This Bird Flew Away by Lynda M. Martin - Review

I am fortunate to be participating in the This Bird Flew Away blog tour and boy is this a book
This Bird Flew Away is a phenomenal story about the tragic like of a young girl who is caught up in a world that she never would have chosen for herself.

About the Author:

A Canadian living in Florida, author, novelist, writer, editor and coach, now retired from the business world and a secondary career in child protection. Lynda's new novel This Bird Flew Away will be released January 27, 2011. She writes articles and publishes as lmmartin on hubpages, blogs at Sincerely Yours, Lynda and works with new writers as an editor and mentor."

Book Summary:

What is real love? The whole world wants to know. They should ask Bria Jean, because she has it all figured out. Opinionated, stubborn and full of woe, Bria would tell you real love is having one person you can always count on through thick and thin. For her, that's Jack. And it doesn't matter to her that she's nine and he's twenty-three-not one bit.

When, at the age of twelve, Bria disappears, he and his Aunt Mary search for her, and when she surfaces, injured, abused and traumatized, Jack fights to become her guardian with no idea of the trials ahead of him. By then, Bria is thirteen going on thirty, full of her own ideas on how her life should run and with some very fixed notions about who is in charge.

My Thoughts:

I really did enjoy this book...it is heavy reading for sure, but as a middle school teacher I can really relate to Bria because I see students like her more often than I wish were the case.

The author really has a great writing style, one that envelopes the reader from the first chapter and kept my attention throughout. The words flow so easily on the paper, and the writing almost seems effortless.

I really did think this storyline was interesting - I found myself rooting for Bria the entire way, and really struggling with her on her path to maturity despite her circumstances. I loved how the author portrayed Bria as such an advocate for herself...something younger people struggle with. This character would give anyone strength.

I really loved Jack's character as well, and thought he was unique in that he was just as tangled in his relationship with Bria despite his best intentions. He was a solid figure in Bria's life and one she could count on and that was exactly what she needed.

This is definitely a book for mature readers, some of the content is heavy but it is well-worth the read. It not only took me on a journey it also made me think about the world at large and feel compassion for the hurt that sometimes takes place.