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Nightingale's Nest

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Nightingale's Nest

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Overview

An award winning modern fairy tale about friendship and family, for fans of Bridge to Terabithia

Twelve-year-old John Fischer Jr., “Little John” as he’s always been known, is spending the hot Texas summer helping his father to clear trees for Mr. King, the richest and most powerful man in town. Then one day he hears a song through the brush, one so beautiful that it stops him in his tracks. He follows the melody and finds, not a bird, but a young girl sitting in the branches of a tall sycamore tree. There’s something magical about this girl, Gayle, especially her soaring singing voice.

Little John's home is full of sorrow over his sister’s death and endless stress over money troubles. But his friendship with Gayle quickly becomes the one bright spot in tough times . . . until Mr. King forces Little John into an impossible choice: risk his family’s wages and survival, or put Gayle's future in danger.

Inspired by a Hans Christian Andersen story, Nightingale's Nest is an unforgettable novel about a boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders and a girl with the gift of healing in her voice.

"Magical realism meets coming of age in this sensitive and haunting novel."—BCCB, starred review

"Smart and beautiful . . . Once you’ve read it, you’ll have a hard time getting it out of your head.”—Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal Blog

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781595146236
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	01/29/2015
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.24(h) x 0.68(d)
Lexile:	630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Nikki Loftin lives and writes just outside Austin, Texas, surrounded by dogs, chickens, and small, loud boys. She is also the author of The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy, which Publishers Weekly called “mesmerizing” and Kirkus called “irresistible.” Her third novel, Wish Girl, will published in 2015. You can visit her online at www.nikkiloftin.com or on Twitter @NikkiLoftin.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

PRAISE FOR NIGHTINGALE'S NEST:

“It was the writing, of course, that struck my attention first. Loftin gives the book beautiful sequences filled with equally beautiful sentences. . . . As for the characters, there wasn’t a person here that I couldn’t recognize as real. I was quite taken with the fact that Loftin continually sidesteps a lot of the usual middle grade tropes. . . . Smart and beautiful by turns, Nightingale’s Nest does one thing that few will contest. Once you’ve read it, you’ll have a hard time getting it out of your head.” –Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal Blog

"Unusual, finely crafted story of loss, betrayal, and healing." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Magical realism meets coming of age in this sensitive and haunting novel . . . . Read this aloud and have both boys and girls alike utterly enraptured." –BCCB, starred review

"It is Loftin’s skill in depicting both the human and the arboreal characters that will engage and inspire readers. The lyrical, descriptive prose and the hopeful ending will linger long after the final chapter." —School Library Journal

"An extraordinary read—I had to tear myself away from it."—Katherine Catmull, author of Summer and Bird

"Perfectly captures the challenges of growing up and dealing with loss. Get ready to have your heart touched."—Shannon Messenger, author of Keeper of the Lost Cities

"Tugs and tears at the reader’s heart. . . . lovely and magical."—Bethany Hegedus, author of Truth with a Capital T and Between Us Baxters

"Riveting. . . . This is a book you'll long remember."—Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of One for the Murphys

"Loftin's eye for strange beauty in unexpected places often takes the reader's breath away."—Claire Legrand, author of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

"Will haunt your soul—and lift your heart."—Kimberley Griffiths Little, author of The Healing Spell and When the Butterflies Came

"A haunting, beautifully told story!"—Bobbie Pyron, author of The Dogs of Winter and A Dog's Way Home

"The kind of book I wanted to read slowly."—Shelley Moore Thomas, author of The Seven Tales of Trinket

"This is a work of tremendous heart."—Anne Ursu, author of Breadcrumbs

PRAISE FOR NIKKI LOFTIN:

"A mesmerizing read."—Publisher's Weekly

"An irresistable contemporary fairy tale."—Kirkus Reviews

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR NIGHTINGALE'S NEST:

“It was the writing, of course, that struck my attention first. Loftin gives the book beautiful sequences filled with equally beautiful sentences. . . . As for the characters, there wasn’t a person here that I couldn’t recognize as real. I was quite taken with the fact that Loftin continually sidesteps a lot of the usual middle grade tropes. . . . Smart and beautiful by turns, Nightingale’s Nest does one thing that few will contest. Once you’ve read it, you’ll have a hard time getting it out of your head.” –Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal Blog

"Unusual, finely crafted story of loss, betrayal, and healing." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Magical realism meets coming of age in this sensitive and haunting novel . . . . Read this aloud and have both boys and girls alike utterly enraptured." –BCCB, starred review

