H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

This review can also be seen in the Canon City Daily Record. 


I am not a bird person. Never have been, and the day a parrot bit me, I knew I never would be. I avoid aviaries and I ignore chickadees and robins at bird-feeders. Yet, we have chickens. I am able to enjoy them - somewhat - if at a respectable distance.

One evening, I looked into my backyard and saw our new, young rooster moving oddly at the door to the chicken house. He was out in the yard, back into the coop, and then back out the door again. What was he doing?! And then my eyes fell on a hawk, sitting on a fence post at the edge of our property - utterly still. The rooster finally stopped moving in and out, deeming the yard safe. When the hawk suddenly changed his position, the chicken ran back into the hen house. After a few moments of complete stillness from the bird of prey, the domestic bird felt safe to try his luck outside. And once again, the hawk changed his position, just slightly, like a game of Red Light, Green Light... taunting the poor rooster!

Amused, I saw the hawk had a sense of humor, a sense of fun about his business. So I was only mildly shocked at myself when I picked up "H Is for Hawk" by Helen Macdonald. One of the Ten Best Books from the 2015 New York Times Book Review, I had heard delighted praise for this work - part grief memoir, part literary exploration, part natural poetry. Surprised, but pleased, I was hooked from the first page, and I found myself enjoying yet another bird. This one was named Mabel.

With beautiful sentences, and delicious phrases Macdonald introduces us to her love for goshawks, a raptor related to eagles and buzzards. She observes, "Looking for goshawks is like looking for grace: it comes, but not often and you don't get to say when or how." Amidst the tale of her purchase, training, and flying of the hawk, we are invited to travel through the bereavement that grips her upon the untimely death of her father. And woven with these tender intimacies, Macdonald shares with us the private despairs of fellow falconer, T.S. White, author of "The Once and Future King." She divulges how the stories he composed of King Arthur, Merlin, and Camelot mirrored his own griefs, and how he found a dichotomy of struggle and relief in goshawking, just as she does.

This textured narrative insists that while the heart breaks and seeks flight, healing is only found in the human world. And I found, here, another bird to admire.

Photo credit: 

Rain Reign by Ann Martin

This review can also be read in the Canon City Daily Record. 

Once in a while a book comes along that is simple and sweet, and yet devastating at its core. "Rain Reign," by Newberry author Ann M. Martin, is a book suggested to me at the beginning of summer. I was hesitant. I knew Ann Martin from her Babysitters Club series (I was a huge nine year old fan) but I wasn't sure I wanted to read anything in that vein right now. Yet I gave it a shot, especially since the book was short, with large bold type, and a decent amount of white space on the page. If anything, it would be a quick read.

I was pleasantly surprised. In this upper-elementary novel, I found the thoughtful coming of age story of twelve-year old Rose Howard, told by Rose herself, concerning the growing up that all must do regardless of gifts and strengths, struggles and restrictions.
Rose is on the Autism Spectrum. High functioning, she is skilled in math, and competent in many types of patterns. She is obsessed with homonyms, following rules and schedules, and prime numbers.

Unfortunately, no one seems to quite understand her condition. There is often confusion in concern for Rose. Teachers, peers, and even her father, seem to be confused and angry in their interactions with this astute young lady. The only one who seems to understand, or to be able to really help make sense of the seemingly senseless world around, is her Uncle Weldon.
Yet Rose's father tries. Wesley is a single dad, suffering from heartbreak and job loss. He loves his daughter, but cannot seem to offer what she needs. He leans on Weldon to provide kindness and compassion for his child. Despite his gruffness and frustration, he has tender feelings. One day he brings home a dog - a gift. Rose promptly names the dog Rain... a name with 2 homonyms (reign, rein). Rain becomes a friend.
One night, a devastating storm moves in from the coast - floods, loss of electricity, phone lines down. Schools close and there is little comforting structure to the days during the disaster. During the destructive storm, Wesley lets Rain out in the middle of the night, as usual, and she does not return. And in the sad moments and days that follow, Rose tells us how she is angry with her father, how much she misses her dog, and her fears. We follow her in a systematic search for the dog, further clashes with her father, and life's messy struggles.

"Rain Reign" is a concise read with deep and tender compassion. Don't let this one slip by this summer.

Photo Credit: Amazon