Customer Reviews

Birdland

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Birdland is about two friends, Jed and Flyer who videotape a documentary about their nieghborhood. Flyer is videoing the nieghborhood to hope to connect with his father although he is not very good with a camera. He and his father had not been getting a long ever since Flyer's mother had left. Jed, on the oter hand is searching for Zeke, a poet who liked Charlie "Bird" Parker. Zeke had a lot of CD's, notebooks, and a lot of unanswered questions about himself and Charlie Parker. I think what makes this book so good is that the author wrote it so that it builds a lot of suspense. I recommend this book because it has a lot of adventure, suspense, and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Tracy Mack's mastery of language and writing style is especially evident in her latest book, Birdland. She moves the reader effortlessly through the pages and through the streets of New York City, making them seem alive enough to smell or feel. This portrait of grief is hopeful and uplifting as three families deal with the problems they have to deal with. It's a good book for teens to read, but I recommend it for anyone.

You don't have to live in New York City to fall under the spell of this beautiful novel. Descriptions of the city are cinematic, and so affecting as the story of a boy dealing with loss unfolds. Teens will relate to Jed and the weight of what he's going through, and experience the way that weight is lifted as he works things out. Impressive and unforgettable.

Bursts of lyrical beauty are overwhelmed by a plot that doesn't build up any tension for the reader, and by a propensity on the part of the main characters to act in ways that teenage boys never do - playfully mussing eachother's hair, for example. The author also displays a need to buff up on her mastery of today's street slang.