Bird has run away from home, hoping to find her stepfather, Cecil. She thinks, just maybe, she can convince him to come back. Now she’s hiding out in a shed, spying on Cecil’s relatives and hoping to make her heart and her family whole again. Ethan knows about the girl living in the shed, but he hasn’t told anyone. Once sickly, Ethan has never had the chance to make friends. A heart transplant has turned his health around, but it can’t erase years of loneliness. Ethan doesn’t know Bird’s connection to his Uncle C.L., but as he gets to know her, he finds himself feeling at home in his new heart for the first time. Jay finds himself wondering about Ethan. Does he like peanut butter? Jay’s older brother Derek did, and now Derek’s heart beats in Ethan’s chest, while Jay’s heart grows hard with the loss. But when Jay meets Bird, he discovers he can still know laughter. Chapters switch between the voices of these three children on the verge of adolescence whose lives intersect in remarkable ways, offering a unique look at each character from both the inside out and outside in. Angela Johnson deftly weaves a strong and delicate story about love, loss, and letting go. (Ages 10–13)

Bird, a thirteen-year-old girl with a mission, has run away in pursuit of her stepfather. She's sure she'll be able to convince him to return home--to fill the hole he left in their family. And while she hides near his sister's farmhouse, she becomes entwined in the lives of three people who also have holes to fill: Ethan, whose heart troubles have kept him too sheltered from kids his own age; Jay, whose brother has died unexpectedly; and Mrs. Pritchard, whose house has been too empty since her husband was moved to a nursing home.
Through the unique voices of the three kids, an eloquent, affecting story unfolds--the story of how one individual's warmth and kindness can heal so many hurts. Bird will leave you thoroughly uplifted.