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Birds of prey have run in fourteen-year-old Owl Tycho's family for hundreds of years. Every generation or so produces a shape-shifter, an apparently normal human being who can change into an owl at will. "A fantasy rich and strange, haunting and humorous." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
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First published October 25, 1993
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About the author
Patrice Kindl
11 books174 followersChildhood:
I was born in Alplaus New York in 1951, the youngest of four daughters. My father is a mechanical engineer, my mother a housewife. My family is very nice – I like them all a lot. As a child I loved animals and read obsessively.
We had (still have) a family cottage on Lake George. The people who live next door are life-long friends. On summer weekdays during my childhood there were ten females in the two houses, no males. As a result of this background I feel that I understand girls better than boys, which is why I write primarily for girls.
Education and other jobs:
After high school I went to Webster College in St. Louis, Missouri. Oddly enough, given the location, it was a well-thought-of theater school. I attended for a year and a half and then (this was the 60’s, early 70’s) dropped out and decamped for New York City and a real drama school (not a liberal arts college like Webster). I appeared in a few television commercials, waitressed, auditioned and did a little modeling.
After three or four years of this sort of thing I realized I was going nowhere fast. I came back upstate and worked, at first full-time and then, after I married and my son was born, part-time, as a secretary at a consulting engineering firm called Encotech. As a result, I am an excellent touch typist today, which is handy for a writer.
I only began writing seriously when I was in my late thirties and was first published in my early forties. While I worked on OWL IN LOVE (my first book) I became involved in a program called Helping Hands, in which I raised two monkeys to be aides to quadriplegics. You can check it out at www.helpinghandsmonkeys.org. You can see a photograph of Kandy on this page and Susi on the FAQ page.
Family:
My husband Paul is president of Encotech (that’s where I met him). My son Alex is 25. He and his art rock band Bible Study (no religious connotation) live with us part-time. They rehearse directly over my office, so it is lucky that I think they are great musicians (Click here to listen to one of their songs). The vocalist is one of America’s few female Master Falconers. When the band is in residence we also have several hawks or falcons.
I was born in Alplaus New York in 1951, the youngest of four daughters. My father is a mechanical engineer, my mother a housewife. My family is very nice – I like them all a lot. As a child I loved animals and read obsessively.
We had (still have) a family cottage on Lake George. The people who live next door are life-long friends. On summer weekdays during my childhood there were ten females in the two houses, no males. As a result of this background I feel that I understand girls better than boys, which is why I write primarily for girls.
Education and other jobs:
After high school I went to Webster College in St. Louis, Missouri. Oddly enough, given the location, it was a well-thought-of theater school. I attended for a year and a half and then (this was the 60’s, early 70’s) dropped out and decamped for New York City and a real drama school (not a liberal arts college like Webster). I appeared in a few television commercials, waitressed, auditioned and did a little modeling.
After three or four years of this sort of thing I realized I was going nowhere fast. I came back upstate and worked, at first full-time and then, after I married and my son was born, part-time, as a secretary at a consulting engineering firm called Encotech. As a result, I am an excellent touch typist today, which is handy for a writer.
I only began writing seriously when I was in my late thirties and was first published in my early forties. While I worked on OWL IN LOVE (my first book) I became involved in a program called Helping Hands, in which I raised two monkeys to be aides to quadriplegics. You can check it out at www.helpinghandsmonkeys.org. You can see a photograph of Kandy on this page and Susi on the FAQ page.
Family:
My husband Paul is president of Encotech (that’s where I met him). My son Alex is 25. He and his art rock band Bible Study (no religious connotation) live with us part-time. They rehearse directly over my office, so it is lucky that I think they are great musicians (Click here to listen to one of their songs). The vocalist is one of America’s few female Master Falconers. When the band is in residence we also have several hawks or falcons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
December 25, 2008
This book is quirky, unique, and surprisingly touching. I wondered how the author was going to pull off the were-owl aspect, but as Kindl seems to have created a sort of alternate Earth where magic is possible and shapeshifting occasionally crops up in families, it wasn't nearly as farfetched (in terms of the story's internal logic, that is) as I'd thought. Certainly Kindl does an excellent job of conveying Owl's detached, alien perspective on human life while still making her a sympathetic character. I can see how some readers (especially some teens) might be instantly put off by Owl's crush on her forty-year-old science teacher and want to put the book down right there, but Kindl actually gives us a logical explanation for the attraction and handles it sensitively and well. On the whole, I really enjoyed this book and might even pick it up and read it again sometime.
