#MMGM: The Secret Language of Birds, by Lynne Kelly
After reading Three Blue Hearts, by Lynne Kelly, I decided to give her other works a look. For some reason I don't find the blurbs wholly appealing, but I'm liking her stories.
Title: The Secret Language of Birds
Author: Lynne Kelly
Publication Info: Delacourt Press, 2024, 233 pages (Kindle edition)
Source: Library
Publisher's Blurb (via Goodreads):
From the award-winning author of Song for a Whale
comes a poignant and heartwarming tale about a girl who discovers a
pair of endangered birds about to lay eggs in the marshes of her summer
camp...and the secret plan she hatches to help them.
Nina is used
to feeling like the odd one out, both at school and in her large
family. But while trying to fit in at summer camp, she discovers
something even more two majestic birds have built a nest in the marsh
behind an abandoned infirmary. They appear to be whooping cranes, but
that’s impossible—Nina is an amateur bird-watcher, and all her resources
tell her that those rare birds haven’t nested in Texas for over a
hundred years.
When Nina reports the sighting to wildlife
officials, more questions arise. Experts track all the endangered birds,
but they can’t identify the female bird that Nina found. Who is she,
and where did she come from?
With the help of some fellow
campers, Nina sets out to discover who the mystery bird really is. As
she gets closer to the truth, will she find a flock of her own?
This
instant classic from award-winning author Lynne Kelly captures the
coming-of-age moment of learning to spread your wings in a way you'll
never forget.
My Review:
As noted in my intro, I enjoyed this book, once I got going with it. I also absolutely love the cover.
The story opens with the incident that starts Nina becoming a bird watcher, which is kind of cool, though it feels a little separate from the rest of the book. I was a little dubious for the first couple of chapters, which felt like too much groundwork. But once Nina gets to the camp (where she is half a camper, half the niece of the camp manager and a sort of junior staff member), the story picks up for me. We are addressing two main story lines: the whooping cranes, and Nina's difficulties fitting in with her peers.
From the way the story unfolds, it looks like mostly Nina has been trying to fit with the wrong people, and maybe coming across as too needy. She might be a bit on the Autism Spectrum; at any rate she doesn't seem to have very good awareness of how people around her are feeling/reacting. She is becoming aware of this, so is cautious in her initial interactions with "The Oddballs." They turn out to be her tribe, and soon she's comfortable in their company, and shifts a bit more to being a camper, and less a sort of observer.
The bird story is definitely cool, and gives Nina the way to forge some important connections, and lucky for her, her aunt is pretty cool about the rules she breaks along the way.
My Recommendation:
This is a good story about fitting in, and is also full of some great fun bird information, in ways that might inspire some youngsters to want to learn more about our fine feathered friends. Nina is about 13, but the book is wholly appropriate for kids from about 8 up. No romance (hooray!).
FTC Disclosure: I checked The Secret Language of Birds out of the 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, 2026
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Not my kind of story but you're right, the cover is amazing.
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