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Hummingbird Heart
Sixteen-year-old Dylan has never met her father. She knows that her parents were just teenagers themselves when she was born, but her mother doesn't like to talk about the past, and her father, Mark, has never responded to Dylan's attempts to contact him. As far as Dylan is concerned, her family is made up of her mother, Amanda; her recently adopted younger sister, Karma; and maybe even her best friend, Toni.
And then, out of the blue, a phone call: Mark will be in town for a few days and he wants to meet her. Amanda is clearly upset, but Dylan can't help being excited at the possibility of finally getting to know her father. But when she finds out why he has come--and what he wants from her--the answers fill her with still more questions. What makes someone family? And why has her mother been lying to her all these years?
And then, out of the blue, a phone call: Mark will be in town for a few days and he wants to meet her. Amanda is clearly upset, but Dylan can't help being excited at the possibility of finally getting to know her father. But when she finds out why he has come--and what he wants from her--the answers fill her with still more questions. What makes someone family? And why has her mother been lying to her all these years?
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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347 people want to read
About the author
Robin Stevenson
43 books167 followersRobin Stevenson is the award winning author of over thirty books of fiction and non-fiction for kids and teens. Her books have received starred reviews and have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff award and a Stonewall Honor, and been finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, and many reader’s choice awards. Robin was the Book and Periodical Council of Canada’s Champion of Free Expression for 2022, and received the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence in 2023. She lives on the west coast of Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 22, 2013
Spoilers ahead! Proceed with caution!
A very okay book. The voice of the narrator, 16-year-old Dylan, sounded more like that of a twelve-year-old. I wished this book was good. It could have been good, but instead, it goes with the typical tropes of the absent father, the troubling mother, the token ethnic girl (probably), the exotic name (of said token ethnic girl), the pregnant teenager, the bad-boy love interest, the child with cancer, the list goes on. The similes Stevenson uses were very clumsy, and despite the story being interesting, the language was too young for it to be believably a sixteen-year-old's.
Not to mention that Dylan wasn't even very likeable as a character. She came off as overly whiny for the first few chapters, and then was continuously and annoyingly self-deprecating. She kept going on about how much she missed her best friend Kate because she had a boyfriend and how she had zero good attributes to warrant a boyfriend and-the worst of it-how she kept reminiscing about her middle school days when she and Kate would make fun of all those girls who had boyfriend and wore makeup.
Plus, she had random attributes that had nothing to do with the plot or subplot, like her being obsessed with the environment. While in a better-written book this could have been used to show her compassion which could have foreshadowed her decision to give the bone marrow, it was just random and clumsy in the book. Clumsy in the sense that there was, near the end of the book, an oil spill occurring on TV that makes her feel bad but is not heard of outside of this scene. And I will never, for the life of me, understand why she decided to include the topic of abortion and pregnant teenagers. It was completely irrelevant, as were Dylan's opinions on it, which conflicted directly with her reasoning for wanting to give the marrow to a little girl she barely knew.
But the book wasn't totally irredeemable. It had its nice family moments and Dylan's little sister Karma was a great character in a not-so-great novel. She was a good foil for the main character, mostly maintaining a good attitude about things, and a fun little sister. She seemed like the most complexly written character in the book. The mother was also written fairly well, although we get no explanations about what and why she did what she did. She was a weak character, but she did have her strong and maternal moments when she would help Dylan, or at least try to. Plus, the book ended on a nice note.
A very okay book. The voice of the narrator, 16-year-old Dylan, sounded more like that of a twelve-year-old. I wished this book was good. It could have been good, but instead, it goes with the typical tropes of the absent father, the troubling mother, the token ethnic girl (probably), the exotic name (of said token ethnic girl), the pregnant teenager, the bad-boy love interest, the child with cancer, the list goes on. The similes Stevenson uses were very clumsy, and despite the story being interesting, the language was too young for it to be believably a sixteen-year-old's.
Not to mention that Dylan wasn't even very likeable as a character. She came off as overly whiny for the first few chapters, and then was continuously and annoyingly self-deprecating. She kept going on about how much she missed her best friend Kate because she had a boyfriend and how she had zero good attributes to warrant a boyfriend and-the worst of it-how she kept reminiscing about her middle school days when she and Kate would make fun of all those girls who had boyfriend and wore makeup.
