes, the book had an intriguing bird story - a great mystery and twist at the end as well. BUT, I do not think we needed all of the foul language - it wasn't even necessary and there are relationship/sexual scenes that I also felt were tricky in a YA book. I have heard Whaley speak and thoroughly enjoyed that but the book just did not measure up to what I was hoping. I struggled to really "know" the characters and just felt the content frustrated me since it was intended for teens and felt more "adult" in nature.
kpalko07's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this book was good, but it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. There were a lot of times when I would get bored reading it and the ending felt very rushed
m_woods's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This standalone was unpredictable in all the best ways. It surprised me, and moved me through the journey of the two different storylines that became inexplicably tied together. The way the storyline developed was fascinating!
Essentially, this book is about loss, hope, and second chances. It wasn’t a “fun” read. Or a “light” read. Or even necessarily an “enjoyable” read. But it was poignant, and it made me think about loss and trauma and humanity’s tethered pull towards hope.
I read this book practically in one day. I devoured it. That being said, I wouldn’t say that this was a fast-paced book. It developed slowly and smoothly and into something that was greater than it was before.
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“Not only had my brother disappeared, but – and bear with me here – a part of my very being had gone with him. Stories about us could, from then on, be told from only one perspective. Memories could be told but not shared.”
This standalone was unpredictable in all the best ways. It surprised me, and moved me through the journey of the two different storylines that became inexplicably tied together. The way the storyline developed was fascinating!
Essentially, this book is about loss, hope, and second chances. It wasn’t a “fun” read. Or a “light” read. Or even necessarily an “enjoyable” read. But it was poignant, and it made me think about loss and trauma and humanity’s tethered pull towards hope.
I read this book practically in one day. I devoured it. That being said, I wouldn’t say that this was a fast-paced book. It developed slowly and smoothly and into something that was greater than it was before.
-
“Not only had my brother disappeared, but – and bear with me here – a part of my very being had gone with him. Stories about us could, from then on, be told from only one perspective. Memories could be told but not shared.”
shubagar's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't find it as wonderful as the others. But it was nice in its own way.
kim_j_dare's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Multi-layered story with wonderfully drawn characters steeped in a mixture of quirkiness and angst. This is thought-provoking YA literature that's hard to put down, and hard to get out of your head when you're done, but only in the best way.
Looking forward to our DC KidLit discussion of this Printz Award winner later this week.
Looking forward to our DC KidLit discussion of this Printz Award winner later this week.
dontstopreadin's review against another edition
2.0
I really didn't like this book. Just not my thing.