North Carolina School Library Media Association (NCSLMA)
- Youth Book Award Nominee - 2017/18
American Booksellers Association Best Books of the Year - 2016
After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Wren finds her life thrown into upheaval. And when her mother decides to pack up the car and forces Wren to leave the only home she's ever known, the family grows even more fractured. As she and her mother struggle to build a new life, Wren must confront issues with the environment, peer pressure, bullying, and most of all, the difficulty of forgiving those who don't seem to deserve it. A quirky, emotional middle grade novel set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Be Light Like a Bird features well-drawn, unconventional characters and explores what it means to be a family and the secrets and lies that can tear one apart.
Advance Praise for Be Light Like a Bird
“This book should come with a warning. It will pull you in, break your heart, and take you by surprise. A masterful weaving of loss and grief, friendship and family, bullies and birds...I guarantee you’ve never read anything like it.” - Barbara O’Connor, author of How To Steal a Dog
“A moving and ultimately heartwarming journey through loss. Hand to readers who loved Ali Benjamin's The Thing About Jellyfish.” – School Library Journal
“Be Light Like a Bird is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, a quiet and gentle story of the isolation of grief--and of growing up. It speaks straight to the heart about the power of communication and of forgiveness and is sure to inspire compassion in its readers.” – Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, TX
"Wren’s sense of self and ingenuity will inspire readers to find hope and opportunity . . .” — Elizabeth O. Dulemba, author of the award-winning A Bird on Water Street
"With amazing surprises of love, connection, resentment and nature this story weaves together life's lies and truths and explodes when the two can no longer co-exist.” — The Little Shop of Stories, Decatur, Georgia
"This novel is overflowing with great discussion topics including the grief of losing a parent, protecting our environment, Native American history and making special friends in a place you can call home. Highly recommended.” — Schuler Books and Music, Okemos, Michigan
“A wonderful look at the way grief and loss affect us, and how friendship and connection are everything. One of my favorite tween books this year!” – The Fountainhead Bookstore, Hendersonville, North Carolina
“Skillful characterization carries this quiet novel along.” – Kirkus Reviews