February 12, 2011
I really liked this. Displacement and confusion as fairytale with the food chain as the (animal) kingdom. Owl in Love is about a girl/owl named Owl. She's in uncomfortable skin that is not her own when she's a girl or bird. As a bird she's still torn between worlds based on new longings, and more predatory urges. Her parents are straight-up bird. I felt she was more bird than girl in a different way (less nesting and more free flying), and somehow felt closer to her birdish thoughts than human ones. Maybe because they were more natural as growing pains. It could also be that birds are closer in my heart these days than my past self as a teen girl. I know which I would rather be.
Owl is obsessed with her crush on her new science teacher. As an owl she stalks him as she does not get to prey to him during school time. I liked a lot that Kindl did not make Owl's story metaphorical about teen confusion with body image and sexuality. I didn't feel the queasiness from remembering my own social misfitness reading about Owl's societal unfitness (thank goodness!). She's not on their same planet. It doesn't even matter more than desperately wishing to escape a situation when you are uncomfortable, like an itchy uniform or uptight restrictions. It is miserably restrictive, for sure. Owl in Love is all about Owl. The smartest thing Kindl did was avoid shining the every-weirdo reflection on her girl. Instead it's Owl making up her own scientific labels like her beloved teacher might do. Owls don't know they are called owls, after all. She's just fascinated with them and yearning for a primitive like connection. I thought birds had pecking orders, though? It wouldn't be any more simple, to me.
What I didn't like about this book was the marriage bent, and the arrival of another of her kind. Another kind that's one whole rather than a converging of the two. The disparity between the two interested me. I would have liked to know how that kingdom might've looked... Owl's desires were so short lived, too. I guess the life expectancy wouldn't be that higher. I just kinda wanted more for her. There's more to life than being a teenaged girl. There's more to life than THE ONE (there's a world). Fairytale endings? Happily ever after. No what's next.
Owl is obsessed with her crush on her new science teacher. As an owl she stalks him as she does not get to prey to him during school time. I liked a lot that Kindl did not make Owl's story metaphorical about teen confusion with body image and sexuality. I didn't feel the queasiness from remembering my own social misfitness reading about Owl's societal unfitness (thank goodness!). She's not on their same planet. It doesn't even matter more than desperately wishing to escape a situation when you are uncomfortable, like an itchy uniform or uptight restrictions. It is miserably restrictive, for sure. Owl in Love is all about Owl. The smartest thing Kindl did was avoid shining the every-weirdo reflection on her girl. Instead it's Owl making up her own scientific labels like her beloved teacher might do. Owls don't know they are called owls, after all. She's just fascinated with them and yearning for a primitive like connection. I thought birds had pecking orders, though? It wouldn't be any more simple, to me.
What I didn't like about this book was the marriage bent, and the arrival of another of her kind. Another kind that's one whole rather than a converging of the two. The disparity between the two interested me. I would have liked to know how that kingdom might've looked... Owl's desires were so short lived, too. I guess the life expectancy wouldn't be that higher. I just kinda wanted more for her. There's more to life than being a teenaged girl. There's more to life than THE ONE (there's a world). Fairytale endings? Happily ever after. No what's next.
March 27, 2010
Maybe some of you may recall my tweet about this book being a creeper. I still stand by that tweet. I will say, I did warm up to Owl In Love a bit, but definitely feel a little too old for it. Owl In Love by Patrice Kindl is about this 14 year old girl named Owl who is -get this- a wereowl. She has a creeper crush on her teacher Mr. Lindstrom, who is pushing mid-forties, and somewhat balding. Basically she turns into an owl and watches him from the window. I know gross, right! Anyhoo, I spent most of the book creeped out until she met someone her own age.
