If Birds Fly Back - Hardcover

Sorosiak, Carlie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062563963 ISBN 13: 9780062563965

Publisher: HarperTeen, 2017

Synopsis

A sparkling debut about love, family, and the mysteries of the universe, perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Nicola Yoon.

Linny has kept a journal of famous disappearances ever since her sister Grace ran away in the middle of the night. Sebastian is an aspiring astrophysicist with a working theory for everything—but the one thing he can’t figure out is the identity of his birth father.

They haven’t met—yet—but Linny and Sebastian have one thing in common: an obsession with famous novelist and filmmaker Àlvaro Herrera, who who went missing three years ago and has just reappeared. As their lives converge around the mystery of Àlvaro, they begin to uncover the answers they’ve been looking for.

With humor and heart, debut author Carlie Sorosiak weaves a story of searching for those who leave—and loving those who stay.

"If Birds Fly Back feels like that last hazy, sun-drenched summer of high school, when you know you'll need to find your place in the world, but you're busy laughing and falling in love under starlit skies. It's the rarest author who can pull off laugh-out-loud hilarious, profound, and breathlessly romantic, all in the most sparkling prose. That shortlist includes Rainbow Rowell, Nicola Yoon, and now, Carlie Sorosiak."—Jeff Zentner, acclaimed author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days

About this title

About the Author

Carlie Sorosiak is the author of If Birds Fly Back and Wild Blue Wonder. She grew up in North Carolina and holds two master's degrees: one in English from Oxford University and another in creative writing and publishing from City University London. Her life goals include traveling to all seven continents and fostering many polydactyl cats. She currently splits her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, hoping to gain an accent like Madonna's. Visit her online at carliesorosiak.com.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—In this charming novel about love and missing persons, two quirky teenagers embark on personal quests but end up finding each other. Linny, whose older sister Grace slipped out one night and disappeared, spends her days chronicling famous cases of people who vanished and then came back. When she starts a summer volunteer job at a retirement community, Linny spots a well-known writer who famously disappeared three years ago and was presumed dead. Seventeen-year-old Sebastian, who's about to head to Caltech, detours to Miami Beach when he hears that the father he's never known may be there. As it turns out, Linny's writer and Sebastian's father are the same man, the enigmatic Álvaro Herrera. Linny and Sebastian bond over the respective holes in their lives, all the while pursuing Álvaro for his secrets. The romance between the two bright, mildly troubled main characters—told from both points of view, in alternating chapters—will hook fans of John Green, Sarah Dessen, and Jenny Han. Interspersed throughout, and sometimes too distracting, are details about Linny's missing persons, scenes from the screenplay she's writing about her sister, and Sebastian's thoughts on physics and philosophy. While the plot's central mysteries are perhaps too easily resolved, it's really the story of two sweet and likable teens finding love that makes this novel so appealing. VERDICT Purchase where YA romance and realistic fiction are popular.—Miranda Doyle, Lake Oswego School District, OR

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0062563963
• ISBN 13: 9780062563965
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 448