Plus, she had random attributes that had nothing to do with the plot or subplot, like her being obsessed with the environment. While in a better-written book this could have been used to show her compassion which could have foreshadowed her decision to give the bone marrow, it was just random and clumsy in the book. Clumsy in the sense that there was, near the end of the book, an oil spill occurring on TV that makes her feel bad but is not heard of outside of this scene. And I will never, for the life of me, understand why she decided to include the topic of abortion and pregnant teenagers. It was completely irrelevant, as were Dylan's opinions on it, which conflicted directly with her reasoning for wanting to give the marrow to a little girl she barely knew.
But the book wasn't totally irredeemable. It had its nice family moments and Dylan's little sister Karma was a great character in a not-so-great novel. She was a good foil for the main character, mostly maintaining a good attitude about things, and a fun little sister. She seemed like the most complexly written character in the book. The mother was also written fairly well, although we get no explanations about what and why she did what she did. She was a weak character, but she did have her strong and maternal moments when she would help Dylan, or at least try to. Plus, the book ended on a nice note.
August 18, 2018
3.5 stars
July 5, 2012
This is the second novel by Canadian YA author Robin Stevenson that I have read, and I am growing enamored of her writing. Last year I read Escape Velocity, and was immediately taken in by Stevenson's writing style, the Canadian settings, and the rawness of that story. Hummingbird Heart is likewise uninhibited, intense, and compassionately written.
Dylan has been brought up on Vancouver Island by her young mother; a regular drinker, one-time heavy drug user, and serial dater of not-so-good men. Dylan hasn't had the easiest time growing up, but her life with Amanda and adopted sister Karma is what she knows. She has always tried to gather information- anything, really- about her biological father Mark, but her mom refuses to give any particulars. When Mark suddenly phones, completely out of the blue, Dylan and Amanda are in total shock. And both of them are reeling for different reasons. Dylan because she feels conflicted about wanting and not-wanting to meet the man she thinks abandoned her; Amanda because she has been lying to Dylan about why Mark never got in touch.
Hummingbird Heart explores the unmitigated complexities surrounding blood relations, what it means to be a family, how to trust, sisterly love, coming-of-age, and first loves. Stevenson covers a lot of territory in her novel, and it's all captured through Dylan's believable gaze. I found Dylan to be a beautifully imperfect and compulsive protagonist. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to readers of realistic and uncompromising contemporary YA, in the vein of Natasha Friend, Alice Kuipers, Susin Nielsen and Vikki VanSickle.
Dylan has been brought up on Vancouver Island by her young mother; a regular drinker, one-time heavy drug user, and serial dater of not-so-good men. Dylan hasn't had the easiest time growing up, but her life with Amanda and adopted sister Karma is what she knows. She has always tried to gather information- anything, really- about her biological father Mark, but her mom refuses to give any particulars. When Mark suddenly phones, completely out of the blue, Dylan and Amanda are in total shock. And both of them are reeling for different reasons. Dylan because she feels conflicted about wanting and not-wanting to meet the man she thinks abandoned her; Amanda because she has been lying to Dylan about why Mark never got in touch.
Hummingbird Heart explores the unmitigated complexities surrounding blood relations, what it means to be a family, how to trust, sisterly love, coming-of-age, and first loves. Stevenson covers a lot of territory in her novel, and it's all captured through Dylan's believable gaze. I found Dylan to be a beautifully imperfect and compulsive protagonist. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to readers of realistic and uncompromising contemporary YA, in the vein of Natasha Friend, Alice Kuipers, Susin Nielsen and Vikki VanSickle.
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May 2, 2019This book didn't work for me. It's a quick read, and - despite some potentially heavy content - somehow still unchallenging.
February 10, 2021
The cover looked pretty, and the first sentence of this book sounded interesting, but the more I read, the more and more I disliked this book. It had the A word more than once. And the mother got pregnant at age 16, divorced once, and had a boyfriend that was covered in tattoos. She described this to her friend " Tattoos from elbow to wrist, both arms. and lots of piercings." She then said this," Other than the ones in ears and noses, I thought piercings were gross. Scott (her moms boyfriend) had piercings on his lips and tongue and eyebrow, and only God knew where else. Well, God and my mother, presumably, but i didn't want to dwell on that thought." I knew she was talking about something inappropriate. I gave the bok to my mom and she read the first chapter and said this was probably not a book worth reading. So i stopped. 2 DNFs in one day. Goodness.
February 6, 2022
This book is just under 300 pages but it took a while for me to read. It tried to tackle many polarizing topics (broken families, abortion/teenage pregnancy, and childhood illness) and failed to do some of them justice. It wasn’t a bad book, it just failed to reach it’s full potential.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2019
Felt like an incomplete story
November 3, 2019
I loved this book it was an amazing story
March 4, 2012
The gemlike hummingbird that graces the cover of Robin Stevenson’s fine new young adult novel is emblematic of the beauty, fragility, and evanescence of life. It is a particularly apt metaphor for her sensitive and searching central character, Dylan Jarvis, who sees so many signs of what’s wrong in the world—from holes in the ozone layer, to pesticides in food and “thousands of toxic chemicals coursing through our veins”—that she has developed vertical lines between her eyebrows and despairs as to whether there is really anything we can do to save the planet.
Dylan lives with her free-spirited, artsy, tattooed, and occasionally dope-smoking single mother, Amanda, and an adopted sister, Karma. Even if she is the product of Amanda’s one-night stand with a selfish “asshole” whom her mother says should be regarded a sperm-donor only, Dylan has also been assured that Amanda has had no regrets about bringing her into the world. The hummingbird tattooed on Amanda's wrist with its “wings spread midbeat” speaks to the centrality of Dylan in her mother's life. According to Amanda, the image relates to the sound of Dylan’s heartbeat in utero. As it turns out, however, that explanation is “a much better story than the real one” and Dylan is faced with untangling the web of her mother's lies about her biological father.
As the novel opens, Dylan is taking an annual birthday picture, one of many she believes her mother has mailed over the years to the father Dylan has never met. The earliest photographs were school ones, but when these elicited no response from this unknown man, family groupings seemed less embarrassing. Now, within days of the sixteenth birthday photo being snapped, Dylan’s father, an Ontario lawyer, has arrived on the west coast, apparently eager to meet her but really to make an urgent request that only a biological daughter can fulfill. To tell what that request is would give away some of the pleasure of reading this story, which covers some of the same terrain and themes of American young adult author Sarah Dessen: the fallibility of parents and our first painful efforts to understand them as confused people not so different from ourselves, family secrets, sexuality, and the many negotiations one makes along the road to adulthood. Stevenson’s telling is perhaps slightly rawer, however.
It is difficult for those of us who have always known who our parents are to fully appreciate the situation of those who have not--the urgency of the need to identify where we came from as well as the fear and trepidation of piecing together the puzzle. Stevenson explores these mixed feelings well in her book. At the same time, she also shows her beautiful, anxious and awkward teenaged protagonist trying to cope with some of the more run-of-the-mill adolescent problems related to friendship, sexuality, and drugs. Overall, Dylan's experiences with her peers, while portrayed convincingly in the book, work mainly to amplify the young woman’s main challenge, which is to uncover the truth of what really occurred between her mother and biological father, Mark Wheatcroft years before, when they were almost exactly her age.
Dylan’s emotional response to seeing her father for the first time and her reaction to the difficult request he makes force her to move closer to an acceptance of the fragility of life and the inevitability of death (which preoccupies her throughout the book.) At one point, Dylan observes that the planet’s troubles are so severe that “even if we do everything we can do, it might not be enough.” By the end, though, Dylan seems to recognize the value of one individual to another. Her "hummingbird heart" has exerted itself enough to do the small hopeful bit it can to help one tiny vulnerable part of the planet at least. She is also able to gain some hard-won understanding of where she comes from.
Recommended for ages 14 and up.
I thank Orca Book Publishers for providing me with an advance reading copy of the uncorrected proofs for reviewing purposes
Dylan lives with her free-spirited, artsy, tattooed, and occasionally dope-smoking single mother, Amanda, and an adopted sister, Karma. Even if she is the product of Amanda’s one-night stand with a selfish “asshole” whom her mother says should be regarded a sperm-donor only, Dylan has also been assured that Amanda has had no regrets about bringing her into the world. The hummingbird tattooed on Amanda's wrist with its “wings spread midbeat” speaks to the centrality of Dylan in her mother's life. According to Amanda, the image relates to the sound of Dylan’s heartbeat in utero. As it turns out, however, that explanation is “a much better story than the real one” and Dylan is faced with untangling the web of her mother's lies about her biological father.
