Blackbird Fly

Gr 5-8—Eighth grader Apple and her mother moved from the Philippines to Louisiana several years ago after the death of her father. All Apple has left of her dad is a Beatles cassette with his name written on it. At school, her two best friends are trying to become part of the in-group and have become very critical of her, especially after it's discovered that she is on the unwritten Dog-Log and considered one of the ugliest girls in school. Apple is embarrassed by her mother, who doesn't speak English well. The protagonist is desperate to get a guitar so she can learn to play the Beatles songs that her dad loved, but her mother is adamant that she not waste her time on music. Soon, Apple makes friends with a new boy, Evan, who's not impressed with her former friends or their boyfriends. When the music teacher loans her a guitar, she discovers that she is something of a prodigy. The story will resonate with any student in middle school who has felt different and ostracized. The author has skillfully captured the various characters that populate Apple's middle school. Only Apple's mother remains two-dimensional until almost the end. The story is rather predictable until it ends with a twist. Apple mentions her favorite song "Blackbird" many times; readers unfamiliar with the song would benefit from listening to a recording or finding a YouTube clip.—Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Despite having moved from the Philippines to Louisiana at age four, Analyn Pearl Yengko, nicknamed Apple, still doesn't feel at home, even now that she's in eighth grade. Dreaming of becoming a songwriter, Apple pours her emotion into music, obsessing over the Beatles (her late father left behind one of their cassette tapes) and trying to figure out how she can acquire a guitar. But Apple's mother wants her to focus on her education, adding tension to a relationship already being tested by Apple's embarrassment that their home life is not typically "American." Meanwhile at school, Apple's best friend deserts her after Apple lands on the "Dog Log," a list of the 10 ugliest girls at school. Writing with acute sensitivity and sometimes painful realism, debut novelist Kelly skillfully captures the betrayals, tentative first crushes, and fluctuating emotions of middle school, which are heightened by Apple's awareness of her cultural and ethnic difference. In the face of her classmates' casual racism and cruelty, Apple's efforts to make genuine friends and embrace the things that make her unique feel like a true triumph. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

"[A] delightful debut . . . What sets Kelly's book apart is the combination of a quirky narrator and details about living in a first-generation Filipino American household. . . . Through her love of music . . . Apple starts to soar like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song."—Los Angeles Times Book Review