Sparrow

Title:

Sparrow

Author:

Sarah Moon

Subject:

United States - African American & Black

People & Places

Music

Social Themes

Depression & Mental Illness

Juvenile Fiction

Performing Arts

Date:

2017-10-10

Digital Format:

HOOPLA E BOOK

Summary

The story of a sensitive, gifted African American girl who tells us with mordant humor what it feels like to spend every day wishing so hard that you could fly away from it allSparrow has always had a difficult time making friends. She would always rather stay home on the weekends with her mother, an affluent IT executive at a Manhattan bank, reading, or watching the birds, than play with other kids. And that's made school a lonely experience for her. It's made LIFE a lonely experience.But when the one teacher who really understood her -- Mrs. Wexler, the school librarian, a woman who let her eat her lunch in the library office rather than hide in a bathroom stall, a woman who shared her passion for novels and knew just the ones she'd love -- is killed in a freak car accident, Sparrow's world unravels and she's found on the roof of her school in an apparent suicide attempt.With the help of an insightful therapist, Sparrow finally reveals the truth of her inner life. And it's here that she discovers an outlet in rock & roll music...

Author Notes

Sarah Moon is a teacher and writer. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, with her wife, Jasmine, and their dog, Otis. She is the coeditor of The Letter Q , a young adult anthology. Sparrow is her first young adult novel.

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up-Fourteen-year-old Sparrow Cooke is believed to have nearly taken her own life on her school's roof. She begins to see a therapist. The teen refuses to open up during her initial sessions with Dr. Katz, but the therapist slowly gets through to Sparrow by introducing her to rock music. However, Sparrow wants to fly away from dealing with issues, such as the death of her favorite school librarian Mrs. Wexler, the loss of her kindergarten best friend Chocolate, popular mean girls like Monique, nearly flunking the eighth grade, her inability to socialize with other kids, and her distance from her mom. Their relationship becomes more strained after a parent-teacher conference with Sparrow's teachers. With Dr. Katz's help, the girl's world is opened up and she gets the opportunity to attend the Gertrude Nix Rock Camp for Girls for the summer. She reluctantly leaves her comfort zone and befriends three unlikely dorm mates. Readers will quickly identify with this protagonist; Sparrow speaks to those who may have difficulty dealing with loss, making friends, and feeling alienated. Librarians will appreciate the nod to the Brooklyn Public Library and the significant role Mrs. Wexler played in Sparrow's life. Moon brilliantly weaves the intersections of race, class, sexual orientation, body image and women's contributions to rock and pop music histories into the narrative. Rock music fans will love the homage to the diverse artists, musicians, and bands within the genre. VERDICT This novel will inspire readers to find their own voices through literary and musical expression. A good choice for most YA collections.-Donald Peebles, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

African American eighth grader Sparrow suffers from crippling shyness and anxiety made worse by the tragic loss of her beloved school librarian. Sparrow copes by imagining herself flying with the birds; she's put in therapy (which includes attending rock-band camp) after she's found on the school rooftop. Despite an uneven plot, likable Sparrow elevates this sensitive depiction of mental illness and the transformative power of music. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

In a world where everyone else seems to know how to get along, Sparrow Cooke, an eighth-grade black girl in Brooklyn, finds solace in flying like a bird whenever she's uncomfortable, until the day comes when that's no longer an option.When Sparrow is found on a rooftop, everyone assumes it's a suicide attempt, and she's suddenly thrust into the experience of hospitals, therapy, and a mom who doesn't understand. But Sparrow wasn't trying to kill herself. She was escaping her feelings of awkwardness by imagining she was high in the sky, soaring with a flock of birds. This is her main coping mechanism for dealing with her friendlessness and the death of one of her trusted adults, the librarian Mrs. Wexler. Can she learn how to stay on Earth and deal with the things that scare her? An extremely diverse cast of characters, including people of different races, gender, and sexual orientation, drives the strong, delicate narrative of Moon's debut novel. Sparrow deals with different emotional issues against a backdrop of lyrical language and touching images, with a healthy dose of musical connections that beg to be added to a playlist and a bibliography of favorite books that is as consciously diverse as the cast. Sparrow is a character to learn from. Both inspiring and useful for anyone who's ever felt like they don't belong. (Fiction. 12-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

When eighth-grader Sparrow wakes up in the hospital, she can't convince the doctors or her mother that she wasn't attempting suicide on the roof of her school. Once she starts seeing her therapist, she reveals that when she experiences anxiety, she becomes a real sparrow and flies with other birds. Moon's debut novel deftly normalizes therapy and prioritizing one's mental health. In lyrical, minimalist prose that resounds with authenticity, Moon tracks Sparrow's relatable experience with trauma and anxiety. The recurring therapy sessions never come across as manufactured or heavy-handed, nor do they present a singular, correct way to cope with anxiety. After opening up to her therapist, Sparrow takes a brave step and enrolls in a month-long music camp. There she finds unexpected validation and a community of women who build her up. An elegantly told and important novel about learning to cope, live, and be happy with depression and anxiety.--Kling, Caitlin Copyright 2017 Booklist

Excerpts

From Sparrow :I walk home from school, looking everywhere for a bird -- any kind -- but it's like they've all left town. I feel a kind of lonely that's entirely different from the eat-lunch-in-the-bathroom kind. It's worse. Somewhere inside is the knowledge that they're never coming back. That I traded them in for just the idea of talking. That they know that I will eventually betray them, and so they've forgotten me. I try not to listen to this knowledge...I curl into a ball on my bed. I can't bear to look out the window. I don't want to see the empty sky. Don't want to wait for them to come, knowing that they never will. I stay curled in a ball until the sun sets. I fall asleep, I guess, but fall isn't really the word. I plummet.In my dream, for a minute, things are perfect. My body goes light and my arms go out, my heart swoops up and soars down it's like it always is... I stretch my wings... Excerpted from Sparrow by Sarah Moon All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.