Customer Reviews

The Key to the Golden Firebird

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The Key to the Golden Firebird

Maureen Johnson

This is the story of three teenage sisters that have to work together to over come a tragedy in their life. A year ago the three sisters Brooks, May, and Palmer found out about their dads death. He died from a heart attack in his beloved 1967 Firebird. Their family is falling apart now that their dad is gone. Their mom is not home much because of her work. She has a night time job as a nurse.

All three of the sisters have a different way of coping with this tragedy. Brooks is the oldest of the three girls. She found a boyfriend, Dave, that she is spending every minute of her free time with. He is being a bad influence on her life. Dave talked her into quitting her high school softball teem, and now she is into a life of drinking, staying out late, and getting into trouble. This life leads her to getting arrested for drunk driving!

May is the middle sister. She is known as the responsible one. She is doing well in school, and has an after school job to raise money for collage. May does something that no one would expect from a responsible child. She fails her driving test. When her neighbor, Pete, agrees to give her lessons, May discovers new feelings for Pete. She is falling for the once mean neighbor that would play tricks on her every change he got.

Finally there's Palmer. She is the youngest sister. She likes to keep to herself, and never tell anyone anything about her life. She is an amazing softball player. She is the pitcher on her high school team. She watches tv a lot and likes to go through her moms closet. One day while she is looking through old things in her mothers closet she discovers something that will change all of them forever. It is the key to their dads old Firebird.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I really like the authors style of writing. I like the action of the book, and how it really makes you feel like a part of the story. I also liked how in the beginning they are all separate and secluded, but by the end they discover that it is really important to stick together and to trust each other.

It's been a year since the unthinkable happened. On that fateful day, Mike Gold had a fatal heart attack in his beloved 1967 golden Firebird Pontiac. Since they lost their father, the Gold sisters --- May, Brooks and Palmer --- have not been the same. Before, they were typical teenagers who enjoyed carefree summer pranks. Now, their mother is not around as much; she has to work the night shift as a nurse to support the family, and the three sisters are left to fend for themselves.

THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD tells the stories of three teenage sisters who are all very different, yet they're struggling with the same problem. May Gold, short for Mayzie, is the reliable sister --- she's smart, does well in school, works a part-time job to save money for college, and is expected to keep a watchful eye on her younger sister, Palmer. In a very un-Maylike turn of events, May fails her driver's exam. Pete Camp, the adorable dorky neighbor, volunteers to teach May to drive. During May's summer of driving lessons, she also encounters a bumpy ride of falling in love with someone she knew her whole life.

Brooks Gold is the oldest. As a testament to their father's addiction to baseball, Brooks is named after the famous baseball player Brooks Robinson. Brooks herself is a star softball player, but in the summer after her father's death, she finds herself hanging out with a new wild boyfriend, Dave, and his inner-circle of misfits. When Dave suggests that she quit the team, she comes to a realization.

Brooks thinks, "Her father had put a bat in her hand the minute she was strong enough to hold it up, and that was that. Afternoons and weekends were for playing. She didn't even know what people who didn't play sports did with their time. But she had to admit, she'd seen less and less of a point in playing in the last year." Once off the team, Brooks has more time to drink excessively, come home way too late, and get into trouble.

Palmer Gold, the youngest, is also an amazing softball player. Even though she's only a freshman, she's a pitcher on the varsity softball team. Palmer lives in a world of her own, keeping her problems to herself. She doesn't tell anyone about the panic attacks that keep waking her up in the middle of the night. She also snoops around watching her sisters and rummaging through her mother's closet. During one of her investigations, she finds something she wasn't expecting that will be the key to helping her and her sisters feel better.

Maureen Johnson's first novel tells the touching tale of three sisters' journey as they find a way to make peace with their father's death. The Gold family deals with their grief the same way they treat their problems --- silently. As a result, each sister has an emotional explosion at the end of the book. While dealing with their emotions, they are also forced to realize the importance of each other as family. At times sad and at times humorous, THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD is an engaging read that you will enjoy.

--- Reviewed by Kristi Olson (zooey24@yahoo.com)

I loved this story. It was funny, engaging, moving, and ultimately totally gripping. I read a lot, and in many genres (from SciFi to sufi mysticism - no kidding), and I quite literally could not put the Key to the Golden Firebird down. The characters were very real to me, and their situations sympathetic and interesting. The way people acted seemed very natural - just as confusing as people are all the time. I was desperate to find out if May could pull something good out of her awkwardness with Pete, and the spiralling troubles of her family, and ... well, I won't spoil the suspense for you. Read it, and love it yourself!!

Tragedy can do one of many things. It can bring people together, but it can also cause people to separate. In the Gold's case it did both. May, Palmer and Brooks are sisters but they don't seem to have one single thing in common except for the fact that they share the same mother and father. May Gold was the middle child of the three sisters. She had always been the responsible one and the one everyone could count on. When a heart attack claims her father's life, May finds herself being weighted down with the family's burdens. In this story May finds herself and she also reconnects with her family through the pain that all of them have suffered.

When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure what to expect. I must be truthful: my expectations were not very high. The title didn't bring much excitement. The qoute, "Don't judge a book by its cover" came to mind after I read this book. I could barely put it down. I found myself deeply indulged in this story. Some of the situations were predictable, but it was great, just the same. The title of this book truly does suit it. This book was an amazing treat. It's sure to be a keeper and an instant favorite.

May Gold is faced with the recent death of her Father. Her family starts to fall apart, as her Mom is always at work, Brooks gets absorbed in her new boyfriend Dave, and Palmer does nothing but watch tv. May has to get through with the grief from her Father's death and find out if she can really love Pete, the boy who used to pull the evil pranks.

When May's father dies in his firebird, suddenly the gold sisters are sent for a spin. Brooks, May's older sis, looses her identity for a boy. While Palmer, the youngest, absorbs the tv. May suddenly finds her feeling for her childhood enemy, Peter, change. This book is about the sisters getting on without their father.Also about May finding herself and love along the way. I related to this book because currently I am learning to drive, like May was. The Key to the Golden Firebird is well written. It is worth reading!

When Mike Gold, Father to three teenage girls - May, Brooks, and Palmer - has a heart attack and dies in his beloved 1967 Firebird, the incident leaves a deep impression upon the girls, and the car is left alone for a year. That is, until the car beckons the attention of the girls, who refer to themselves (at least May does) as the "Tall, Blonde, and Wonderful Family." The three girls, all suffering from neglect, choose to deal with their Father's death in different ways. May tries to keep the family together, Brooks gives up softball and starts drinking, leading her to an arrest for drunk driving, and Palmer spends all of her time concentrating on pitching and watching TV, as well as hiding her panic attacks from everyone around her. It's not until the three girls decide to do something special with their Father's ashes that they are able to finally begin their lives anew.

In the footsteps of Ann Brashare's THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS, Maureen Johnson has created THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD, an amazing, joy-ride of a novel filled with many ups and downs, as well as wonderful moments that will stay with the reader for years to come. The three main characters - May, Brooks, and Palmer - all posess different quirks in their personalities that will not only enchant the reader, but also help them to identify with one of the lovable sisters. An enjoyable book for teen girls looking for a moving story that will capture not only their hearts, but their imaginations as well.

Erika Sorocco

After following Maureen Johnson on Twitter (@maureenjohnson) and seeing that she is the keynote speaker for the Book Blogger Convention, I was thinking it is about time I try one of her books.

The Key to the Golden Firebird ended up being a lot more serious than I was expecting (Maureen has been talking a lot about glass jars on her Twitter lately, not exactly a serious topic, unless you're a glass jar). When I say it was more serious, that does not in any way mean not good. I can explain.

May, Palmer, and Brooks are trying to get over the death of their dad. They are all sisters, and obviously have different ways of dealing with losing a parent. Most of the book is told from May's perspective, but we do get glimpses from both Palmer and Brooks.

Each character is given a depth that I originally assumed would be only witty banter. Dealing with a death is not easy, and this story proves it - but not in the every day way you would expect. This is what I enjoyed most about this book. The plot can be based on someone you love passing away, but it is not necessary to keep repeating this exact fact - it is much more eloquent (and realistic) to relate to that event through the actions and words of day to day life.

I feel very satisfied after finishing this book. I spent a good amount of time with the characters, feeling their emotions, and felt okay with letting them go - I like books that can tell me a complete story and be so real.

I have a few other Maureen Johnson books to read - they are moving high on my list. If the character development in her other books is anything near this one, I am in for a treat.

I would have liked to give this three and a half stars. Johnson's work has improved since then, but this is still a good read. The one thing I would have liked more of was more insight into Palmer and Brooks' lives.

Another great book by Maureen Johnson.

Three great characters in the Gold sisters, all different and believable.

Read and enjoy.