Blackbird Fly [Paperback]

Future rock star or friendless misfit? That’s no choice at all. In this acclaimed novel by Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly, twelve-year-old Apple grapples with being different; with friends and backstabbers; and with following her dreams.

Publishers WeeklycalledBlackbird Fly“a true triumph,” and theLos Angeles Times Book Reviewsaid, “Apple soars like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song.”

Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. She and her mother moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, and her mother still cooks Filipino foods and chastises Apple for becoming “too American.” When Apple’s friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself. It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show her how special she really is.

Erin Entrada Kelly deftly brings Apple’s conflicted emotions to the page in her debut novel about family, friendship, popularity, and going your own way. “A must-read for those kids cringing at their own identities.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

Each character in Kellys debut novel . . . is portrayed with remarkable authenticity. The awkwardness and intense feelings inherent to middle school are palpable. Childrens literature has been waiting for Apple Yengkoa strong, Asian-American girl whose ethnic identity simultaneously complicates and enriches her life.Will resonate with any student in middle school who has felt different and ostracized. The author has skillfully captured the various characters that populate Apples . . . school.[A] delightful debut . . . What sets Kellys book apart is the combination of a quirky narrator l-