As the novel opens, Dylan is taking an annual birthday picture, one of many she believes her mother has mailed over the years to the father Dylan has never met. The earliest photographs were school ones, but when these elicited no response from this unknown man, family groupings seemed less embarrassing. Now, within days of the sixteenth birthday photo being snapped, Dylan’s father, an Ontario lawyer, has arrived on the west coast, apparently eager to meet her but really to make an urgent request that only a biological daughter can fulfill. To tell what that request is would give away some of the pleasure of reading this story, which covers some of the same terrain and themes of American young adult author Sarah Dessen: the fallibility of parents and our first painful efforts to understand them as confused people not so different from ourselves, family secrets, sexuality, and the many negotiations one makes along the road to adulthood. Stevenson’s telling is perhaps slightly rawer, however.
It is difficult for those of us who have always known who our parents are to fully appreciate the situation of those who have not--the urgency of the need to identify where we came from as well as the fear and trepidation of piecing together the puzzle. Stevenson explores these mixed feelings well in her book. At the same time, she also shows her beautiful, anxious and awkward teenaged protagonist trying to cope with some of the more run-of-the-mill adolescent problems related to friendship, sexuality, and drugs. Overall, Dylan's experiences with her peers, while portrayed convincingly in the book, work mainly to amplify the young woman’s main challenge, which is to uncover the truth of what really occurred between her mother and biological father, Mark Wheatcroft years before, when they were almost exactly her age.
Dylan’s emotional response to seeing her father for the first time and her reaction to the difficult request he makes force her to move closer to an acceptance of the fragility of life and the inevitability of death (which preoccupies her throughout the book.) At one point, Dylan observes that the planet’s troubles are so severe that “even if we do everything we can do, it might not be enough.” By the end, though, Dylan seems to recognize the value of one individual to another. Her "hummingbird heart" has exerted itself enough to do the small hopeful bit it can to help one tiny vulnerable part of the planet at least. She is also able to gain some hard-won understanding of where she comes from.
Recommended for ages 14 and up.
I thank Orca Book Publishers for providing me with an advance reading copy of the uncorrected proofs for reviewing purposes
March 14, 2012
The cover: I like this cover. I think it is simple and striking compared to other covers that are out on the market right now. I like that it looks like a tattoo and that it ties into the story well. I really have nothing negative to say about the cover- it is very pretty. Another publisher (Penguin) has a YA title coming out this summer with a very similar cover, even the hummingbird tattoo. I wonder if that is just coincidence (it wouldn't surprise me).
The characters: I really struggled with the characters. I felt sympathetic for Dylan and for the struggles that she was facing, but I didn't like her very much. To be honest, with the exception of Karma and Dylan's dad and his family- I didn't really like ANY of the characters. It wasn't that they felt fake or flimsy- the characters were complete. The choices that they made made me angry! Every single character in this book was a "hot mess". I was hoping that someone normal would come along and save me from the craziness.
The story: I am incredibly conflicted about this story. On one hand- I really did enjoy this story. It was absolutely fascinating look at what it like for a girl to finally meet her real father after 16 years and the emotions that go through that meeting and developing a relationship. But this is not the first book I have read where every single teen is smoking pot, getting high, getting drunk, and having sex every night. Now I get that teens today are doing more, but really? This book was EXTREME. Am I really that disconnected from the world? The way this book was written- it made it sound like if you were a virgin or someone who didn't get trashed or high you were abnormal. Do I have any teen followers? Is this really true? I admit, I am almost 30, but I really am tired about reading about teens that are train wrecks waiting to happen. (But then again, maybe I am too stodgy). There are numerous mentions of sex in this book, drug use is a prevalent theme, and there are many mentions of getting drunk and of alcoholics, and one pregnancy scare. This was a good book, but not an uplifting one at all.
The characters: I really struggled with the characters. I felt sympathetic for Dylan and for the struggles that she was facing, but I didn't like her very much. To be honest, with the exception of Karma and Dylan's dad and his family- I didn't really like ANY of the characters. It wasn't that they felt fake or flimsy- the characters were complete. The choices that they made made me angry! Every single character in this book was a "hot mess". I was hoping that someone normal would come along and save me from the craziness.
The story: I am incredibly conflicted about this story. On one hand- I really did enjoy this story. It was absolutely fascinating look at what it like for a girl to finally meet her real father after 16 years and the emotions that go through that meeting and developing a relationship. But this is not the first book I have read where every single teen is smoking pot, getting high, getting drunk, and having sex every night. Now I get that teens today are doing more, but really? This book was EXTREME. Am I really that disconnected from the world? The way this book was written- it made it sound like if you were a virgin or someone who didn't get trashed or high you were abnormal. Do I have any teen followers? Is this really true? I admit, I am almost 30, but I really am tired about reading about teens that are train wrecks waiting to happen. (But then again, maybe I am too stodgy). There are numerous mentions of sex in this book, drug use is a prevalent theme, and there are many mentions of getting drunk and of alcoholics, and one pregnancy scare. This was a good book, but not an uplifting one at all.
