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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Thanks to Edelweiss and Razorbill books for early access to this title.
This is kind of a strange book. Its a take-off on the story of The Nightingale by Hans Christian Anderson. I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book, as its filled with lots of doom and gloom. Foster kids, and evictions and serious accidents, and 12 year olds trying to fix the world. It also has kind of a strange but lovely ending, one that, for me, didn't fully fit with the rest of the story. I liked the two kids - Little John and Gayle - but I felt the adults were a bit cartoonish. Its an interesting book, and I think kids who enjoy fantasy tinged realism would enjoy this book.
This is kind of a strange book. Its a take-off on the story of The Nightingale by Hans Christian Anderson. I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book, as its filled with lots of doom and gloom. Foster kids, and evictions and serious accidents, and 12 year olds trying to fix the world. It also has kind of a strange but lovely ending, one that, for me, didn't fully fit with the rest of the story. I liked the two kids - Little John and Gayle - but I felt the adults were a bit cartoonish. Its an interesting book, and I think kids who enjoy fantasy tinged realism would enjoy this book.
I'm still not sure what I think about this book. Incredibly sad.
It's easy to see why there's so much love for this book; for me it was less about the magical realism and more about the power of regret. The fact that the poverty and the potential abuse weren't the most important parts made it just a little bit more powerful a read - it's the power that adults have over children, and the choices children make because of that power imbalance, that is front-and-center. Basing the story on Anderson's "The Nightingale" may lead readers to go back to that story and question how many people ask others to make similar choices/bad decisions.
I also appreciated the fact that the author didn't feel compelled to place this story in the past to avoid using modern technology. It's there, but lightly and doesn't play that large a role.
ARC provided by publisher.
I also appreciated the fact that the author didn't feel compelled to place this story in the past to avoid using modern technology. It's there, but lightly and doesn't play that large a role.
ARC provided by publisher.
Within a few pages of this book, I could feel the emotion of the story. There are some books that you just know will touch you and will make you feel. Loftin's Nightingale's Nest is certainly one of them. The writing in this book is spectacular and demands to be read not only silently but aloud to a whole group. This is a book that I found myself thinking about reading it to a class and discussing it with them. I do not feel this way about all books. Additionally there is a timeless quality to this story. Though there are some things that hint at a present day world, much of the story could pass for any time. There is a classic feel to the story.
Little John and his grieving family. The Emperor or Mr. King and his greed. Gayle and her song. The Cutlins - Gayle's foster family. Ernest and his sister, Isabelle. Such great characters and everyone plays a role in this story.
My favorite lines:
"You can't....really fix all the hurt things in the world. That's not your job, Gayle."
She sighed, that broken sound again. "I know it's not.".......But I heard Gayle's voice as I left, five words that stayed with me the rest of that week.
"It's not your job either."
Hurt, loss, forgiveness, healing, and all the decisions and consequences that build on one another. Just powerful!
Little John and his grieving family. The Emperor or Mr. King and his greed. Gayle and her song. The Cutlins - Gayle's foster family. Ernest and his sister, Isabelle. Such great characters and everyone plays a role in this story.
My favorite lines:
"You can't....really fix all the hurt things in the world. That's not your job, Gayle."
She sighed, that broken sound again. "I know it's not.".......But I heard Gayle's voice as I left, five words that stayed with me the rest of that week.
"It's not your job either."
Hurt, loss, forgiveness, healing, and all the decisions and consequences that build on one another. Just powerful!
Little John's family has fallen apart since the death of his younger sister. They used all of their savings for her funeral, and are barely getting by. Although he is only 12, Little John goes to work with his father, cutting back trees on The Emperor's land. Not a real emperor, Mr. Azariah King is nicknamed that due to his wealth and his stores, as well as his attitude. It is while helping his father that Little Jon first hears Gayle sing. She sounds like nothing in this world. Little John feels an immediate need to protect this young girl, a foster child living next door to Mr. King, in all of the ways that he couldn't protect his own sister. But when The Emperor offers Little John an enormous amount of money to help him record Gayle's voice, how can he refuse? This reimagining of Hans Christian Anderson's The Nightingale is powerful and haunting, full of hard choices and harsh consequences. Highly recommended to grades 5 & up.
Read for Librarian Book Group
There is much to discuss with young readers in this book, so I heartily recommend it for classroom book groups. Early-teenaged boy dealing with loss encounters a girl also dealing with loss. Full of magical realism, vivid scenery and memorable characters.
There is much to discuss with young readers in this book, so I heartily recommend it for classroom book groups. Early-teenaged boy dealing with loss encounters a girl also dealing with loss. Full of magical realism, vivid scenery and memorable characters.
I think I just get too grumpy about magical realism maybe. I really liked the realistic parts of this--really powerful look at a family being torn apart by grief and poverty--but ??
I'm kind of irrationally irritated that the marketing for this compares it to [b:Bridge to Terabithia|2839|Bridge to Terabithia|Katherine Paterson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327880087s/2839.jpg|2237401], like, how dare you. Am I going to tear up when I just think about the title of your book? No? Then you are not Terabithia, good day.