"It is Loftin’s skill in depicting both the human and the arboreal characters that will engage and inspire readers. The lyrical, descriptive prose and the hopeful ending will linger long after the final chapter." —School Library Journal

"An extraordinary read—I had to tear myself away from it."—Katherine Catmull, author of Summer and Bird

"Perfectly captures the challenges of growing up and dealing with loss. Get ready to have your heart touched."—Shannon Messenger, author of Keeper of the Lost Cities

"Tugs and tears at the reader’s heart. . . . lovely and magical."—Bethany Hegedus, author of Truth with a Capital T and Between Us Baxters

"Riveting. . . . This is a book you'll long remember."—Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of One for the Murphys

"Loftin's eye for strange beauty in unexpected places often takes the reader's breath away."—Claire Legrand, author of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

"Will haunt your soul—and lift your heart."—Kimberley Griffiths Little, author of The Healing Spell and When the Butterflies Came

"A haunting, beautifully told story!"—Bobbie Pyron, author of The Dogs of Winter and A Dog's Way Home

"The kind of book I wanted to read slowly."—Shelley Moore Thomas, author of The Seven Tales of Trinket

"This is a work of tremendous heart."—Anne Ursu, author of Breadcrumbs

PRAISE FOR NIKKI LOFTIN:

"A mesmerizing read."—Publisher's Weekly

"An irresistable contemporary fairy tale."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

02/10/2014
Drawing from the Hans Christian Andersen story The Nightingale, Loftin (The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy) contrasts the uplifting friendship between 12-year-old narrator Little John and an otherworldly foster child with the oppressive poverty of a Texas setting and the burdens of grief. Still reeling from the death of his sister, Little John helps his landscaper father on the property of the richest and most powerful man in town, the Emperor. While working there, Little John befriends Gayle, who builds a nest in a tree and whose enchanting voice possesses healing powers and makes her an object of the Emperor's sinister interest. The elements of magical realism are not as potent as the stark descriptions of Little John's difficult life, including his family's precarious economic situation, Little John's estrangement from his former best friend, his mother's tenuous grasp on reality, and his father's drinking problem. Yet the intensity of Little John's predicament as the Emperor enlists his help to capture Gayle's voice offers menacing and memorable tension. Ages 8–12. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2014
Gr 3–6—Pulling readers in from the very first page, Loftin's novel shares the enchanting quality of the Andersen fairy tale that inspired it. Packed with serious subjects (child abuse, mental illness, death, and poverty), it is also the story of forgiveness, healing, and friendship. Little John is only 12, but he bears the burdens of the death of his sister, his mother's ensuing breaks with reality, his father's drinking, and the family's dire financial situation. His life is brightened after a chance encounter with Gayle, a young girl with the voice of a nightingale. Along with her magically beautiful and healing voice, Gayle brings problems of her own to add to Little John's load. Forced to sacrifice his new friend in order to help his desperate family, Little John is full of despair and self-loathing. How he resolves this and comes to terms with all of his relationships comprise the remainder of the story. The setting is vivid and readers will feel the oppressive summer heat as the protagonist engages in back-breaking work alongside his father. The plot rolls along at a consistent pace and there is enough suspense to keep readers turning pages. It is Loftin's skill in depicting both the human and the arboreal characters that will engage and inspire readers. The lyrical, descriptive prose and the hopeful ending will linger long after the final chapter.—Sara-Jo Lupo Sites, George F. Johnson Memorial Library, Endicott, NY

School Library Journal

★ 2013-11-27
A kindhearted Texas boy finds his life transformed by an enigmatic girl whose singing has the power to heal in this novel-length spin on Andersen's "The Nightingale." Twelve-year-old "Little" John's father works for the "Emperor," the wealthy owner of a chain of dollar stores. John grieves for his little sister, who was killed when she fell from a tree, and blames himself for not catching her. His financially strapped father drinks too much, and his mother's depressed. Clearing brush near the Emperor's house, John hears magical singing that "seep[s] right through" him like "a honey-soft river of sound." Unsure if it's a bird or a girl, he discovers a fragile, ethereal, birdlike 8-year-old girl named Gayle perched in a sycamore tree. John instinctively wants to protect Gayle from her foster mother, from her precarious living conditions (a twig nest) and from the Emperor, who offers John $500 to convince her to sing for him so he can record her perfect voice. To help his parents, John betrays Gayle with nearly disastrous results. John narrates his story in fluid, lyrical prose, Loftin blending the raw realism of a boy who makes the wrong choice with the fairy-tale magic of a girl with a nightingale voice. Unusual, finely crafted story of loss, betrayal and healing. (Magical realism. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews