Silhouette of a Sparrow

Silhouette of a Sparrow

by Molly Beth Griffin
Silhouette of a Sparrow

Silhouette of a Sparrow

by Molly Beth Griffin

Paperback(First Trade Paper Edition)

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Overview

WINNER OF THE MILKWEED PRIZE FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
WINNER OF THE 2013 PATERSON PRIZE FOR BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
ALA RAINBOW LIST RECOMMENDED BOOK
AMELIA BLOOMER PROJECT LIST RECOMMENDED BOOK
LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST
MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD FINALIST
FOREWARD REVIEWS BOOK OF THE YEAR HONORABLE MENTION

In the summer of 1926, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson is sent to a lake resort to escape the polio epidemic in the city. She dreams of indulging in ornithology and a visit to an amusement park—a summer of fun before she returns to a last year of high school, marriage, and middle-class homemaking. But in the country, Garnet finds herself under supervision of oppressive guardians, her father's wealthy cousin and the matron's stuck-up daughter. Only a job in a hat shop, an intense, secret relationship with a beautiful flapper, and a deep faith in her own heart can save her from the suffocation of traditional femininity in this coming-of-age story about a search for both wildness and security in an era full of unrest. It is the tale of a young woman's discovery of the science of risk and the art of rebellion, and, of course, the power of unexpected love.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781571317049
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Publication date: 08/06/2013
Series: Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature
Edition description: First Trade Paper Edition
Pages: 208
Sales rank: 572,542
Product dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range: 12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Molly Beth Griffin is a graduate of Hamline University's MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and a writing teacher at the Loft Literary Center in the Twin Cities. Her first picture book, Loon Baby, came out with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2011. Silhouette of a Sparrow is her first novel.

Read an Excerpt

Prologue
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)


I was born blue. Life ripped me early from my safe place and thrust me into the world. It was all so astonishing that I forgot to breathe.

But the puffed-up robin that sang outside the window of the birthing room came early too, that March of 1910, and just in time. He flew north before the spring came so he could sing me into the world. His song said Breathe child, this life was meant for you. When I finally let out my first scream I flushed red as that robin—red: the color of life, blood, love, and fury. At that moment I earned my name, Garnet, after the deep red stone that’s meant to bring courage. “Garnet, for courage,” Aunt Rachel, the midwife, said to me, when I was just a squalling baby.

My mother gave me life that day, but I was the one who decided to take it. I claimed it for myself.

That’s how the story goes. At least, that’s the way Aunt Rachel told it to me a hundred times over, even after I knew it by heart. That’s the version I asked to hear again and again as a child, so I could wrap those pretty words around me like a familiar blanket and fall asleep thinking I knew exactly who I was.

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