Read the rest of my review here
Read the rest of my review here
November 15, 2008
Patrice Kindl is my new favorite writer. This was the oddest book I've read lately, which is saying something. A girl with witchy parents can change into an owl. Is head-over-heels in love with her science teacher (who shares the same last name as my cute college zoology professor, funnily enough). Struggles with trying to fit in with classmates when she can't even eat human food. And more . . .
Dark and funny. Strangely sensual.
Dark and funny. Strangely sensual.
July 25, 2012
I am in love with Mr. Lindstrom, my science teacher. I found out where he lives and every night I perch on a tree branch outside his bedroom window and watch him sleep. He sleeps in his underwear: Fruit of the Looms, size 34.
Owl Tycho is a fourteen-year-old girl who can turn into an owl, or
perhaps an owl who can turn into a girl. She’s not just a girl with
magic powers: she looks a little like an owl in human form, her blood
is black and her skin is grayish, and she lives on a diet of mice and
insects. She has fallen in love with Mr. Lindstrom, her divorced, forty-year-old science teacher.
But Mr. Lindstrom has no idea that she loves him, much less that she
watches him nightly from a tree branch. Owl soon becomes exhausted
from the effort of watching Mr. Lindstrom all night while also keeping
up with her school work, keeping her secret from her classmates, and
convincing her parents that there’s nothing wrong with her. And then a
mysterious intruder shows up in the woods around Mr. Lindstrom's
house...
An absolute delight: witty, charming, heartfelt, and original. Owl has
some problems that will be familiar to any teenager: her difficulty
fitting in and making friends; her crush on a teacher; the strange but
cute boy her own age; parents who are well-meaning but don’t understand. But those common issues are seen from the point of view of
a character who is literally alien, as much owl as she is girl.
The result is both startling and funny, and makes these archetypal
problems and their resolution seem fresh and new. The characters are
all sympathetic and believable, if odd. The ending is a bit
coincidental and predictable, but still satisfying.
Owl Tycho is a fourteen-year-old girl who can turn into an owl, or
perhaps an owl who can turn into a girl. She’s not just a girl with
magic powers: she looks a little like an owl in human form, her blood
is black and her skin is grayish, and she lives on a diet of mice and
insects. She has fallen in love with Mr. Lindstrom, her divorced, forty-year-old science teacher.
But Mr. Lindstrom has no idea that she loves him, much less that she
watches him nightly from a tree branch. Owl soon becomes exhausted
from the effort of watching Mr. Lindstrom all night while also keeping
up with her school work, keeping her secret from her classmates, and
convincing her parents that there’s nothing wrong with her. And then a
mysterious intruder shows up in the woods around Mr. Lindstrom's
house...
An absolute delight: witty, charming, heartfelt, and original. Owl has
some problems that will be familiar to any teenager: her difficulty
fitting in and making friends; her crush on a teacher; the strange but
cute boy her own age; parents who are well-meaning but don’t understand. But those common issues are seen from the point of view of
a character who is literally alien, as much owl as she is girl.
The result is both startling and funny, and makes these archetypal
problems and their resolution seem fresh and new. The characters are
all sympathetic and believable, if odd. The ending is a bit
coincidental and predictable, but still satisfying.
March 11, 2016
I really enjoyed Owl as a character; I loved her owlish view on everything. I liked her parents a whole lot too, and I enjoyed Dawn, the girl who insists on becoming Owl's friend. (Dawn's voice didn't feel 100 percent authentically teen for me, but it was quite entertaining all the same, and her situation and reaction to that situation seemed on target to me, so I didn't mind about the slippage in her voice so much.)
I had some reservations about the parts of the story that were from Houle/David's point of view. I found them confusing and much more dark than the rest of the book. Everything else is played more or less for humor, but the situation with his family is heartbreaking. In a different book, the bleakness of his storyline wouldn't have been bad, but in this book it felt jarringly dissonant. Fortunately, there wasn't too much from his point of view.