May 5, 2012
Dylan is sixteen, the exact age her mother was when she became a single parent. Dylan knows nothing of her father other than the sketchy rare comments her mother makes about a one-night-stand. That is, until her father shows up in town and wants to meet her. Dylan’s mother has been lying about her relationship with Dylan’s father and this adds to the confusion his visit is causing. Not only is she shocked at his visit, but she is conflicted by the reason for his sudden interest. Mark, her Dad, has come to ask her to be tested to possibly help save his other daughter who has leukemia. How can Dylan say no and possibly doom her half-sister to death?
Dylan is a responsible teen who looks out for the environment and who hasn’t had a real dating relationship yet. Her best friend is now busy with a boyfriend and Dylan feels left out. Then a new boy, Jax, begins to pay attention to her and she is flattered but not really invested in the relationship. Jax wants more from her physically than she’s willing to give and that causes her more anxiety. Dylan has a supportive mother but she’s not a real role model – she’s into tattoos, drinking, marijuana and frank discussions with her daughter of her sex life with men she dates. Amanda – the mother – is not the typical parent in teen fiction yet she may be the reality for some teens today.
Dylan’s confusion and her struggle to come to terms with meeting a father and sister she never knew before, make Dylan a sympathetic character. Her willingness to try to help her half-sister is one indication of her good heart. The writing of the book flows smoothly and the story builds with good momentum. Characters are real and some are multi-dimensional. In particular, Dylan’s mother is unique in that her wild crazy ways do not relegate her to the status of unfit parent. She really cares about her daughter and one can understand why she made the choices about deceiving her daughter for so long. A quick read; teens should find it interesting.
Dylan is a responsible teen who looks out for the environment and who hasn’t had a real dating relationship yet. Her best friend is now busy with a boyfriend and Dylan feels left out. Then a new boy, Jax, begins to pay attention to her and she is flattered but not really invested in the relationship. Jax wants more from her physically than she’s willing to give and that causes her more anxiety. Dylan has a supportive mother but she’s not a real role model – she’s into tattoos, drinking, marijuana and frank discussions with her daughter of her sex life with men she dates. Amanda – the mother – is not the typical parent in teen fiction yet she may be the reality for some teens today.
Dylan’s confusion and her struggle to come to terms with meeting a father and sister she never knew before, make Dylan a sympathetic character. Her willingness to try to help her half-sister is one indication of her good heart. The writing of the book flows smoothly and the story builds with good momentum. Characters are real and some are multi-dimensional. In particular, Dylan’s mother is unique in that her wild crazy ways do not relegate her to the status of unfit parent. She really cares about her daughter and one can understand why she made the choices about deceiving her daughter for so long. A quick read; teens should find it interesting.
July 3, 2012
Sixteen year old Dylan lives on Canada’s west coast with her mother, Amanda, and her adopted younger sister, Karma. She has never met her father; the only thing she knows about him is that his first name is Mark. Dylan finally gets the chance to meet Mark when he gets in touch with Amanda. She soon learns that his four year old daughter, Casey, has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. Mark wants Dylan to get tested as a donor. Because they are half siblings there is a small chance that she could be a match. All her life Dylan has been curious about her father, but now when he tries to walk into her life, Dylan is not so sure she wants anything to do with him. Dylan faces many challenging decisions – should she help Casey, despite Mark? Should she forgive her mother for lying to her all these years? While Dylan puzzles through these questions she learns what it means to be a family.
Robin Stevenson takes many of the issues teens deal with on a daily basis – sex, drugs, family trouble – and throws them against the tragic back drop of a small child’s illness. As events unfold, Dylan is forced to think about, and make, tough decisions. Stevenson captures the true spirit of Dylan’s anger toward both her mother and her father, and the situation in which both parents have placed her. Dylan must deal with the drug culture her friends live in, the possibility that her best friend may be pregnant, and the fact that her “sort-of” boyfriend wants sex and she does not. This book would be great for any teen that has dealt with or is currently dealing with these issues. The storyline is not incredibly complicated and moves at a steady pace. While the issues breeched in this novel are complex and deep, Hummingbird Heart remains an enjoyable read. I would recommend this book for older teens.
