Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Sugar Birds by Cheryl Grey Bostrom - Available

Sugar Birds

A Novel

by Cheryl Grey Bostrom
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available

2022 ECPA CHRISTY AWARD : Finalist - First Novel

2021 AMERICAN FICTION AWARDS: Winner - Literary Fiction, General Fiction, Cross-Genre Fiction; Finalist - Religious Fiction
2021 BEST BOOK AWARDS: Winner - Inspirational Fiction; Finalist - Cross-Genre Fiction
2021 FOREWORD INDIES: Silver Winner - Religious Fiction; Finalist - General Adult Fiction
2021 READER'S FAVORITE AWARDS: Silver Medalist - Inspirational Fiction
2022 CHRISTIANITY TODAY'S BOOK AWARDS: Award of Merit - Fiction
2022 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS: Winner - Inspirational Fiction, Cross-Genre Fiction; Finalist - General Fiction, Literary Fiction
2022 NAUTILUS AWARDS: Silver Winner - Fiction/Large Publishers
2022 IPPY AWARDS: Gold Winner - Best First Book, Fiction
2022 ACFW CAROL AWARDS: Winner - Debut Fiction
2022 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS: Finalist - General Fiction/Novel


"Bostrom's voice reminds me of Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing and Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek."

―award-winning author Taryn R. Hutchison
"Bostrom's prose is propulsive and detailed . . . a true page-turner all the way to the end. An engrossing tale of survival and redemption in the Pacific Northwest ."
―Kirkus Reviews
Northwest Washington State, 1985
For years, Harris Hayes has taught his daughter, Aggie, the ways of the northern woods. So when her mother's depression worsens, Harris shows the girl how to find and sketch the nests of wild birds as an antidote to sadness. Aggie is in a tree far overhead when her unpredictable mother spots her and forbids her to climb. Angry, the ten-year-old accidentally lights a tragic fire, then flees downriver. She lands her boat near untamed forest, where she hides among the trees and creatures she considers her only friends—determined to remain undiscovered.
A search party gathers by Aggie's empty boat hours after Celia, fresh off the plane from Houston, arrives at her grandmother's nearby farm. Hurting from her parents' breakup, she also plans to run. But when she joins the hunt for Aggie, she meets two irresistible young men who compel her to stay. One is autistic; the other, dangerous.
Perfect for fans of The Scent Keeper, Where The Crawdads Sing, and The Great Alone, Sugar Birds immerses readers in a layered, evocative coming-of-age story set in the breathtaking natural world where characters encounter the mending power of forgiveness—for themselves and for those who have failed them.


"Equivalent to Delia Owens's Where the Crawdads Sing . . . just as good, if not better."

—best-selling author Janet Holm McHenry


  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 3, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781647420697

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781647420697
      • File size: 2175 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      In this novel, the lives of two girls intersect in the woods of Washington state. Ten-year-old Agate "Aggie" Hayes loves nothing more than climbing the massive fir trees that stand near her family's home and sketching the bird nests she finds there. But her mother has instructed the girl to remain on the ground--climbing is too dangerous--and Aggie is wary of tempting her unstable parent's anger. Sulking over a recent punishment, Aggie lights a small campfire that unintentionally torches the woods by her family's cabin and burns it to the ground. Believing her parents dead in the blaze, Aggie flees into the wilderness, afraid of what might happen if she's blamed for the crime. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Celia Burke is left by her father at her grandmother's house for an indeterminate amount of time, far away from her friends back in Houston. She plans to skip town at the first opportunity, but when she hears of the fire at the Hayes home--and the fact that the daughter, Aggie, is missing--she can't help but get invested. (Particularly after getting a peek at one of the other searchers, the handsome Cabot Dulcie.) As Aggie tries to stay alive and Celia attempts to find her, their stories become increasingly intertwined. Bostrom's prose is propulsive and detailed, as here where Aggie cleans up after a scavenged lunch to avoid detection: "Rousing, she poured the rest of her seed into the bottle with the milk, pushed the waxy lid back into place, and scattered duff over her makeshift kitchen to erase it. No walkers or riders or dogs would stumble over her." Aggie is a wonderfully magnetic character: a scrappy, stubborn preteen whose father has taught her to survive off the land. Celia balances out the tale with her suburban angst and sarcasm, but the supporting characters are equally strong, including the teenager's bird biologist grandmother and Aggie's autistic brother, Burnaby. The book contains an unexpected villain as well, who provides some added danger to the mix. While not always completely believable, the story is a true page-turner all the way to the end. An engrossing tale of survival and redemption in the Pacific Northwest.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. (Online Review)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading