I’m going to be honest and say I wanted this book mainly because of the cover. It is so pretty and I’m a sucker for nice cover art. The synopsis was  interesting but seemed a little below my age range, however, it was just $2.00 so I bought it. I was right and wrong about the age range for this book. I believe you can read whatever interests you no matter how old you are. If you are in your thirties and want to read the entire Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine (some of my favorite books, by the way) then do it; or if you’re a teenager and want to read adult fiction, go for it.  Every book can be enjoyed by anyone; except in the case of children reading obviously inappropriate adult subject matter, but that’s common sense. Mini rant over and now back to the topic at hand. This book is called Summer and Bird and is by Katherine Catmull. I would say this book is intended for ages nine to about fourteen but I still enjoyed reading it.

The story begins with young sisters Summer and Bird. Summer is the oldest and has all the typical older sister traits, I’m an older sister so I know this for sure haha. She is a tad bit bossy, always tries to lead, wants to “fix” everything and always worries about her younger sister. While Bird is more reckless, immature and relies on her older sister to handle any problems. The two wake up one morning and realize both of their parents and pet cat have disappeared. They find a note from their mother and start the search for their missing family members. It leads them into the forest and eventually to a place called Down. Down is a Wonderland-esque place where all the birds live when they’re not in Up, which is where all the humans and other creatures are. Throughout the story Summer and Bird face many obstacles, have a ton of adventures and become more mature.

This book gave me some pretty strong Alice in Wonderland and  Watership Down vibes. It’s whimsical and like a fairy tale but also deals with some heavier topics such as death, leadership and having to grow up. I really did enjoy this book and I think it would be especially good for the pre-teen age group, or anybody that wants a light read. I hope you enjoyed this. Thank you for reading and have a great day!