Robin Stevenson takes many of the issues teens deal with on a daily basis – sex, drugs, family trouble – and throws them against the tragic back drop of a small child’s illness. As events unfold, Dylan is forced to think about, and make, tough decisions. Stevenson captures the true spirit of Dylan’s anger toward both her mother and her father, and the situation in which both parents have placed her. Dylan must deal with the drug culture her friends live in, the possibility that her best friend may be pregnant, and the fact that her “sort-of” boyfriend wants sex and she does not. This book would be great for any teen that has dealt with or is currently dealing with these issues. The storyline is not incredibly complicated and moves at a steady pace. While the issues breeched in this novel are complex and deep, Hummingbird Heart remains an enjoyable read. I would recommend this book for older teens.
April 24, 2012
So I thought I'd start of my first ever First Reads review by saying how much I love, love, LOVE the cover of this book. Being in the graphic design industry, I know how important book covers are for sales. 100% of people have, at one point or another in their lives, judged a book by it's cover, and I won't lie, I did enter the contest to win the book based on the cover as well. I have bought many books based on that decision alone and sometimes I enjoy the stories and sometimes I don't. The typography of the book is so beautiful, as is the illustration. The typography really looks like something Jessica Hische would possibly work on because of the beautiful swashes incorporated with the type and on the book itself.
Reading the first few chapters, I didn't really like the book, but I gave it a chance and found it was pretty good. I think that the beginning of the story moves very slowly, but it picks up. I also feel that there is a lot of repetition about the characters themselves, which made me feel like I was rereading parts of the book. It feels like the book was rushed at the end, which disappointed me. I wish there was more of a build with the story itself as well. I say it was pretty good because the story captured a part of me, making me want to continue reading to find out what was going to happen next.
As a side note, I wish that the back of the book didn't give away the plot.
Reading the first few chapters, I didn't really like the book, but I gave it a chance and found it was pretty good. I think that the beginning of the story moves very slowly, but it picks up. I also feel that there is a lot of repetition about the characters themselves, which made me feel like I was rereading parts of the book. It feels like the book was rushed at the end, which disappointed me. I wish there was more of a build with the story itself as well. I say it was pretty good because the story captured a part of me, making me want to continue reading to find out what was going to happen next.
As a side note, I wish that the back of the book didn't give away the plot.
August 20, 2012
Dylan has never met her father. For 16 years she has lived with her free-spirited mother. When her father contacts them out of the blue it turns out that what he’s really looking for is a bone marrow donor for his young daughter. His visit and request opens a flood gate of secrets and feelings both Dylan and her mother had hidden for 16 years.
This book was a very pleasant surprise. It’s new fiction published by Orca that is not aimed at reluctant readers. In spite of its unfortunate cover that makes it seem like a story about birdwatching, this is a great story with realistic characters with realistic emotions and reactions. Dylan’s reactions to finally meeting her father and the disappointment she experiences when things don’t turn out exactly the way she imagined are believable and heart-wrenching. There is a side story about Dylan’s first experiences with a boyfriend that also ring true and present a strong message about postponing sex. I read this book in less than a day. It’s captivating and emotional without being sappy and should appeal to teens.
This book was a very pleasant surprise. It’s new fiction published by Orca that is not aimed at reluctant readers. In spite of its unfortunate cover that makes it seem like a story about birdwatching, this is a great story with realistic characters with realistic emotions and reactions. Dylan’s reactions to finally meeting her father and the disappointment she experiences when things don’t turn out exactly the way she imagined are believable and heart-wrenching. There is a side story about Dylan’s first experiences with a boyfriend that also ring true and present a strong message about postponing sex. I read this book in less than a day. It’s captivating and emotional without being sappy and should appeal to teens.
March 14, 2012
I really wanted to like this book because the cover is so beautiful, but it's quite possibly the most depressing book ever. The only thing Dylan ever does is moan about how alone she is, about how she wishes her mother didn't have so many tattoos or smoke pot, about how her best friend abandons her for her boyfriend, about how she knows nothing about her father, and about the ozone layer and pollution. The girl needs to chill out.
And then Mark, her father, abruptly tries to reconnect and Dylan turns into super-bitch. Swears her mouth off to her best friend and then thinks that they've never had a fight like that before? That wasn't a fight, Dylan, that was you biting your friend's head off.
