What do you think?
Rate this book
Yellow Birds: A Novel
Kait is a young woman searching for identity and community among the cast-outs, cast-offs and "misfit toys" who refer to themselves as Yellow Birds and follow a band called the Open Road from town to town. Just as Kait believes she has found her place among a group of Birds travelling together in a messy van, a young man with the eye-roll worthy name of Horizon sits down beside her one night and alters her fragile plan for the foreseeable future.
Amidst the whirlwind of the Open Road tour, their growing feelings for one another soar to ecstatic heights, while propelling them both to an impending reckoning with their pasts, their future, and each other.
Filled with sex, drugs, music, and even cults, readers won't be able to get enough of this bohemian love story, the nomadic lifestyle and the "party within the party."
Amidst the whirlwind of the Open Road tour, their growing feelings for one another soar to ecstatic heights, while propelling them both to an impending reckoning with their pasts, their future, and each other.
Filled with sex, drugs, music, and even cults, readers won't be able to get enough of this bohemian love story, the nomadic lifestyle and the "party within the party."
- GenresFiction
200 pages, Paperback
Published March 5, 2024
3 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 11, 2023
Green’s words flow like the lyrics of a nostalgic song. If you ever miss the version of you who wondered who they were about to become, this is the book for you.
March 16, 2024
I LOVED this book, more than I expected to actually!
Kait is a groupie of the band Open Road, following them on Tour one summer, looking for her identity and place in the world amongst a cast of characters all in similar situations. She drifts through the summer finding "her" place in one group and thinking she's set when "Horizon" comes onto the scene, changing the entire course of her life in one conversation.
A coming-of-age story, a story about family (the one we are born into, the one we choose and the one that finds us), love and friendship and offers a window into what it's like to be a groupie. I didn't think this would be my "scene" but it's a well-written story with well-developed characters that I couldn't put down.
Kait is a groupie of the band Open Road, following them on Tour one summer, looking for her identity and place in the world amongst a cast of characters all in similar situations. She drifts through the summer finding "her" place in one group and thinking she's set when "Horizon" comes onto the scene, changing the entire course of her life in one conversation.
A coming-of-age story, a story about family (the one we are born into, the one we choose and the one that finds us), love and friendship and offers a window into what it's like to be a groupie. I didn't think this would be my "scene" but it's a well-written story with well-developed characters that I couldn't put down.
March 7, 2024
A beautifully crafted story of friendship, found family, and adventure. Green’s skill at characterization and storytelling make this novel a truly immersive experience as we see the world alongside Kait and hold our collective breath as she navigates this bohemian adventure.
March 15, 2024
The culture of the traveling music fans was so vividly painted through Green’s words that I could easily imagine being there - the smells, the tastes, the mud underfoot. The main character and her love story, at the core of the book, was very enjoyable.
October 28, 2024
3.5
Yellow Birds is a bohemian love story about self-discovery and found family, with a unique, almost dreamlike vibe. A groupie love story wasn’t exactly on my reading bingo card this year, but I found myself drawn in by the free-spirited world Karen Green created.
One of the things I loved about this book was the immersive setting. I’m not sure if "culture" is the right word, but the story has a distinct setting —a world that feels like an endless summer party for outcasts and misfits. The level of detail and vivid descriptions made me feel like I was right there, experiencing this scene with the characters. It’s a story about identity, belonging, and finding family in unexpected places. The ending tied everything together nicely and was a highlight of the book for me.
However, the character growth felt a bit off. Kait, the main character, does evolve, but it’s almost like her growth is pushed by outside forces rather than coming from within. It left me wishing for a bit more self-driven change instead of the constant need to be saved. I also found it hard to connect with Kait, especially when she seemed to hold herself above others and set a level for what she considered to be an authentic experience.
Overall, Yellow Birds was a fascinating read that felt like stepping into a different world. It’s perfect for readers who enjoy stories about found family, identity, and the messy side of self-discovery.
Yellow Birds is a bohemian love story about self-discovery and found family, with a unique, almost dreamlike vibe. A groupie love story wasn’t exactly on my reading bingo card this year, but I found myself drawn in by the free-spirited world Karen Green created.