I also would have liked more speaking interaction between Owl and Houle, though I did like their gradually developing relationship in owl form (and for Houle, having friendship in that form is extra important).
Now I've spent two paragraphs on dissatisfaction and only one on satisfaction, which isn't right at all, because my overall feelings toward this book are very warm. Owl's a unique heroine, and I loved her. And the ending was just right too.
I had some reservations about the parts of the story that were from Houle/David's point of view. I found them confusing and much more dark than the rest of the book. Everything else is played more or less for humor, but the situation with his family is heartbreaking. In a different book, the bleakness of his storyline wouldn't have been bad, but in this book it felt jarringly dissonant. Fortunately, there wasn't too much from his point of view.
I also would have liked more speaking interaction between Owl and Houle, though I did like their gradually developing relationship in owl form (and for Houle, having friendship in that form is extra important).
Now I've spent two paragraphs on dissatisfaction and only one on satisfaction, which isn't right at all, because my overall feelings toward this book are very warm. Owl's a unique heroine, and I loved her. And the ending was just right too.
June 7, 2016
actually really loved this book!!! i loved all of the characters and thought the owl was portrayed super well with experiencing things as a young girl and experiencing things as an animal.
pretty refreshing to read something light and simple!!
i would definitely recommend.
pretty refreshing to read something light and simple!!
i would definitely recommend.
October 17, 2020
It's got some flaws, but the quirky main character won me over and carried the day.
October 10, 2013
What an unexpected little gem!
Owl in love manages to be a fully fraught supernatural teenage romance without spilling over into maudlin self-importance. Just the right amount of humor -- Not parody. Though there is some similarity to Switchers, Kindl tells a delightful story and I would happily read more by her.
"Owls are not house-proud. The almost obsessive tidiness of this room made me uneasy. A few rotting branches or some old leaves would have made the place look a lot homier, in my opinion." (p.51)
"Damp weather means bad hunting for owls, and in a wet spring an owl can progress from stylishly slender to dead in a matter of days." (p.95)
P.S. Don'tcha think Owl is a kindred soul to Temperance Brennan?
Owl in love manages to be a fully fraught supernatural teenage romance without spilling over into maudlin self-importance. Just the right amount of humor -- Not parody. Though there is some similarity to Switchers, Kindl tells a delightful story and I would happily read more by her.
"Owls are not house-proud. The almost obsessive tidiness of this room made me uneasy. A few rotting branches or some old leaves would have made the place look a lot homier, in my opinion." (p.51)
"Damp weather means bad hunting for owls, and in a wet spring an owl can progress from stylishly slender to dead in a matter of days." (p.95)
P.S. Don'tcha think Owl is a kindred soul to Temperance Brennan?
May 28, 2012
4.5 stars!
an utterly unique and charming fantasy.
owl is a weird owl raised by two witch parents
who are just a little eccentric. they have named
their daughter owl and have helped her best
they can in her growing up to be a healthy
wereowl.
owl is in love with her 40 year old science
teacher. she spends much of her time perched
on a tree outside his bedroom window at night,
spying on him. (ha!) but then she noticed a boy
who is lurking near her teacher's home, and a
mystery begins to unravel for owl.
told in prose that is completely fitting to owl's
odd and quirky personality, this novel will win
you over with its charm, humor and originality.
an utterly unique and charming fantasy.
owl is a weird owl raised by two witch parents
who are just a little eccentric. they have named
their daughter owl and have helped her best
they can in her growing up to be a healthy
wereowl.
owl is in love with her 40 year old science
teacher. she spends much of her time perched
on a tree outside his bedroom window at night,
spying on him. (ha!) but then she noticed a boy
who is lurking near her teacher's home, and a
mystery begins to unravel for owl.
told in prose that is completely fitting to owl's
odd and quirky personality, this novel will win
you over with its charm, humor and originality.
