Of a Feather

December 15, 2020
A relationship between a young owl and a young girl helps them both confront their fears. Reenie is taken away from her grandmother's house by social services after a fight between her grandmother and her grandmother's boyfriend endangers her. Reenie has been through this before--when her mother's depression is bad enough, she has to be hospitalized, leaving Reenie at the mercy of social services. This time she is delivered to Beatrice, a great-aunt she has never met. Beatrice turns out to be a master falconer, and Reenie, despite her overall mistrust of adults, is intrigued. When a young, undernourished owl ends up in a hawk trap by mistake, Reenie convinces Beatrice to bring the owl, whom she names Rufus, back to the house. The story is narrated in alternating first-person chapters from the points of view of Rufus and Reenie, with both protagonists having distinctive, plausible voices. Even before he is caught in the trap, Rufus suffers from a debilitating lack of confidence, being second-hatched and therefore smaller and weaker, which he overcompensates for by (often amusing) deliberations and conjectures. Reenie's distrust of emotional closeness is deftly played with well-reasoned plot developments. Set in Vermont, the story is fleshed out by thought-provoking forays into the ethics of hunting and the powerlessness of children in determining their home lives. Reenie is in the sixth grade and reads as White. Unusual and poignant--full of the depth and contradictions of life. (author's note, bird facts, glossary) (Fiction. 8-11)

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January 1, 2021
Grades 4-7 After Maureen's mom is once again admitted to the hospital for mental-health reasons, Reenie is left in the care of a relative she's never met, her great-aunt Beatrice. Reenie, though resilient, is exhausted and skeptical of the prospect, but Beatrice has a marvelous secret: she's an experienced falconer, and her red-tailed hawk ("not a pet . . . a partner") lives in the mews out back. Throwing herself into the world of falconry, Reenie discovers another young creature without a mother or real home: Rufus, the self-proclaimed "absolute worst great horned owl ever," injured, alone, and hopelessly trapped in a snare. Together, the unlikely pair begin to heal and hope, navigating unfamiliar worlds and learning to trust. Rufus and Reenie split narration duties from chapter to chapter, and it's often funny; Rufus has a delightfully distinct voice and a bewildered way of sorting out human behavior. A tender tale that reminds readers that families come in all forms and that the greatest rewards come from opening oneself to all that life has to offer.

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