Blackbird Fly

by Erin Entrada Kelly, Betsy Peterschmidt (Illustrator)

Overview

Future rock star or friendless misfit? That’s no choice at all. In this acclaimed novel, twelve-year-old Apple grapples with being different; with friends and backstabbers; and with following her dreams. Publishers Weekly called Blackbird Fly “a true triumph,” and the Los Angeles Times Book Review said, “Apple soars like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song.”

Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. She and her mother moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, and her mother still cooks Filipino foods and chastises Apple for becoming “too American.” When Apple’s friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself. It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show her how special she really is. Erin Entrada Kelly deftly brings Apple’s conflicted emotions to the page in her debut novel about family, friendship, popularity, and going your own way. “A must-read for those kids cringing at their own identities.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062238634
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/24/2015
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	286,150
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Erin Entrada Kelly grew up in south Louisiana and now lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Erin's mother was the first in her family to immigrate to the United States from the Philippines. This is Erin Entrada Kelly's first book.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/16/2015
Despite having moved from the Philippines to Louisiana at age four, Analyn Pearl Yengko, nicknamed Apple, still doesn't feel at home, even now that she's in eighth grade. Dreaming of becoming a songwriter, Apple pours her emotion into music, obsessing over the Beatles (her late father left behind one of their cassette tapes) and trying to figure out how she can acquire a guitar. But Apple's mother wants her to focus on her education, adding tension to a relationship already being tested by Apple's embarrassment that their home life is not typically "American." Meanwhile at school, Apple's best friend deserts her after Apple lands on the "Dog Log," a list of the 10 ugliest girls at school. Writing with acute sensitivity and sometimes painful realism, debut novelist Kelly skillfully captures the betrayals, tentative first crushes, and fluctuating emotions of middle school, which are heightened by Apple's awareness of her cultural and ethnic difference. In the face of her classmates' casual racism and cruelty, Apple's efforts to make genuine friends and embrace the things that make her unique feel like a true triumph. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

[A] delightful debut . . . What sets Kelly’s book apart is the combination of a quirky narrator and details about living in a first-generation Filipino American household. . . . Through her love of music . . . Apple starts to soar like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song.

Los Angeles Times Book Review

A smart, sensitive, and resilient heroine who is authentic and relatable in her strengths and imperfections. This poignant novel would make for a particularly fine readaloud; expect visceral reactions . . . This is a must-read for those kids cringing at their own identities.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Kelly skillfully weaves together the story of misfit Apple, her love of music, and a budding romance with a new boy at school, while never losing focus on the central issue of what it is like to be the ‘other.’

Booklist

Apple Yengko has long been keenly aware of the many ways that she is different from her classmates. She was born in the Philippines and has “slanty eyes.” She lives with her widowed mother, who cooks strange food and refuses to adopt American customs. She is crazy about the Beatles and determined to learn to play their songs on the guitar. Now, she has another item to add to characteristics that set her apart: She is number three on the so-called “Dog List” of girls deemed to be unattractive by boys in their grade. As if that is no enough of a blow, Apple is abandoned by her former best friends and bullied in the halls at school. Fortunately, Apple finds friendship in Evan, a classmate who is new to the school, and Heleena, #1 on the “List” and an amazing singer. Kelly’s portrayal of Apple is painfully real and brutally honest. While Apple may believe there are three “interesting facts” about every person in the world, readers will quickly see there is much more than that to this heroine and will cheer as Apple realizes and embraces her strength. Reviewer: Heidi Hauser Green; Ages 10 to 14.

Children's Literature - Heidi Hauser Green

★ 12/01/2014
Gr 5–8—Eighth grader Apple and her mother moved from the Philippines to Louisiana several years ago after the death of her father. All Apple has left of her dad is a Beatles cassette with his name written on it. At school, her two best friends are trying to become part of the in-group and have become very critical of her, especially after it's discovered that she is on the unwritten Dog-Log and considered one of the ugliest girls in school. Apple is embarrassed by her mother, who doesn't speak English well. The protagonist is desperate to get a guitar so she can learn to play the Beatles songs that her dad loved, but her mother is adamant that she not waste her time on music. Soon, Apple makes friends with a new boy, Evan, who's not impressed with her former friends or their boyfriends. When the music teacher loans her a guitar, she discovers that she is something of a prodigy. The story will resonate with any student in middle school who has felt different and ostracized. The author has skillfully captured the various characters that populate Apple's middle school. Only Apple's mother remains two-dimensional until almost the end. The story is rather predictable until it ends with a twist. Apple mentions her favorite song "Blackbird" many times; readers unfamiliar with the song would benefit from listening to a recording or finding a YouTube clip.—Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

School Library Journal

★ 2014-12-22
Apple Yengko has one possession from the Philippines—a Beatles cassette tape with her father's name written on it. She knows every song by heart. After her father's death when she was very young, Apple and her mother moved to the United States. There is not much diversity in Apple's small Louisiana town. Her classmates call her Chinese though she is Filipina and bully her with taunts of "dog-eater." Apple's self-esteem plummets when she learns she is on the Dog Log, the boys' list of the ugliest girls, and her friends abandon her. She hates her name, her mother's accent, the shape of her eyes, everything that makes her different. She takes refuge in music, becoming determined to get her own guitar, despite her mother's protests. Slowly, Apple develops new, healthy friendships. She comes to see through the cruelty of her classmates and to discover the unique characteristics that make her special. Each character in Kelly's debut novel—the mean kids, the misfits, the adults and Apple herself—is portrayed with remarkable authenticity. The awkwardness and intense feelings inherent to middle school are palpable. Children's literature has been waiting for Apple Yengko—a strong, Asian-American girl whose ethnic identity simultaneously complicates and enriches her life. (Fiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews