WILD BIRD, by Diane Zahler, Roaring Brook Press, March 21, 2023, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 10 and up)
A young girl sets out on an epic journey as the plague sweeps across 14th century Europe in Wild Bird, by Diane Zahler.
Her name was Rype. That wasn’t really her name. It was what the strangers called her. She didn’t remember her real name. She didn’t remember anything at all.
Rype was hiding in the hollow of a tree trunk when they found her. She was hungry, small, cold, alone. She did not speak their language, or understand their mannerisms. But she knew this: To survive, she would have to go with them.
In fourteenth-century Norway, the plague has destroyed the entire village of Skeviga. To stay alive, Rype, the only one left, must embark on a sweeping adventure across Europe with the son of an English ship captain and a band of troubadours in search of a brighter future and a new home. —Synopsis provided by Roaring Brook Press
Wild Bird is one of those books that you want to reread almost as soon as you finish it. Author Diane Zahler’s ability to show scope while remaining intimate is excellent, and her prose and pacing are comfortable and well-suited to her story.
When readers first meet Rype, she is in shock. Alone in the world, with nothing to her name, she has no choice but to leave her home. Her sadness is palpable, and the enormity of loss is well explored.
As dark as a story about the Black Death must be, Zahler also brings in light and hope. The introduction of troubadours is a stroke of genius. These characters bring humor and friendship and a sense of ingenuity.
Having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, young readers will relate to Rype’s story on a much more personal level. The plague no longer becomes some thing from long ago.
While the publisher’s suggested age range for Wild Bird is 8-12, the book reads older. LGBTQ+ issues, sexual innuendo in sea shanties and implied sexual abuse of a character push it a bit older — ages 10 and up — or at least warrant a parent-child discussion.
Wild Bird is a fast, compelling read that will appeal to older middle readers, young adults and even adults.
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