Spoiler
like was she an angel or a bird or WHAT, just like, why?? Also what was Mr. King DOING to her? Were we supposed to be reading it as sexual abuse, because that was the vibe I got? But also, NOT that?I'm kind of irrationally irritated that the marketing for this compares it to [b:Bridge to Terabithia|2839|Bridge to Terabithia|Katherine Paterson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327880087s/2839.jpg|2237401], like, how dare you. Am I going to tear up when I just think about the title of your book? No? Then you are not Terabithia, good day.
Nightingale's Nest is not simply a story; it is an experience. 12-year-old John is going to work with his father this summer. John's little sister, Raelynn, died in a tree-climbing accident a year ago. John's family used all their available funds (including savings) to pay for Raelynn's funeral and burial. They have sold everything of value they own and are struggling now to pay rent each month.
As many surviving older siblings do, John feels guilty that he was not able to save his sister, 'catch' her as she fell from the oak tree. His mother is so lost in her grief that on her worst days she speaks as if Raelynn is still alive. His father is angry and frustrated, often using what little money he earns on beer instead of rent. John has cut himself off from his best friend next door--desperately missing him but too embarrassed to admit they can't alternate houses to watch baseball or play video games because they can no longer afford cable TV and have sold his gaming system. John hopes that by helping his father at work he can contribute much needed funds and somehow begin to make up for Raelynn's death and the disastrous state in which it has left his family.
While working with his father cutting trees in the yard of the wealthiest man in town John hears a voice, singing from the sycamore tree next door. John is both mesmerized by and concerned about Gayle from the moment he meets her. She is small and he sees red marks he suspects are from Gayle's foster mother and her son. He feels a fierce need to protect her.
Mr. King is the owner of several Dollar Chain stores and is often called 'The Emperor' by the townspeople. He has also heard Gayle sing in her tree next door. He sees that John has a connection with the little girl and offers him $500 (which he knows John's family needs) to convince Gayle to sing for him in his home recording studio so that he may have a recording of her voice to listen to always. John has an uneasy feeling about it, but reasons that it's harmless, the money will help his family and he will stay with Gayle the whole time.
John makes a series of decisions many a 12-year-old would make in his position as he tries to help assuage his parents' grief over Raelynn's death, make them proud of him, help alleviate their financial struggles and protect Gayle at the same time. Predictably, the consequences of these decisions spiral into a situation beyond John's capacity to cope. When, in the midst of anguishing over what to do about Gayle, his father's drinking and his mother's apparent loss of touch with reality John realizes that other people outside of his family are aware of both his parents' behavior it is too much for him:
Based on Hans Christensen Andersen's The Nightingale, Nikki Loftin's modern reinterpretation Nightingale's Nest is both a brilliant tribute and an extraordinary story in its own right. Both John and Gayle draw the reader into their stories. as readers we,, in turn, almost without realizing it, takes Gayle and John into our hearts. And they will stay with there...even after we have finished reading Nightingale's Nest.
As many surviving older siblings do, John feels guilty that he was not able to save his sister, 'catch' her as she fell from the oak tree. His mother is so lost in her grief that on her worst days she speaks as if Raelynn is still alive. His father is angry and frustrated, often using what little money he earns on beer instead of rent. John has cut himself off from his best friend next door--desperately missing him but too embarrassed to admit they can't alternate houses to watch baseball or play video games because they can no longer afford cable TV and have sold his gaming system. John hopes that by helping his father at work he can contribute much needed funds and somehow begin to make up for Raelynn's death and the disastrous state in which it has left his family.
While working with his father cutting trees in the yard of the wealthiest man in town John hears a voice, singing from the sycamore tree next door. John is both mesmerized by and concerned about Gayle from the moment he meets her. She is small and he sees red marks he suspects are from Gayle's foster mother and her son. He feels a fierce need to protect her.
Mr. King is the owner of several Dollar Chain stores and is often called 'The Emperor' by the townspeople. He has also heard Gayle sing in her tree next door. He sees that John has a connection with the little girl and offers him $500 (which he knows John's family needs) to convince Gayle to sing for him in his home recording studio so that he may have a recording of her voice to listen to always. John has an uneasy feeling about it, but reasons that it's harmless, the money will help his family and he will stay with Gayle the whole time.
John makes a series of decisions many a 12-year-old would make in his position as he tries to help assuage his parents' grief over Raelynn's death, make them proud of him, help alleviate their financial struggles and protect Gayle at the same time. Predictably, the consequences of these decisions spiral into a situation beyond John's capacity to cope. When, in the midst of anguishing over what to do about Gayle, his father's drinking and his mother's apparent loss of touch with reality John realizes that other people outside of his family are aware of both his parents' behavior it is too much for him:
The knot grew bigger as anger started to balloon in my stomach. I'd given up everything--even my best friend--to keep my family's secrets. And it turned out that maybe there hadn't been a secret to keep.
Based on Hans Christensen Andersen's The Nightingale, Nikki Loftin's modern reinterpretation Nightingale's Nest is both a brilliant tribute and an extraordinary story in its own right. Both John and Gayle draw the reader into their stories. as readers we,, in turn, almost without realizing it, takes Gayle and John into our hearts. And they will stay with there...even after we have finished reading Nightingale's Nest.
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes