Customer Reviews

The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Teen girls have enough issues to worry about in their lives without having to worry about talking to ghosts...and hiding that fact from their slightly loony families. But that's Sparrow's big problem. This book does a great job of getting inside the head of his very grounded--yet spiritually deep--young woman and telling about the tough choices she has to make. Lovers of ghost stories will really love this book, as will anyone who wants to meet a very cool girl, one who sounds like she'd be really cool to hang out with. And since she hangs out with really cool ghosts . . . you get a dozen "people" for the price of one! Teen girls will really enjoy this fine book, as well as learn something about the real-life world of "spiritualists."

My aunt bought me this book because she like the cover. I thought it looked neat too. But, once I started reading it I couldn't put it down! I love the character of Sparrow and her very interesting sisters. Her grandma reminded me of my own (minus the kung fu and baboon skulls!) The story is great I recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining read. I hope more Sparrow books come soon!

Lots to like in this book! Sparrow Delaney is smart, sweet and witty--the kind of friend anyone would want. All the other characters are quirky and fun, as well. Tugs at your heart, yet keeps your smiling all the way through!

My favorite thing about this book was that although Sparrow has a "secret power" the true struggle in her life is trying to deal with the pressures of high school (popularity, best friends, BOYS!)and the complications created by her zany but loveable family. The author is able to deal with heavy issues (death, "losing" a parent, sibling rivalry, etc.) and yet make you laugh as well as cry. The relationships between the characters were so interesting! By the end of the book I felt like I knew them personally and had learned that Sparrow Delaney wasn't the only one with a "Secret Life". Who doesn't know what it is like to hide a part of yourself in order to fit-in? I think we all sometimes feel this way and that is the true power of this book. It is a very enjoyable read!! (Other similar books that I enjoyed: Wicked Lovely )

Sparrow is the last of seven sisters in a house full of girls, which includes her mother and her crazy grandmother. One thing all girls have in common- they can communicate with ghosts.
Sparrow seems to be the only one of her off-the-wall family who does not want to communicate with ghosts, which is ironic considering she is the only one who can actually see them. However, one ghost refuses to be ignored, and won't be set aside, forcing Sparrow to finally accept her gift.

The plot seems obvious enough but I can't help but love this book. Its funny and cute, and being one of five girls in a house with no men, I can relate with Sparrows plight. I loved the essentric characters, each well rounded with their own sepperate personality, which is quite a feet seeing how there are so many of them.

I loved this book- read it when you are looking for a smile.

Sparrow Delaney was a really fun character and very easy to route for. Her talents as a medium were fun and I can see author Suzanne Harper writing more stories about Sparrow her ghostly friends.

PLOT
The plot of "Sparrow Delaney" could easily have been light and fluffy, but it wasn't entirely. Harper takes the book into another direction when she introduces Seth Dawson's death and its effect on the Dawson family. That brought the book a bit of levity I think it needed. Harper takes the light and fluffy aspects of supernatural fiction, mixes it with the reality of family issues and creates a really great mood for her plot.

CHARACTERS
One thing about this book: Harper leaves the reader with the idea that she is not done developing her characters. They felt... unfinished... as if she didn't let the dough rise long before baking the bread. At the end of this book, I couldn't help wondering how Sparrow will deal with her family now that her talents are "outted". What will happen to the relationship between Sparrow and both Dawson boys? What about Sparrow's Dad? Not to mention the other Delaney sisters. For example the brooding Raven -- she seemed interesting enough to write a whole story just on her.

Using the town of Lily Dale, NY as another character in the book worked well for this story. However, I would have liked to have seen even more of the town and its "zany" residents. Although Harper mentions real historical figures like the Fox Sisters, she doesn't make them part of the story. I like the idea of meshing real history into fiction (without it becoming historical fiction).

Perhaps Suzanne Harper has the next couple of Sparrow Delaney books already waiting in the wings. A lot of authors write in series now-a-days and that is probably what is going on here. There certainly seemed to be quite a few "teasers" written into the main plot line to suggest this is the case.

Overall it was the interesting characters and the layered plot line of "The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney" that piqued my interests enough to keep reading.

My rating is 4.5 stars.

The seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, living in a family in which everyone has some psychic ability in Lily Dale, a (real) town full of spiritualists, Sparrow, who has been seeing, smelling and speaking to ghosts since she was just a tot (and denying her ability to do so to her family) wants nothing more than to be a normal girl. Of course, the ghosts have other ideas and one - one very appealing and persistent one - isn't prepared to leave Sparrow alone until she helps him.

I've read a number of books with a similar `I see dead people' premise over the last few years and I can say honestly that The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney is my favorite. Author Suzanne Harper has created likeable characters and a story filled with charm, humor and more poignancy than I was expecting. I really cared about these people - both the living and the dead ones.

I haven't read anything about a planned sequel, but I hope Harper is planning one. I want to spend more time with Sparrow and Jack, with Sparrow's eccentric family and with her spirit guides. I even hope to see Luke again. While I'm waiting, I've ordered Harper's unrelated novel, The Juliet Club, to see what the author does with another genre.

The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney is an entertaining and satisfying story. Recommended.

A wonderful YA novel set in the real Victorian Spiritualist community of Lily Dale, NY. The characters and situations created in this book are fabulously textured. This is the kind of book any tween and teen girl who likes Harry Potter is going to love. This book encapsulates the magic of being a teenage girl and the empowering thing about making your own path and coming into your own skin. I hope to see a second book, and would be quite disappointed not to see one!

Thank you for writing such a cool book!
Cheers,
Sally Richards

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
on 07/13/2008

Sparrow Delaney is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. Family lore has it that Sparrow should have a great deal of talent--but not just any talent. The family gift is that of communication with those who have Passed On. In other words, they all talk to dead people.

Everyone but Sparrow, that is. Well, that's what Sparrow wants them to think. She's been seeing, hearing, and smelling ghosts since she was five years old. The family medium business is not her thing, and she doesn't want to be dragged in to it. When she's given the chance to attend a new high school where nobody knows her, she signs up. It's the first time in her life where she can play the part of a normal kid... until the ghost of a teen boy starts to haunt her.

Sparrow is faced with the toughest choices of her life. Real life teens will relate to the pressures to fit in. At what point is "normalcy" better than embracing who you are? For Sparrow, it is the choice whether to give up the pretense of not being a medium. For the girl down the block, it could be the choice of being "normal" or indulging a passion that may not meet her peers' standards of "cool."

Harper's writing is fresh and fun. Although Sparrow comes off as whiny and selfish at times, her background compensates for most of it. This novel was so fun that I finished it in half a day. There were some loose ends, but I feel there is room for a series in which said ends could be addressed. There should be a series starring Sparrow's family: Grandma Bee, Mother, and six sisters with bird names (Oriole, Raven, Wren, Dove, and the twins Lark and Linnet) are great characters. They range from eccentric to, well, eccentric.

THE SECRET LIFE OF SPARROW DELANEY is a fun read for girls everywhere.

4.5 Books

I rave about this book to any and all who ask about good books I have read recently. I couldn't put it down! This may be geared toward young adults, but I am in my 20's and I loved it!