While the reader is caught up in Carl's eccentricities, Patrick's country roughness, and Birdie's sparkly clothes, Nuanez carefully unfolds a tale of loss, individuality, and community. This debut novel is deceptively simple, written in first person from Jack's twelve-year-old perspective. Patrick is Carl's polar opposite, and he sets strict rules for the siblings, the first of which is a change to being a change to Birdie's flamboyant wardrobe. Uncle Carl is fun and loving but unpredictable, and too many missed school days lead to the kids being moved to their uncle Patrick's house. When their mother dies in a car accident, Jack (a girl) and Birdie (a gender-nonconforming boy) are forced to leave their beloved Portland to live with their uncles in rural California.
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