The Aviary

O'Dell, Kathleen. The Aviary. Knopf BFYR, 2011.

Clara has been kept at home so that the stress of going to school doesn't aggravate her heart condition.  She's trapped in a house with her mother, the housekeeper, an old lady, and a cage full of birds left over from the lady's husband's magic act.  But when the old lady dies, the birds begin to speak to Clara, and she begins to unravel the mysteries hidden in the house.

This book starts out slowly, but it definitely picks up and is worth reading.  I was not that interested at first; Clara's mom is uber-overprotective, which I found obnoxious, and who cares about a kid stuck in a random old house?  But when the mysteries started being revealed, I got interested.  And I was glad to see that Clara, like many characters before her, develops a backbone and is able to choose her own path instead of being trapped inside forever.

Recommended for: young adults and tweens, especially strong readers

Red Flags: none

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars