1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond the Billboard, May 4, 2007
This review is from: Beyond the Billboard (Hardcover)
Gates, Susan, Beyond the Billboard, Harcourt, June, 2007
Thirteen year old Firebird Tucker peeks at the new billboard's message, Live your dreams". She feels restless but she does not know what her dreams might be. Firebird lives in a house that lies hidden by a large billboard, in a wetland swamp that lies alongside an eight-lane freeway. The "swamp was on the extreme edge of the city, its last wild margin", and few people ever wandered there and if they did, she was supposed to hide. She lives with her father, Trapper, her grandmother, Gran and her brother, Ford. Her mother is dead, or so she has been told. Trapper says, "We've got all we need here. The cities a terrible place." The billboard metaphorically makes "Firebird and her family invisible", although sometimes she wonders about the world that lies beyond this billboard.
Trapper and his son Ford trap eels to sell, and the income from that enterprise can sustain the family well enough, and Trapper's mother takes charge of the family finances and welfare. Firebird does not have a "job" but she makes beautiful purses that go into Gran's locked cupboard, which she knows, must be just bulging with her feathered creations. Nevertheless, her brother whines because she does not need to work like he does.
One day when Firebird visits her mother's grave, a nosey stranger who is wandering around in the swamp informs her that the Angel tombstone that she was told her Dad had especially made for her mother has instead been stolen from a historic city graveyard. Firebird tries to make sense of this "illogical" information. Then she finds out that some eels that the family prepared for sale have instead just been dumped. Awakened curiosity leads her to peek in the locked cupboard; there are only a few purses.
So one night she secretively leaves the swamp for the first time ever to follow her Gran who is carrying a package containing some purses; they walk toward the city through large water pipes that go under the relentlessly noisy freeway. Eventually, her grandmother stops at a store whose display window is filled with Firebird's beautiful purses. Firebird realizes that her Gran has been selling all the purses that are missing from the cupboard, and only then realizes that it is actually her "work" that supports the family. She also begins to wonder what other family lies may have misinformed her.
Some dramatic events fuel this fast read and Firebird is a very appealing character. Although the other characters are developed just enough to provide context for her story, the swamp setting is well developed and the plot is absorbing.
Some readers may be bothered by a few slightly hard to believe details like the family has lived for generations in the swamp without discovery by officials, and that Firebird is able to enter a building that has a security guard and still manage to get to the roof and smash a huge beacon of light that she believes is a deathtrap for birds. This story has enough originality and adventure to capture the interest of girls, ages 10-14.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 18, 2008
This review is from: Beyond the Billboard (Hardcover)
This book surprised me. I liked it a lot.
Firebird and Ford are thirteen-year-old twins. They have lived all of their life with their grandma and dad because their mother died in childbirth. Trapper, the dad, is in the eel business. Ford and Trapper spend all their days hunting eel in the swamp where they live. Firebird sits and looks at a billboard which hides them from the outside and dreams of seeing faraway places. She also makes purses out of eel skins and colorful feathers. Her grandma takes them and puts them in a locked cupboard.
One day, Firebird runs out of feathers and looks in the cupboard for some more. To her surprise there aren't any purses there. Her grandmother has been lying to her. Firebird then follows her into the city and finds that grandma has been selling her purses there. This floors Firebird and causes her to wonder what is true in her life.
I liked BEYOND THE BILLBOARD but at times I needed to suspend belief. I don't think that people can live so close to a big city with children and no one would know. But, if you can believe that, then the story is excellent and the mystery is interesting.
I had a hard time with the eels but the characters are great. I wanted to be Firebird's friend. I also want to know more about the twins. If you find this book then read it. It is a good one.
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fine, warm story of family secrets evolves., July 9, 2007
This review is from: Beyond the Billboard (Hardcover)
Firebird and her family live in a primitive broken-down hut that is completely hidden by a massive billboard - and Firebird has never been allowed to leave their wilderness swamp or talk to strangers. Suddenly strangers are all over the swamp - and threaten her family's secretive life. How can Firebird keep her life the same when the entire world has decided to enter it? A fine, warm story of family secrets evolves.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
