Birdy has secrets. She’s ‘one of the boys’, and
loves the freedom it gives her. Martin, one of the group, who plays a small but
outstanding and crucial role, knows Birdy’s most intimate secrets.
Knowledge is
power for him. Mercilessly, he physically and emotionally bullies Birdy, who is
a person with great potential, but without opportunity. You empathise with her
character immediately. This is the draw card.
The opening scene is vicious and gut-wrenching.
It dares the reader to read on, but also introduces the state of things which
are pivotal to the whole story. I nearly put the book away, but am glad I
didn’t. It is a magnificent character-driven plot!
The most courageous person after Birdy is the
mother. Strong and determined, she keeps the family together under the worst
circumstances. The father, a brutal, unemployed alcoholic, excuses his
behaviour, seeing it as the result of his wife’s Irish heritage. He makes her
pay for the discrimination meted out to them by the English.
This is a compelling debut novel, with stunning
characters and a complex storyline that will set you spinning. Issues of
family, a place to call home, identity, bullying, transgender, strength and
courage, form a powerful current of words and innuendo that sweep the reader
along toward the denouement.
Title: Birdy Flynn
Author:
Helen Donohoe
Publisher:
Allen & Unwin $16.99
Publication
Date: 26 April 2017
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9781780749396
For
ages: 12+
Type:
Middle Fiction