Wild Bird

July 3, 2017
Fourteen-year-old Wren knows that she’s in trouble when she awakens to a police officer hovering near her bed, but she has no idea what’s in store for her. Wren’s parents, in a desperate effort to save their daughter from a downward spiral of drug use and criminal behavior, have enrolled her in an eight-week wilderness program for at-risk youth. Whisked to Utah and dropped in the desert to join a group of teens and counselors, Wren endures a harrowing quest to find herself while battling extreme heat, limited water supplies, and rigorous hikes across the terrain. Mirroring physical pain and emotional torment as Wren recalls instances of betrayal and rejection, Van Draanen (The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones) shows how the teenager finds unexpected guidance from an elderly Paiute man, a heroin-addicted camper, and a patient counselor who teaches her how to start a fire in the wilderness, as well as within herself. Featuring evocative descriptions of landscape and psychological insight into a troubled teen, Van Draanen’s story is engrossing and inspiring. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown.

Narrator Alex McKenna depicts the transformation of Wren Clemens, a 14-year-old teen who is sent to wilderness therapy camp. McKenna, nimbly navigating this complex protagonist, highlights Wren's faults and strengths with tones of misery, regret, resilience, and grace. Wren comes to life as McKenna vocalizes the teenage girl's search for the self she has left behind. With a cadence that follows the ever-changing pulse of Wren's spirit, McKenna notes her subtlest shifts in mood in a captivating manner. Though McKenna begins the book in a scratchy voice to call attention to Wren's pain and confusion, the end of the story finds listeners falling in love with the heroine as McKenna's last words reveal Wren as a girl who has finally found her true self. V.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine