Catherine, Called Birdy: A Newbery Honor Award Winner

Description:

With wit and determination, thirteen-year-old Catherine chronicles her sometimes outrageous strategies to thwart her father's plans to marry her off and finds "a way to make her voice heard among all of these forces that want to shut it down" in medieval England. The beloved Newbery Honor Book's 25th Anniversary! (Bustle) New introduction by Linda Sue Park.

Brief description:

Karen Cushman's acclaimed historical novels include Catherine, Called Birdy, a Newbery Honor winner, and The Midwife's Apprentice, which received the Newbery Medal. She lives on Vashon Island in Washington State. Visit her at karencushman.com.

Review Quotes:

"This unusual book provides an insider's look at the life of Birdy, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is the girl's witty, irreverent diary. . . . Superb historical fiction."

"The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdy's yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient naiveté are extraordinary; at once comic and thought-provoking, this first novel is a delight." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The lesson isn't that love will save us. It's to find a way to make your voice heard among all of the forces that want to shut it down. Catherine never gives up or loses her spirit. She still fights for what she believes in--women's rights, herself, living the life she wants." - Bustle

"Birdy's journal, begun as an assignment, first wells up in the reluctant and aggressive prose of hated homework, and then eases into the lighthearted flow of descriptive adventures and true confessions; the narrative device reveals Birdy's passage from rebellious child to responsible adult. This first novel introduces an admirable heroine and pungently evokes a largely unfamiliar setting." - Publishers Weekly

Medieval Judy Blume. - Lena Dunham, New York Times bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl and creator of Too Much and Girls ​​​​​​​

Catherine ranks right up there with heroines of pop culture known for their stubbornness and strength: Jo March, Matilda, and Hermione Granger, to name a few. - Time

This book was our first feminist guidebook. It taught us about consent, showed us that we alone owned our bodies and minds and futures. - Nylon