Read
January 7, 2013I was just looking through some opening chapters for various YA books at the library. I ended up taking this home and reading it almost non-stop. Immediately endearing, peculiar, and oddly real for a story of a girl wereowl… I want to read more Patrice Kindl.
January 17, 2008
Just love it! She's a wereowl, and she's madly in love with her middle-aged teacher. It's smart and charming and bittersweet all at once!
Read
September 8, 2008"I am Owl. It is my name as well as my nature. There are birds of prey in my family going back hundreds of years ..."
Every time I reread this book, I fall in love with its voice all over again.
Every time I reread this book, I fall in love with its voice all over again.
February 8, 2016
Very odd, but original and extraordinary. The sustained alien POV is quite remarkable
August 27, 2019
Da ragazzina ho letto così tante volte questo romanzo da ricordarne espressioni e frasi a memoria anche dopo parecchio tempo! XD
La protagonista del libro è Owl (nomen omen!), un "gufo mannaro" adolescente. Di giorno frequenta il liceo come tutti i suoi coetanei, e di notte (ma non solo) vola nei boschi a caccia di prede. A causa della sua condizione non lega moltissimo con gli umani che la circondano, ma ben presto alcuni avvenimenti inaspettati la costringeranno a stravolgere il suo micromondo.
Lo so, ad un primo impatto l'idea del gufo mannaro può sembrare una cretinata, però da ragazzina mi ero gasata un sacco per questo personaggio e, rileggendolo da adulta, devo dire che reta comunque una storia molto carina e soprattutto ben raccontata.
Owl mi piaceva un sacco come eroina, non solo per la sua natura particolare: anche se la natura di gufo sembra essere predominante, ha un buon equilibrio con la sua parte umana. Infatti è una ragazza indipendente, che non vuole disperatamente essere come tutti gli altri, è curiosa e quasi orgogliosa dell'eccentricità della propria famiglia.
Una lettura molto carina, proprio come me la ricordavo :)
La protagonista del libro è Owl (nomen omen!), un "gufo mannaro" adolescente. Di giorno frequenta il liceo come tutti i suoi coetanei, e di notte (ma non solo) vola nei boschi a caccia di prede. A causa della sua condizione non lega moltissimo con gli umani che la circondano, ma ben presto alcuni avvenimenti inaspettati la costringeranno a stravolgere il suo micromondo.
Lo so, ad un primo impatto l'idea del gufo mannaro può sembrare una cretinata, però da ragazzina mi ero gasata un sacco per questo personaggio e, rileggendolo da adulta, devo dire che reta comunque una storia molto carina e soprattutto ben raccontata.
Owl mi piaceva un sacco come eroina, non solo per la sua natura particolare: anche se la natura di gufo sembra essere predominante, ha un buon equilibrio con la sua parte umana. Infatti è una ragazza indipendente, che non vuole disperatamente essere come tutti gli altri, è curiosa e quasi orgogliosa dell'eccentricità della propria famiglia.
Una lettura molto carina, proprio come me la ricordavo :)
December 15, 2025
My middle school librarian recommended this to me when I was in the seventh grade, and although I was reluctant to pick it up, I recall loving this strange little book from beginning to end. Decades later, I decided to reread it!
Owl in Love is still a strange little book, but that is its charm. The dark undertone was enough to capture my curiosity as a young teen, and I still find the more experimental elements of the book very captivating. There are some inconsistencies and some moments where I have to heavily suspend disbelief; also, as this was written in the early 90s, there are several comments about weight that wouldn't make it past a YA editor nowadays. Nevertheless, I found this reread enjoyable and the concept quite imaginative.
The world needs more strange little books.
Owl in Love is still a strange little book, but that is its charm. The dark undertone was enough to capture my curiosity as a young teen, and I still find the more experimental elements of the book very captivating. There are some inconsistencies and some moments where I have to heavily suspend disbelief; also, as this was written in the early 90s, there are several comments about weight that wouldn't make it past a YA editor nowadays. Nevertheless, I found this reread enjoyable and the concept quite imaginative.
