Description: After her mom uproots her from the only life she has known, eleven-year-old Kestrel finds herself in the wilds of Montana, where, free from her emotionally abusive grandfather, she learns to find her voice and spread her wings.
Brief description: Joy McCullough writes books and plays from her home in the Seattle area, where she lives with her husband and two children. She is the author of the middle grade novels Across the Pond, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Not Starring Zadie Louise, Code Red, Kestrel Takes Flight, and Basil & Dahlia, as well as the middle grade series Team Awkward, and the picture books Harriet's Ruffled Feathers, Champ and Major: First Dogs, and The Story of a Book. Her debut novel Blood Water Paint was longlisted for the National Book Award and was a William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist. Visit her at JoyMcCullough.com.
Review Quotes: "The sparse verse effectively conveys Kestrel's anxiety and gradual realization . . . An accessible and appealing exploration of coercion, autonomy, and finding one's voice."--Kirkus Reviews