One of the things I loved about this book was the immersive setting. I’m not sure if "culture" is the right word, but the story has a distinct setting —a world that feels like an endless summer party for outcasts and misfits. The level of detail and vivid descriptions made me feel like I was right there, experiencing this scene with the characters. It’s a story about identity, belonging, and finding family in unexpected places. The ending tied everything together nicely and was a highlight of the book for me.
However, the character growth felt a bit off. Kait, the main character, does evolve, but it’s almost like her growth is pushed by outside forces rather than coming from within. It left me wishing for a bit more self-driven change instead of the constant need to be saved. I also found it hard to connect with Kait, especially when she seemed to hold herself above others and set a level for what she considered to be an authentic experience.
Overall, Yellow Birds was a fascinating read that felt like stepping into a different world. It’s perfect for readers who enjoy stories about found family, identity, and the messy side of self-discovery.
January 11, 2025
I was lucky enough to win this book as part of a contest with The Miramichi Reader ❤️❤️
It follows a group of young adults who travel by van from one place to the next to watch the band called the OpenRoad. They are known as the Yellow Birds - the hardcore fans who live by the words of the lyrics by OpenRoad.
Our main character Kait experiences love, friendship , heartbreak and even time spent living with a cult.
In 1994 when I was a young adult it was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Woodstock music festival. So while reading this I often had Casey Jones by the Grateful Dead playing in my head. Oh to be 19 again !
So it came as no surprise that I loved this book ! I’ll even say it was GROOVY !
Now I have to dig out my Grateful Dead and Doors tshirts …
Thank you Miramichi Reader .
It follows a group of young adults who travel by van from one place to the next to watch the band called the OpenRoad. They are known as the Yellow Birds - the hardcore fans who live by the words of the lyrics by OpenRoad.
Our main character Kait experiences love, friendship , heartbreak and even time spent living with a cult.
In 1994 when I was a young adult it was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Woodstock music festival. So while reading this I often had Casey Jones by the Grateful Dead playing in my head. Oh to be 19 again !
So it came as no surprise that I loved this book ! I’ll even say it was GROOVY !
Now I have to dig out my Grateful Dead and Doors tshirts …
Thank you Miramichi Reader .
December 22, 2024
Beautifully written book. I so enjoyed Karen Green's characters and her building of scenes I could easily imagine and feel present within. This book is a chance to glimpse into a world that many (including me) could only guess at. Its a chance to understand what draws people to the community surrounding music. Great read!
December 16, 2024
3 stars ⭐️
This one was alright! Although it wasn’t my favorite, the concept was contrast to Daisy Jones and the Six, which is one of my favorite books!! Our protagonist, Kait, escapes her home to go on an adventure; The Open Road tour. While on tour she meets many different people from different fandoms, all following the same tour and sharing a common interest in music. Through her adventure on The Open Road Tour, Kait goes through an internal transformation, realizing who she truly is and the relationships she truly values. This is a story of feeling lost in life and coming out in the end finding yourself again.
This wasn’t a 5 star, just due to the fact that it was character driven and more focused on our protagonist instead of following a plot diagram. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but my attention span kept getting lost so for that reason, I rated it a little lower.
If you’re looking for something that’s fun, has a musical atmosphere, takes place in the 70s, hippie vibes, then this is the perfect book for you!! Similar to this book is Daisy Jones and the Six. If you really wanted, you could read both of these as a series, with Yellow Birds being based on the rise and fall of the FANDOM of a musical group and Daisy Jones being about the rise and fall of the BAND themselves.
Thank you immensely to River Street Writing for sending this to me to read and review!!
This one was alright! Although it wasn’t my favorite, the concept was contrast to Daisy Jones and the Six, which is one of my favorite books!! Our protagonist, Kait, escapes her home to go on an adventure; The Open Road tour. While on tour she meets many different people from different fandoms, all following the same tour and sharing a common interest in music. Through her adventure on The Open Road Tour, Kait goes through an internal transformation, realizing who she truly is and the relationships she truly values. This is a story of feeling lost in life and coming out in the end finding yourself again.
This wasn’t a 5 star, just due to the fact that it was character driven and more focused on our protagonist instead of following a plot diagram. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but my attention span kept getting lost so for that reason, I rated it a little lower.