The world needs more strange little books.
May 26, 2017
This book is about a high school students falling in love with her science teacher. I don't think that there's a message in the book or neither a quote to represent a message in the book. I would recommend this book to a friend so that they wouldn't get bored during the weekend. This book always kept me busy and I can read this book in my spare time. I like how the author expresses the main character's feelings in a way that I can understand.
October 8, 2022
13 year old me loved this book. It’s definitely weirder than I remember. Still entertaining
September 30, 2023
Hä?
Frage an die Autorin: Wie kommt man auf so etwas? Das war nämlich einfach absolut absurd.
Frage an die Autorin: Wie kommt man auf so etwas? Das war nämlich einfach absolut absurd.
Read
June 24, 2024jon and I found this at the thrift store and laughed so hard I had to buy it. But I did genuinely like it.
February 8, 2010
This books is entirely different from other shapeshifter-stories. Owl, the fourteen-year-old heroine, is really more bird of prey than human girl. She has black blood and therefore greyish skin, a heart-shaped face featuring large yellow eyes and feathery hair ending in a widow's peak. She does not eat human food, because she cannot digest it without losing her dual nature (after trying a sandwich she was not able to take off for days). Instead she hunts at night and eats yummy rats, mice and hamsters before going to school. Her house is always dark and devoid of furniture and electricity (better for practicing to fly) and her parents are otherworldly wizards, who have no clue about human lifestyle whatsoever and live on what they grow in the garden, what they find in dumpsters and what people pay them for witchy remedies. I suppose these parents are one means of providing hilarious moments throughout the novel, but today was one of those days on which parents of the clueless and irrational kind drive me nuts.
I've read on the cover that Owl's infatuation with her fortyish sweaty-armpits science teacher will be replaced by an attraction for someone more suitable in age amd thus will make the story speedily more interesting, but I presently don't have the patience to find out if that is true. Besides, there are lots of promising books beckoning me to read them NOW. That seals the fate of my paperback.
I've read on the cover that Owl's infatuation with her fortyish sweaty-armpits science teacher will be replaced by an attraction for someone more suitable in age amd thus will make the story speedily more interesting, but I presently don't have the patience to find out if that is true. Besides, there are lots of promising books beckoning me to read them NOW. That seals the fate of my paperback.
September 21, 2008
I think it needs explanation why I read this. The only excuse I can find, is that I read the word "were-owl" on the back and was made curious. Even when I started reading it, found out about the crush this thirteen year old girl had on her forty-something teacher, and, worse, that it was actually a teenage girl read, I still couldn't get myself to stop reading.
Actually, for the first time in a while, I was compelled to read a book when reading Owl in Love. That's not to say its exceptional. It's just Rather Good. The voice of Owl, the main character, is amusing, at the least. The mythology surrounding her is intriguingly original, her limitations and such. Her descriptions of eating mice and being an owl are some of the best parts of the book
The strange thing, is that this book seems like it could have easily had a hundred more pages, another few characters, a couple more conflicts, and a bit more psychological development. It has the potential to be so much more...but settles as being a simple teengirl read.
All in all, I think a book that can get me to literally yell at the main character for not seeing the predictability of the plot, is not that horrible a read. Has a sense of interactivity when it does that. So, I recommend a check out from the local library, but perhaps not buying it from the book store. Enjoy!
Actually, for the first time in a while, I was compelled to read a book when reading Owl in Love. That's not to say its exceptional. It's just Rather Good. The voice of Owl, the main character, is amusing, at the least. The mythology surrounding her is intriguingly original, her limitations and such. Her descriptions of eating mice and being an owl are some of the best parts of the book
The strange thing, is that this book seems like it could have easily had a hundred more pages, another few characters, a couple more conflicts, and a bit more psychological development. It has the potential to be so much more...but settles as being a simple teengirl read.
All in all, I think a book that can get me to literally yell at the main character for not seeing the predictability of the plot, is not that horrible a read. Has a sense of interactivity when it does that. So, I recommend a check out from the local library, but perhaps not buying it from the book store. Enjoy!
October 5, 2012
I bought Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl on a complete whim. It turns out to be the author's debut novel. In it, Owl Tycho, an owl "by name and by nature" spends her days as a teenage girl and her evenings as a barn owl (Tyto alba).
Her name is so similar to what she becomes, that one can just imagine the other characters in the book doing a double take whenever Owl is first introduced. Owl, though, has other obsessions — namely her science teacher who is more than twice her age. Why he intrigues her so is never fully explained, although Owl does try. The feeling, is thankfully, not mutual.
Things change when a mysterious boy appears — camping out in the teacher's backyard (how convenient). The boy, we are lead to believe, has similar talents and needs as Owl.
Where the book lost me though is in the spareness of character. Owl, in all her strangeness, is the most normal person in the entire book. Owl's human (but self-described witch) parents are less socially adjusted that she is.
Since I never managed to connect with Owl or the other characters, I didn't care to see how the book ended. Although I was only about thirty pages from completing the book, I decided to move on to something new.
Her name is so similar to what she becomes, that one can just imagine the other characters in the book doing a double take whenever Owl is first introduced. Owl, though, has other obsessions — namely her science teacher who is more than twice her age. Why he intrigues her so is never fully explained, although Owl does try. The feeling, is thankfully, not mutual.
Things change when a mysterious boy appears — camping out in the teacher's backyard (how convenient). The boy, we are lead to believe, has similar talents and needs as Owl.
Where the book lost me though is in the spareness of character. Owl, in all her strangeness, is the most normal person in the entire book. Owl's human (but self-described witch) parents are less socially adjusted that she is.
Since I never managed to connect with Owl or the other characters, I didn't care to see how the book ended. Although I was only about thirty pages from completing the book, I decided to move on to something new.
March 13, 2013
I decided to re-read Owl in Love since it has been 5 or 6 years since the last time I re-read it, and I've changed and grown a lot as a reader. The beginning of the book is really rocky as it is just the main character giving the premise of the book with some short stories about what's "happened" so far. Owl, the main character, is a wereowl who falls in love with her science teacher. My favorite thing about the book is how Kindl portrays Owl's love. She has these unattractive descriptions of her science teacher about his receding hairline and plump waistline, but told through Owl's loving eyes where these things are romanticized. The book is mostly about Owl learning about relationships. She uses her owl nature as an excuse to not have friends, so when she gains a friend in Dawn she has trouble trusting her. She also doesn't recognize her feelings when she falls in love with a boy more suitable for her and continues to believe herself in love with her teacher. Owl in Love is probably best suited to preteen girls. Most of the characters are flat in that they don't go through a change, so the real draw of the book is the romantic plot.
March 10, 2009
This is Patrice Kindl's first Young Adult novel, and it shows. Her main character, Owl, thinks, talks, and acts like no teenager. Her plot begins slow, never fully develops, and has an insufficient, speedy wrap-up. The story describes a few brief weeks in the life of Owl, who is a shape-shifter and transforms every night into her namesake. She spends her owl-time gazing at her science teacher while he sleeps. She thinks he is her mate for life, if only NY laws allowed this. Her parents support the idea but the poor man never knows. Most chapters end with the thoughts/activities of a male teenager who is just like Owl, and he soon becomes part of the cast. While, interesting, readers are never offered explanations to the fantasy/science fiction elements of this story and are meant to take them for what they are. Hopefully Kindl's other stories are better fleshed out, for she obviously has the imagination to create.
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October 24, 2015Schoolgirl by day, owl by night...
I went into this book having no prior knowledge of it. It was recommended to me by my hometown library, after I gave them a short list of books with romance in them that I loved. I think I'd put down that I loved the language of all the books I gave them, because the main thing I noticed in this book was its lovely language and excellent voice. Owl, our intrepid main character, is old-fashioned (being the daughter of a witch and all) and her voice shows that brilliantly.
I loved the details in this as well. I can tell Kindl did a lot of research about owls, but only put in what was important. In owl form, Owl was very convincing. (I mean, she was in human form as well.)
So, what began as a strange book ended up being a fantastically enjoyable read. And hey, it was still strange, all the way to the end.
I went into this book having no prior knowledge of it. It was recommended to me by my hometown library, after I gave them a short list of books with romance in them that I loved. I think I'd put down that I loved the language of all the books I gave them, because the main thing I noticed in this book was its lovely language and excellent voice. Owl, our intrepid main character, is old-fashioned (being the daughter of a witch and all) and her voice shows that brilliantly.
I loved the details in this as well. I can tell Kindl did a lot of research about owls, but only put in what was important. In owl form, Owl was very convincing. (I mean, she was in human form as well.)
So, what began as a strange book ended up being a fantastically enjoyable read. And hey, it was still strange, all the way to the end.
November 11, 2008
This was a fresh, fast-paced, and charming little book. Owl seems a little "autistic spectrum" and that mostly worked for me. The only problem I had with the book was the sections which were about Houle's experiences at the institution. It wasn't clear to me that they were flashbacks, so it felt like they were running in current time, parallel to Owl's experiences. Really, that stuff was what brought him into her life but wasn't current. Confusing. I had a few unanswered questions about why he was locked up in the first place and the teacher's dreaming of rodents -- was this to show a recessive gene for owl-ism? But, overall, most of my questions were not deal-breakers, more like points to ponder. They seemed answerable.
April 28, 2012
Fifteen-year-old Owl's crush on her 40-something science teacher is so sincere, so ardent, I couldn't help but admiring her devotion. She had a kind of Anne Shirley way of describing things--romanticizing the hole in her love's battered shoe and the rumpled tweed jacket he sports. And at first the fact that she watches him every night as he sleeps seems a little creepy, until you realize she's doing it perched on a branch outside his window in between hunting for mice and voles. Owl is an owl. Or at least she is when she's not in her girl form. A thoroughly sweet story about first love and friendship and what it means to be human. As well as what it means to be an owl.
December 11, 2023
Ah, the attachment you form to certain books you randomly choose while hiding in the library trying to avoid your peers in high school.
Would I recommend this book? No. (Except perhaps if you are a teenager that loves birds and weird love stories. Wereowls ARE pretty cool). I DO thoroughly enjoy it, though, and 33-year-old me thanks 14-year-old-me for pulling this off that shelf that time. It is a pretty forgettable book, but for me, it just lives in my brain forever and I weirdly and vividly remember the whole plot. Formative years, blah blah.
Would I recommend this book? No. (Except perhaps if you are a teenager that loves birds and weird love stories. Wereowls ARE pretty cool). I DO thoroughly enjoy it, though, and 33-year-old me thanks 14-year-old-me for pulling this off that shelf that time. It is a pretty forgettable book, but for me, it just lives in my brain forever and I weirdly and vividly remember the whole plot. Formative years, blah blah.
July 23, 2012
When I was 12 I thought this was the greatest book in the world and it was so freaking awesome.
As an adult, I tried to read it again - an endeavor I should have never embarked on.
I started to read it, and it began to lose the magic and the sparkle that had captivated me as a teeny bopper. So I stopped. I wanted it to be as good as I remembered it and not weird because the science teacher Owl has a crush on is old, balding and likes to wear tighty-whiteys. Not swoon-worthy at all to a 14 year old. Sorry Ms. Kindl.
Owl, you strange girl, you shall stay in my fluffy youth.
As an adult, I tried to read it again - an endeavor I should have never embarked on.
I started to read it, and it began to lose the magic and the sparkle that had captivated me as a teeny bopper. So I stopped. I wanted it to be as good as I remembered it and not weird because the science teacher Owl has a crush on is old, balding and likes to wear tighty-whiteys. Not swoon-worthy at all to a 14 year old. Sorry Ms. Kindl.
Owl, you strange girl, you shall stay in my fluffy youth.
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