Bird

When a tragedy happens in a family, its members often express their grief by blaming each other. From the arresting opening to this sensitive novel, the reader knows that Jewel’s brother John, nicknamed Bird, died the day she was born and her Grandpa has not uttered a word since. Jewel’s family – her father is black and her mother is of dual Mexican and white heritage – live in a small American town. They want to protect one another but this manifests itself in an absence of communication which causes more hurt than if they opened up their hearts.

When Jewel, now aged twelve, meets John, a black boy adopted by white parents, this causes alarm and consternation in her family. Her Jamaican born grandfather fears her new friend may be a duppy, a malevolent spirit. Jewel’s ambition is to be a geologist, John’s to be an astronaut and they share their respective knowledge about rocks and space. This seemingly solid information becomes imbued with spirituality and superstition. John believes that Jewel and her brother are companion stars in a close binary system. The homophonic quality of Jewel’s name is reflected in the dual elements of the story: dual heritage and working out who you are or want to be; solid rock realism versus spiritual belief and whether these can be interwoven.

Crystal Chan’s sure touch with dialogue and character creation renders this a page turning read with emotional depth.