One way to describe Sugar Birds is to call it a coming of age story.
Which it is. But it is also a look at parenting, families, relationships,
survival, and faith. Each of these characters were unique. However, their
common bond (for the most part) was having gone through some hard times then
deciding how they would treat others. All of this while they are on a search
and rescue mission to locate poor little Aggie. I was completely absorbed in
this book from the beginning.
The story is told by Aggie and Celia in alternating chapters.
Aggie
Agate Esther (Aggie) is a just-turned 10 year old girl who lives with her
parents and her brother. She is consumed with bird-watching. She is familiar
with the forest around her and just cannot follow her mother's directions to
stop climbing the trees to observe the birds. Aggie documents the birds in
her notebook and is encouraged by her father to do so. However, she defies
her mother's directions to stay out of the trees. After they have conflict
about the issue again, Aggie decides to try to get back into mom's good
favor by making kindling as a gift. Unfortunately, she inadvertently causes
a house fire.
"Her chest clenched, wringing her insides hard, like a dishcloth. Dad. Mama. She killed them with those sticks. With her fire. She beat her legs with clenched first, bit her cheeks, tasted blood." - Sugar Birds
Believing she has killed her parents and will be arrested, she panics and
flees to the forest to hide. She has plenty of survival skills but will she
survive the predators?
Celia
"We're on track for the cabin by eight tonight, Daddy" I flipped down the visor mirror and twisted the stud in my infected earlobe, my teeth set against its sting." - Sugar Birds
Celia is a 16 year old young lady, who thinks she's going to the family
lake cabin in Washington state with her dad. Her mother, not the most warm
and attentive on any day, has left them. Celia is trying to move on from
that betrayal when her father discloses that he's not taking them to the
cabin. He's taking her to her grandmother's home while he goes on a remote
work assignment for several months. Celia is furious that her father is also
leaving her and she immediately starts to formulate a plan to runaway. She
believes that she'll find a way to return to Texas on her own and will stay
with her friend Meredith. The very same friend that her dad doesn't approve
of.
I hope that I'm not making Celia sound like a run-of-the-mill ungrateful
adolescent character. She is not. Celia is a high school math nerd, cross
country runner, compassionate young lady who helps her grandmother rescue
and rehabilitate birds. However, with Meredith's tutoring, she has just
begun to catch the attention of boys.
"Dancing flames didn't cause those astonished stares when I walked through that crowd in Meredith's hand-tooled cowboy boots with Luke hanging on me. I swear Meredith sensed that I was about to ditch him and run to the ladies room to scrub my face and calm my hair down a little. She trotted up beside us, looped her arm in mine and whispered that I was a Harrison County version of Sandy in Grease." - Sugar Birds
After her father drops angry/hurt Celia off with her grandmother, she
quickly catches the attention of Cabot.
Mender
Marta Burke a.k.a Mender a.k.a Gram is an aclaimed biologist who has
retired but who is active rehabilitating birds. She gardens. She prays. And
she cares deeply for others. Mender has taught Celia the skills needed to
handle and rehabilitate birds; raptors being Celia's favorite. Will Mender
be able to keep Celia from being the prey?
Burnaby
Burnaby. Aggie's older brother and Loomis' employee. Burnaby has difficulty
with interactions, eye contact, and affection. But his is a good employee,
following rules and routines. He too loves the natural world and is very
specifically drawn to bird and animal bones.
I absolutely loved Burnaby's character.
"Mama says I give speeches when I should be conversing. Misplaced
monologues are selfish, she says. Talking should be reciprocal. Unselfish.
Like tossing an apple back and forth so each hearer can catch it. She says
I should listen without having a speech ready. Consider. Respond. Listen
again." - Sugar Birds
Harris & Bree
Harris is Aggie and Burnaby's father. He moved them to the area, after he
left the Alaska Forest Service, in order to be close to family. He nurtured
the children's love of the outdoors and knowledge base; such as foraging for
edible plants and water that is safe to drink. Bree also loved the outdoors.
And once-upon-a-time, she collected Agates from a cliff. And this is how
they chose Aggie's name. Bree struggled with mental illness and Aggie
resented the change.
Loomis & Nora
This couple is Aggie's Aunt and Uncle and Mender's neighbors. They own a
dairy farm. They employ Burnaby and Cabot.
Cabot
Twenty-year-old Cabot likes Celia. As have the others, twenty-year-old
Cabot has been through some rough times and he has chosen to hang on to his
anger and lash out at others. He is the villain, and his behaviors are a
perfect example of a budding abusive relationship.
I LOVED Sugar Birds: A Novel by Cheryl Grey Bostrom
I am rarely able to read a book in a matter of 2-3 days. Not only did I
read this in 2 days, I stayed up last night after 2:00 am trying to get to
the end. I wanted to learn who survived and whether or not some of them
didn't. Granted, I'm on vacation so it was an easier decision to stay up
many hours past my bedtime. But I'm not so sure I would have put the book
down even if I had to work the next morning. Not only were the characters
interesting, but the descriptions of the setting painted the picture
perfectly.
I do not feel that I've been able to review this book as it deserves. I
hope you will take a peek at it on Amazon for not only the long list of
awards this book has received, but the reviews from the other
readers.
If you read
Where the Crawdads Sing
and loved it, you'll enjoy this story.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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