I flipped forward to see if it got better, but it didn't. It got worse. I do not recommend this book unless you just happen to enjoy miserable people doing miserable things and making no effort at all to enjoy themselves.
And then Mark, her father, abruptly tries to reconnect and Dylan turns into super-bitch. Swears her mouth off to her best friend and then thinks that they've never had a fight like that before? That wasn't a fight, Dylan, that was you biting your friend's head off.
I flipped forward to see if it got better, but it didn't. It got worse. I do not recommend this book unless you just happen to enjoy miserable people doing miserable things and making no effort at all to enjoy themselves.
March 1, 2012
Sixteen year old Dylan has never met her father. Now, out of the blue, he has contacted her and asked her to be a bone marrow donor for his other daughter, Casey, who is 4 years old and suffering from a form of leukemia. Dylan lives with her mother, Amanda, and her adopted sister, Karma in near poverty. She discovers that her mother has been lying to her for years about her father and more and now she doesn't know how she feels or who to trust.
This is a well-written story about a teenager being forced to confront questions about her past, her family, her relationships and her very identity. Dylan is a well-developed, realistic character and teens will be able to relate to her dilemma. Highly recommended.
This is a well-written story about a teenager being forced to confront questions about her past, her family, her relationships and her very identity. Dylan is a well-developed, realistic character and teens will be able to relate to her dilemma. Highly recommended.
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May 18, 2012Eternally pessimistic 16-year-old Dylan assesses the world and finds it terribly lacking. She despairs over the environment, winces at the behavior of her too-young mother, and resents the intrusion of her best friend’s boyfriend. At the core of her bleak outlook is the knowledge that her father, aka the “sperm donor,” has never tried to contact her. And then he calls. The tension this creates between Dylan and her mother is brutal and realistic. Dylan has found emotional safety in keeping distant from others, judging before she can be judged. As Dylan comes out of her shell, she realizes her own power and responsibility in setting the terms of her relationships
February 1, 2016
Written with the brevity that shows just how tenuous parent-child relationships are, this book says so much by not telling the reader everything that is happening. The unknown of reality is demonstrated fully and the book distinctly shows the complexity of human emotions and how difficult it is to realize the how, why, and what of another person. Whereas most books allow the reader omniscience and breadth of comprehension regarding multiple characters' thoughts, emotions, etc., here, the reader is limited to that which the main character can discern-- which, unlike most fiction, is really not that much. "Hummingbird Heart" is not the fairy tale; but, it leaves you with hope.
January 30, 2016
I liked the interesting dilemmas sixteen-year-old Dylan faces as the author takes readers to deeper levels of thinking and compassion. Along with having to deal with a pot-smoking, freethinking, tattoo-filled mother, Dylan meets a father she never knew existed, struggles with whether or not to become a bone marrow donor for a half sister she never met, wonders whether to have sex with her first boyfriend, and tries to hold on to a friendship that seems to be crumbling right in front of her eyes.
Read more at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/
Read more at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/
July 7, 2015
This is a great book if you're looking to sit down with a nice warm cup of tea. The only down side is that everything seemed to drag on and was a bit repetitive. But on the bright side anyone who would read this book would enjoy the main characters thoughts throughout the book during difficult times. She is a very reasonable character and i wished she were a real person at time :)
December 7, 2012
I don't read non-fiction often so the amount that I enjoyed this book was surprising! It had good character appeal and I just enjoyed it so much. I'd say I want a sequel but honestly the ending was perfect.
March 14, 2012
Soooo good!! It really shows just how much family means to a person and tells us that sometimes, one should have a little more faith in people.
April 15, 2016
Summary: Dylan's mother and father both have hummingbird tattoos, but dad has been absent for 16 years. Now he's back, but it isn't because he regrets not knowing Dylan--he has his own reasons.
August 9, 2012
16 y/o Dylan has never met her father. She thinks she was a 1 night stand. Until her father needs her bone marrow for his daughter by his new wife.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2013
There was just something missing. Can't quite put my hands on it, but otherwise this book would have been really great!
September 27, 2013
i'm still reading
July 27, 2014
Dealing with absent parents. I thought it was very realistic with the feelings. Scenarios of sneaking to see the long absent, now contacting parents seems like a real situation.
December 3, 2015
An enjoyable, quick read. I thought the characters were pretty engaging but there wasn't much to the story.
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