Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: The Language of Seabirds

Participating in the Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop  hosted by Greg Pattrige of Always in the Middle, with loads of reviews of Middle Grade fiction (books for roughly ages 8-12).

 

Title: The Language of Seabirds

Author: Will Taylor

Publication Info: Scholastic, 2022. 256 pages

Source: Library

Publisher's Blurb: 
A sweet, tender middle-grade story of two boys finding first love with each other over a seaside summer.

Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It's the first summer after his parents' divorce, and he hasn't exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn't have a choice, though, so he goes... and on his first day takes a walk on the beach and finds himself intrigued by a boy his age running by. Eventually, he and Runner Boy (Evan) meet -- and what starts out as friendship blooms into something neither boy is expecting... and also something both boys have been secretly hoping for.

My Review:
I picked this book in a hurry from the library's Overdrive collection when I ran short of reading material on my recent trip. I suspect it caught my eye because a) it was on the front page of the web site, and b) It has a cool cover. The blurb further piqued my interest, and I have no regrets.

The Language of Seabirds isn't an earth-shaking book--except perhaps in that it exists at all. I think there are other books out there about boys finding first love together, or about summer romances. But this was the first one I've stumbled on that combined that bitter-sweet very young love trope with a gay romance, and was written spot-on for a middle-grade audience.

The author handles all the themes very well. The divorce of Jeremy's parents, with all the angst that causes, the fear that Jeremy is carrying around with him over how everyone--especially father and uncle--will react if (when) they find out that he's gay. And the intensity of feeling that we old folks sometimes forget kids that age can feel, even as they know very well it can't last. How many of us have formed deep friendships (or romances) at summer camp, only to lose touch entirely as soon as we return home?

I appreciated that nothing terribly out of the ordinary happens in this book. The boys get into a little trouble, but nothing horrible. Jeremy's father behaves badly, but recovers and apologizes. And two kids fall in love. It's just a sweet story that filled the bill perfectly for exhausted travel-reading.

My Recommendation:
In addition to being a good, enjoyable read for the likes of me, this could be a very important book for kids like Jeremy and Evan. And maybe for other kids who can't understand how two boys can fall in love. And it's set on the Oregon coast, which is just a cool place which deserves some good books.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The Language of Seabirds out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

 

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2024
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