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The Bird
A Novel by J. Marshall Martin
 

The Bird - Available to Purchase Soon

I had wanted to yell and hit and break things.

The wind had been blowing so hard earlier in the day that it rained sideways. I’d only been driving for a few months, and was too nervous to drive Dad’s car during the storm. I was over two hours late.

“Dad’s going to kill me for taking his car!” I slumped against the wet hood, and squeezed my eyes shut. My mind endlessly revved: Why did Mom die? Why did Granddad have a sick heart? Why did Dad move so far away from our home in Savannah? Why was I torn between two people who wanted opposite things?

“Mom,” I sighed. “I wish you were here to help.” At least the agonizing whispering was over — doctors, shrinks, nurses, neighbors, coaches, teachers, relatives, friends; they all spoke in a hush like I was fragile or something.


"The Bird is an adventure that opens eyes, makes the heart race, and spirits fly." -- Carol Lee Lorenzo, author of "Nervous Dancer".

 
"I have a reluctant reader in my class. I asked him to preview The Bird for me. He read your other book and really liked it. He said that The Bird was the best book he'd ever read. Then another boy in the class asked if he could read it after Christian gave his book talk. I'm planning on reading it, but I have a feeling it will make its way through the 6th grade first. Thanks again." -- Julie Johnson, MICDS, St. Louis, Missouri
 
 
In this book, The Bird, Tripp takes his Granddad from a nursing home in Seattle to their real home in Savannah, Georgia. To get there Tripp takes his dad's prized possession, a 1962 Thunderbird. Along the way they meet a girl named Angie who does art and is looking for a ride to Denver to get a bus ticket to New York. Also, along the way, Granddad hears his owl screech, the one that saved his life from a lightening bolt. When they get to Savannah, Granddad finishes the carving of his owl,then Tripp and Angie find out Granddad has died.

I liked this book. It was an adventure book. It told about Granddad's early memories. Also it reminded me of my grandpa. The author made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen next.

-- Flamingnet Student Book Reviewer (Age 11. Leopold, Missouri)
 
 

Downloads

Click here to download the first chapter of "The Bird".
(Requires Adobe PDF Reader.)

 
 

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