If you’re looking for something that’s fun, has a musical atmosphere, takes place in the 70s, hippie vibes, then this is the perfect book for you!! Similar to this book is Daisy Jones and the Six. If you really wanted, you could read both of these as a series, with Yellow Birds being based on the rise and fall of the FANDOM of a musical group and Daisy Jones being about the rise and fall of the BAND themselves.
Thank you immensely to River Street Writing for sending this to me to read and review!!
March 21, 2025
I wanted to love this, but I just didn't. It had all the makings for a favourite read, especially with the inner flap description: "Set before the digital revolution, Kait is a young woman searching for identity and community among the cast-outs, cast-offshore, and other "misfit toys" who refer to themselves as thr Yelliw Birds and follow along band called the Open Road from town to town."
At first glance, it brings to mind 'Almost Famous' and 'Daisy Jones and The Six' all mixed together. And while it was only a three day festival, it reminds me a little of Woodstock '99, which I attended after graduating from high school with my younger sister and two of our friends. (And for those of you who have seen the documentary, my experience was NOTHING like that, but that's because we were smart and sober and there for the music).
Also, the main character is Canadian, as is the author who lives in Chatham, Ontario. 🇨🇦 The author also worked in the music industry for over a decade and loves road trips, thus cementing my high hopes for this debut novel. I was really looking forward to riding along with this bohemian group for a few hundred pages, and I'm disappointed that I didn't love it more.
At first glance, it brings to mind 'Almost Famous' and 'Daisy Jones and The Six' all mixed together. And while it was only a three day festival, it reminds me a little of Woodstock '99, which I attended after graduating from high school with my younger sister and two of our friends. (And for those of you who have seen the documentary, my experience was NOTHING like that, but that's because we were smart and sober and there for the music).
Also, the main character is Canadian, as is the author who lives in Chatham, Ontario. 🇨🇦 The author also worked in the music industry for over a decade and loves road trips, thus cementing my high hopes for this debut novel. I was really looking forward to riding along with this bohemian group for a few hundred pages, and I'm disappointed that I didn't love it more.
March 13, 2024
A timeless, moving story that explores friendship, loyalty, and the ability to have fun. Kait has just graduated and is on a trip with new friends Eartha, Vivi, JuJube, Easy, and Skate, following the band The Open Road cross country on their summer tour. The band’s fans are known as “Yellow Birds;” their lifestyle is portrayed and various types of relationships with Kait are explored as she searches for self-discovery while fleeing from a bad situation back home. Kait meets Horizon during Tour and their relationship is indescribable; the two learn how to get to know each other and how much to disclose about their past. The story is rated mature for lots of sex (nothing graphic), drugs and overdoses, language, and negative relationships due to mental health and cults. I loved the story and so wish there will be more, but I can understand if there won’t.
June 27, 2024
Beautiful, magical, emotional, unforgettable. This book was the book I didn’t know I needed, it’s poetic and flows off the page in a magical musical way which is fitting considering the setting of a festival tour. I can’t even remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much. The characters are lovable, relatable and memorable. The lifestyle of a traveller is fascinating and the emotional turmoil of finding oneself and balancing the shift between adolescence and adulthood in this setting is a powerful experience to go on with Kait. This has just enough of everything to have you desperate to squeeze in a page every second you get. If you don’t have Yellow Birds on your TBR list are it immediately and bump it to the top!
September 8, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this story of road-tripping fans and life behind the scenes on tour. While I have never travelled and followed a band like the Yellow Birds, I felt a nostalgia for my music festival days - music all day, late nights, “camping” in the back of a pickup truck, collections of new friends and old around a campfire, the sounds of the morning as the gathering wakes and gets ready for the next day. It was a suspension of “real life” for a few days and I understand the desire to follow the caravan and continue in that world at the next venue. Green’s characters were interesting, her descriptions of place and time well developed and I wanted to keep up with Kait and see how her story developed at each next stop.
March 10, 2024
An amazing novel!
Wow! I couldn’t put this book down - and I don’t usually read fiction! It’s like entering a completely different world! The main character is believable as we find out more and more about her and why she is unhappy, alone, and a groupie following a band. It brought back memories of the 60’s with Woodstock and the Beatles. The author writes with vivid description and openness depicting movie-like scenes of dysfunctional family life, relationships, new friendships, death, love, sex, drugs, music, and cults. At the end, I longed for more but was not disappointed. Good going, Karen Green and Rebecca Eckler! I love this book! Highly recommend!
