Book Review: Nightbird

Title: Nightbird

Author: Alice Hoffman

Publish Date: March 10, 2015

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕ (4)

Friendship? Check. Romance? Check. Family Secret? Check. Pie? Check. Alice Hoffman’s new book Nightbird has all the ingredients needed to create a wonderful story. Our narrator, Twig, lives in the small town of Sidwell, Massachusetts. She’s spent her life trying to be invisible, which is pretty hard to do in a small town where everyone knows each other. But her family has a secret that must be protected no matter what. But when things start disappearing and curious blue graffiti pops up on buildings all over town, Twig and her new neighbor Julia need to find out who the culprit is before the whole town discovers the Fowler Family secret.  

For me, books by Alice Hoffman have been a hit or miss, but I really enjoyed this first attempt at writing for middle-grade readers. There is a fairy tale atmosphere to the story which perfectly complements the setting, even more so because we see it through the eyes of our twelve-year-old narrator.  I just adore Twig; she cares deeply for her family, but at times her loneliness pours into her narrative and it breaks my heart. When she meets the Hall family she starts to open up little by little and we get glimpses of what the real Twig is like.  

There are a couple of things that disappointed me though. The second half of the book was so rushed that when I got to the last page I thought to myself “Is that it?” The ending itself was a bit too neat and pretty, I could almost picture a little wrapped box tied with pretty ribbons and bows.  I also felt that there wasn't enough character development for the secondary characters. For example, I would have liked more scenes with Twig getting to know Julia. All I learned about her was that she had a sunny personality and she liked art. And poor Agate was just a pretty blonde who also liked to sew.

Overall, Nightbird was a story of friendship with a little bit of magic thrown in, I just wish the book was a little longer. I would love to see Alice Hoffman write more stories for middle-grade readers, the scenes that she creates are magical, and out of all of her books that I've read, Twig is by far my favorite character.

**NetGalley provided me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

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