Ehrlich, Esther. Nest. New York: Random House Children’s Books, 2014.

Simply put, I loved this story of Chirp Orenstein, 11 years old, so named because of her passion for bird watching. This passion is only one of the things that make Chirp unique. She is part of the only Jewish family in her Cape Cod neighborhood circa 1972. She loves music (flashback 70s style) and dancing thanks to her mom who is a professional dancer. And she lovingly deals with her psychiatrist dad who is always trying to get her and her sister Rachel to talk so that they are emotionally healthy. She develops a beautiful friendship with the boy next door, whom she previously feared as a bully. She learns that his life is, perhaps, just as complicated as her own. The author’s unflinching look at her mom’s diagnosis of MS and the depression that ensues creates a powerful story.

Chirp made me laugh and made me cry. Ehrlich has created an amazing voice. I found myself rooting for her through some extremely difficult moments. And yet, the book retains joy and hope. I love that both parents have such presence in a genre where the parents are often absent or one dimensional. Add in her sometimes difficult and mood sister Rachel, and the reader gets to know very well a real family, hiccups and all. The friendship that develops with Joey is just lovely. As they are drawn together in mutual sadness, the resulting friendship provides each with a measure of strength and happiness. I cannot wait to share this story with my junior high readers and this writing with my aspiring authors. Already ordered.

I will book talk this aggressively with my 7th grade. I love to give them titles that are realistic and inspirational. I love how Chirp takes on her world and grows up in spite of extreme difficulty. I will likely pair it with Gary Schmidt's Okay For Now. I think that Doug Swieteck and Chirp could be friends! For a little bit of variety I could mix it up with some nonfiction titles: Moonbird by Phillip Hoose and Kakapo by Sy Montgomery. I am pretty excited about this one!