Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Birdys journal, begun as an assignment, first wells up in the reluctant and aggressive prose of hated homework, and then eases into the lighthearted flow of descriptive adventures and true confessions the narrative device reveals Birdys passage from rebellious child to responsible adult. Her tenacity and ebullient naivet are extraordinary at once comic and thought-provoking, this first novel is a delight. School Library Journal (starred review) The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdys yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is the girls witty, irreverent diary. Review Quotes This unusual book provides an insiders look at the life of Birdy, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. Sometimes the power is in deciding to be yourself in whatever cage youre in. For Catherine, and for me, there is no easy solution to the cages life makes for you. More than any other heroine Id read, this one sounded like me. In an appreciation in the New York Times, illustrator Vera Brosgol spoke for many fans of this beloved book: I fell hard for Karen Cushmans Catherine, Called Birdy the second I opened it. Can a sharp-tongued, high-spirited, clever young maiden with a mind of her own actually lose the battle against an ill-mannered, piglike lord and an unimaginative, greedy toad of a father? Deus! Not if Catherine has anything to say about it! Catherine, a spirited and inquisitive young woman, narrates in diary form the story of her fourteenth year-the year 1290. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call-by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man-any rich man, no matter how awful. Book Synopsis The historical fiction classic, told in the form of a diary, has drawn in generations of readers and is a Newbery Honor Book.
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