After reading the back teaser at our school book fair, I thought I had a winning read: a girl who has a breakdown and now has to convince people she was NOT trying to jump off the roof of her school. Seems like it could be heartwarming and funny, but it felt disjointed, like it was two books in one.
Sparrow is an 8th grader who can fly. Well, at least in her mind. Being an extreme introvert and overly anxious, her coping mechanism when life got too hard was to pretend she was a bird and fly away. But when her favorite teacher at school dies unexpectedly, Sparrow starts to come apart. Hence the school finding her on the roof and assuming she was going to jump. Now Sparrow is in therapy and trying to deal with her emotions. This is where the story diverges. Her hip therapist plays Sparrow music to help her explain her emotions. From this she learns to use music as her escape instead and decides to try going to a music camp during the summer.
I know it’s all focusing on Sparrow and how she deals with her anxiety, but the whole music camp part of the story seemed a little like an add-on. I get where the author was going with it, but it just didn’t mesh well with the rest of the story. It’s like listening to a mediocre song and thinking it’s about over when the singers launch into another verse.
Another detail I had issues with was the ending. The climax the story has been building towards ended up being glossed over and pushed away in a rush to get to the resolution. Overall, it’s an okay story, just not the best about this topic.
If you’re really looking for a stellar story about teens dealing with anxiety and inward fears, here are some better choices:
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk
House Arrest by K.A. Holt
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