VanDraanen, Wendelin Wild Bird, 311 pages. Knopf (Random), 2017. $18.
Language: G (1 swear); Mature Content: PG (drugs and alcohol use mentioned in flashbacks); Violence: G.
Language: G (1 swear); Mature Content: PG (drugs and alcohol use mentioned in flashbacks); Violence: G.
Wren, 14, is sound
asleep in her bed when they come for her.
She’s allowed to dress, but nothing more. And after the end of a long, confusing journey
she finds herself in the middle of a Utah desert. Her parents have tossed her into a teen
wilderness. At first Wren is defiant an
unrepentant, but as the desert, the program, and the others around her start to
work on her, she finally admits to herself where the blame for her life choices
have lead her.
VanDraanen packs so much heart and emotion into every page
of Wren’s journey –I flipped to the last few pages for a quick reread and I
felt like I had relived a life time. It
will just grab you and drag you along for the ride. It is so nice to hear a wilderness tory that
doesn’t end in counselor abuse, campers dying, or something other kind of angst
and evil. Instead we are treated to a
spiritual journey that I am guessing is more the norm for such groups, rather than the
horror stories that are most popular.
Thank you so much for the tender treatment, Wendelin.
MS, HS – ESSENTIAL.
Cindy, Library Teacher
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