Birdwatching and a new friend give a 12-year-old boy unexpected purpose while he awaits his mother's heart transplant in Rare Birds, a tender and emotionally resonant middle-grade novel by Jeff Miller (The Nerdy Dozen).
Florida is the fourth stop in two years for Graham Dodds and his mom, Lindsay, who was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition on Graham's 10th birthday. At the Florida Clinic, in his mom's swampy hometown of Sugarland, Graham meets sage Lou, who is "weird, but good weird. Kind of like me," and equally well versed in hospital secrets. A contest to spot a snail kite, an elusive bird his mother sought in high school, unites Graham and Lou on a journey that offers each child a satisfying opportunity to shift their perspective about what it means to make the most of life: "Mom always says birds deliver messages. Maybe this one will deliver something more. A miracle, maybe."
Quick chapters--some only a page long--and Graham's dryly humorous first-person narration keep Rare Birds solidly hopeful even when the story turns heart-wrenching. Side plot lines around a third child, Nick, offer readers a meaningful opportunity to explore youth agency and acceptance of change. Miller, while tackling tough subjects, includes a range of coping mechanisms, such as Nick's avoidance, Lindsay's "it all happens for a reason" mantra, and the mental reprieve Graham calls "My Waiting Room." The characters also all model exceptional emotional growth alongside solid environmental stewardship.
Rare Birds is a vulnerable, emotionally complex dive that urges readers to find solace and intention in small moments that make life worth living to its fullest. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf