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What Members Thought
Such a lovely, interesting book... This middle grade fiction book is about Charlie. He has a big sister named Davis and younger twin brothers, Joel and Jake. His mother was killed by a drunk driver when he was younger and so his Gram takes care of him along with his dad. But his dad was working on a project in Afghanistan and suffered a traumatic brain injury. They aren't sure what's going to happen, but it turns out that the best treatment is in Virginia. So Gram and Dad go there, except that t
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Aug 12, 2018
clare o'c
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
adventure,
middle-grades,
realistic-fiction,
families,
misfits,
observation,
journey,
journalists,
war-stories,
nature
I'm not sure which of the many wonderful things about this book I should start with. I enjoyed it so much! A quick overview: Siblings Davis, Charlie, Jake, and Joel wind up on a cross-country road-trip with Ludmila at the helm of a beat up RV. Their mom is dead and their journalist father has been injured in Afghanistan and has been moved from a hospital in California to one in Virginia, accompanied by Gram, who has been helping with the kids. Ludmila is a wonderful mystery. Charlie, 12, tells t
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I was impressed by the plotting of this book, and the insight through the character of Charlie. I actually gasped when Ludmila showed up as Gram's last option. Using the wonder of birds as a theme to tie everything together, using the Field Museum, Wall Drugs, and other locales to further the plot seems ingenious. The part about the Carolina parakeet seemed a bit off to me. There are several things I looked up along the way, wanting to know more. At times, this book reminded me of Gary Schmidt's
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While reading this book about birder, Charlie, I’ve found myself uncharacteristically excited about bird sightings on my vacation. That’s the power of books for ya!
The Someday Birds is about a boy named Charlie who struggles with social interaction and OCD behavior. His life gets turned upsized down when his dad is hospitalized for a brain injury and he must travel across the country with his crazy siblings in a beat up RV. Through the trip he overcomes many fears but the birds always bring him ...more
The Someday Birds is about a boy named Charlie who struggles with social interaction and OCD behavior. His life gets turned upsized down when his dad is hospitalized for a brain injury and he must travel across the country with his crazy siblings in a beat up RV. Through the trip he overcomes many fears but the birds always bring him ...more
I really liked this book with its quirky characters and its big-hearted message. Charlie, our narrator, appears to be on the spectrum, but his portrayal is generous and brave and funny. I loved the character of Ludmila and her troubled relationship with her brother Amar. We all react to trauma differently, and her struggles with her turbulent childhood seem authentic. T. Shaw, bird expert, plays a role in the book — and I appreciate that the reader doesn’t quite find out all the mysteries surrou
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I loved it. The story is funny, the characters are just right and it ended perfectly. The good feels one gets from reading this book come by way of tragic stories and the reality that life is hard. Harder for some than for others, there aren't really answers as to why that is. There isn't much justice to be had, but there is hope and redemption. I paused in my usual gusto to hand a good book off to the kids I know. The thing is kids sometimes have the luxury of innocence. They don't always know
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Jul 16, 2018
Natalie Harvey
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
child-lit,
feel-good,
middle-grade,
nature,
read-aloud,
fiction,
realistic-fiction,
family,
autism,
travel
So lovely. So much heart and hope and keen observations. I sobbed at the end partly because of the sweet ending itself and partly because it was over.
Charlie and his family will stay with me a long time. I really loved the first person narrative, coming to love and understand Charlie. He's definitely not a typical kid, but I've known several kids who remind me of him. Pla does an excellent job creating fully realized, diverse characters. At several times, I found it hard to grasp the back-story of what happened to Charlie's mom and dad.
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May 11, 2017
Chris
marked it as to-read
Oct 11, 2017
Amandayates
marked it as to-read
Jan 09, 2018
Tracy
marked it as to-read
Aug 09, 2018
Becky
marked it as to-read
