4.25 ( )

As debut novels go, I found it a bit disappointing. It's paced well but repetitious using predictable situations and characters

Owen is born with a hole in his chest where a tiny sparrow named Gail resides. It's my sense the author uses the bird as a conscience metaphor since Owen relies on her for advice. When he becomes ill the doctors discover the strange anomaly and demand his mother allows them to use him as a Guinea pig. Frightened how it could ruin his life, she hides and eventually sends Owen to live with her brother Bob and his daughter, Tennessee. Relying on Gail's insights, he keeps secret the hole and bird as his mother jumps from one location to another aware of imminent danger.

Living with his uncle and cousin miles from Montana, Owen meets Tennessee's group of free spirited sexually uninhibited friends. From here it's a coming-of-age exploration of gay teen life and how Owen comes to grips with being different. Mildly engaging, I felt the concept of a hole with a bird might yield something more profound.

Gauged for the YA market Lund's effort pales in comparison to John Greene, Matthew Quick and others. If this sort of story interests you, then add it to your list. ( )

This novel follows Owen, a teenager with a bird in his chest. To me, this book was about the experience of loneliness and connection. I loved several of the characters and the relationships that developed. I struggled with some of the more graphic scenes and am not a huge fan of character-driven novels with a less engaging plot. I think generational trauma and commentary on biases in society was handled well, but did make for a sad reading experience. I thought the author did an excellent job with such heavy content (like a lot of humans do with major challenges in life). ( )

Been looking for some good, magical realism and thought this could be it. It sounded unique and different, but it's just dry and boring... and weird. It will be no surprise, I'm sure, when this Bird in the Chest turns out to be an overly contrived allegory for being different and bullied because of homosexuality. Regardless, just not seeing the magic so I'm moving on. ( )

CA: homophobia, homophobic language, homophobic violence, suicidal ideation, mild depictions of teenage sex and alcohol and drug use

A few days after he was born, Owen Tanner developed a hole in his chest, and in the hole is a bird. Her name is Gail. Owen's mom is terrified of what the "Army of Acronyms" (doctors, social workers, and so on) will do to Owen if they discover that Owen has a bird in his chest, so she tells Owen that no one must ever know. Thus begins Owen's life of hiding who he is to stay safe. Over time he discovers things about the world and about himself. He makes friends. He falls in love. But he plans, always, to leave home at seventeen and jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. He does not do that, and seeing him get to that point, to where he fully embraces the bird in his chest, and does not hide who he is, and loves the boy he loves, and uses his voice was a delight. This is a hard book, sometimes, but it is never grim. The writing is lovely. The characters are real but also somehow just slightly hazy. It felt affirming. I loved it. I recommend it. I hope we see much more from Lund. ( )