Birdy (Sharon Kernot, Text)

In Birdy, a compelling YA verse novel by CBCA award-winning author Sharon Kernot (The Art of Taxidermy), we meet Maddy, who began experiencing selective mutism and anxiety after an unnamed incident. The opening poems set the scene as Maddy and her family move to the country to recuperate. There, we meet Alice, an older woman some consider ‘bonkers’, who has been waiting for her teenage daughter, Birdy, to come home since she disappeared 45 years earlier. When Maddie and Alice cross paths, this triggers an instant connection. The novel deals with themes of friendship, family, grief and connections to community and place, and it gently touches on heavier issues, including consent, bullying and trauma. The dual mysteries are intriguing; Kernot expertly contrasts Maddy’s incident with that of Alice’s missing daughter, bringing the past to the fore and illuminating the cultural context of the era. The characters, including Maddy’s brother, her parents, and her new friend Levi, are convincingly portrayed, with Maddy’s first-person point of view, introspections and frustrations being particularly moving. The language is evocative and lyrical, with each poem having concise titles. The layout and changing cadence of the poems enhance the reading experience; for example, one poem shaped like a tornado effectively shows a blustery day. Fans of Sarah Crossan will be hooked by this hope-filled story of how small acts of kindness make a big impact on everyone.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Alida Galati is a freelance reviewer, a secondary school librarian and writing and reading enthusiast. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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