Wild Bird
by Diane Zahler
Intermediate    Roaring Brook    320 pp.
3/23    9781250833402    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781250833396    $10.99

Rescued by an English sea captain and his son, Owen, after everyone in her medieval Norwegian village dies of the Black Death, Rype nurses the sailors when “the Sickness” comes to their ship as well. Sadly, Owen’s father dies of it, leaving behind a first mate who wants to execute Rype for witchcraft, but Owen ferries Rype to shore and then stays with her, fearing the unscrupulous sailor will harm him for his inheritance. Trying to get to the south of France, there to take a ship to England where Owen’s mother and sister are (hopefully) still living, the two fall in with a small band of troubadours who share their horses and food and begin to include them in their performances. The narrative winds unhurriedly through Germany and France, interspersing moments of tension with more ­quotidian portrayals of Europe in the Middle Ages, including the ongoing plague, talk of the political situation, wars, the patronage system, centers of art and culture, and religious ­flagellants. As Rype grows past her trauma, learns new languages, and develops a joy and pride in ­performing and songwriting, she begins to question what she herself wants, and whether she will be able to achieve it. There’s more heartache in store for the little troupe, but given Zahler’s close attention to the emotional needs of her young audience, a happy ending is never in doubt. Reminiscent of Marguerite de Angeli’s Newbery-winning The Door in the Wall (1949), for contemporary readers.

From the March/April 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.