Wow! I couldn’t put this book down - and I don’t usually read fiction! It’s like entering a completely different world! The main character is believable as we find out more and more about her and why she is unhappy, alone, and a groupie following a band. It brought back memories of the 60’s with Woodstock and the Beatles. The author writes with vivid description and openness depicting movie-like scenes of dysfunctional family life, relationships, new friendships, death, love, sex, drugs, music, and cults. At the end, I longed for more but was not disappointed. Good going, Karen Green and Rebecca Eckler! I love this book! Highly recommend!
April 12, 2024
Yellow Birds took me by the hand and brought me into a world that I knew nothing about, yet intrigued me to no end.
I have to admit, I used to covet these “Yellow Birds” from afar, but didn’t have the wherewithal to be a part of.
Until now.
As I dove into the story, it was as if I was tagging along with “Kait” and her crew, in the “Big Blue Bertha”, and beyond. Following a band and feeling the music. Witnessing the electric intimacy of two people.
I became personally invested by each character, not knowing what they would do next or where they were heading. Bravo!
I have to admit, I used to covet these “Yellow Birds” from afar, but didn’t have the wherewithal to be a part of.
Until now.
As I dove into the story, it was as if I was tagging along with “Kait” and her crew, in the “Big Blue Bertha”, and beyond. Following a band and feeling the music. Witnessing the electric intimacy of two people.
I became personally invested by each character, not knowing what they would do next or where they were heading. Bravo!
November 18, 2024
An enjoyable vibe through and through. As a clear allegory to Deadheads who followed the Grateful Dead, the book has an excellent festival atmosphere that really captures the waning days before the digital revolution. It has a sweet romance as its B-story, but the focus remains on the protagonist’s lesson to accept herself, which is relatable even to those who don’t spend months as jobless hippies touring behind a jam band. It’s a unique vibe and a great palate cleanser between thrillers or mysteries.
April 30, 2024
I have just put this book down and I'm feeling very emotional about it. Kait's journey is a tough one to follow and something that I can't relate to at all in substance, but can totally relate to in feeling.
What I love most about this book, though, is getting lost in the words. There are so many beautiful turns of phrase. I feel deeply for Kait, and now that the story is over, I find myself really hoping she figures things out.
What I love most about this book, though, is getting lost in the words. There are so many beautiful turns of phrase. I feel deeply for Kait, and now that the story is over, I find myself really hoping she figures things out.
July 12, 2024
Loved every page!!!
I stayed up way too late to finish this book. Just as I was ready to put it down for the night it took a sharp turn and a hard sprint in the opposite direction that made it impossible to stop reading!
Anyone who is or has ever been a young woman can understand why Kait makes the choices she does, but it doesn’t stop you from screaming at her in your head the entire time.
I really can’t recommend it enough.
I stayed up way too late to finish this book. Just as I was ready to put it down for the night it took a sharp turn and a hard sprint in the opposite direction that made it impossible to stop reading!
Anyone who is or has ever been a young woman can understand why Kait makes the choices she does, but it doesn’t stop you from screaming at her in your head the entire time.
I really can’t recommend it enough.
May 18, 2024
Yellow Birds is a captivating story that pulls you in from the start. Karen’s writing, wonderfully lyrical at times, is in perfect harmony with her tale of free spirited music enthusiasts and their adventures following a band on tour. Yellow Birds is also a book about self-discovery, love, friendship, family and the special type of family that forms out of friendship.
December 15, 2023
I may be biased, but I think you're gonna love this.
April 12, 2024
Hop on the bus and enjoy the ride! An entertaining and nostalgic read. Karen Green takes you on tour through Kait’s eyes, the highs and lows, heartbreak and euphoria. This is a perfect summer read!
April 12, 2024
Easy read with many relatable details.
October 8, 2024
ohhh that ending i knew it would be her name i knew it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2025
loved it
December 8, 2024
Think Daisy Jones and the Six meets Almost Famous and throw a little Woodstock in for good measure. Karen Green writes beautifully, and if you’ve ever followed a band, fallen in love and wanted to rediscover yourself, read Yellow Birds.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews