The Glass Bird Girl

Title: The Glass Bird Girl
Author: Esme Kerr
Publisher: Chicken House
Published: May 2014
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Welcome to the first book review! Thank you so much to Chicken House for letting me have a proof copy to read  and review!

Orphan Edie finds herself sent to an elite boarding school, Knight’s Haddon, recruited by her strange Uncle Charles to act as a friend and ‘spy’ for wealthy Russian girl, Anastasia, also boarding at the school. Anastasia is always losing her belongings (including a glass bird, making her the Glass Bird Girl of the title), but is convinced that her things are actually being stolen from her. As Anastasia’s possessions invariably turn up in other places, pupils begin to accuse Anastasia of being a liar and a drama queen, or dreamy and absent-minded, or maybe just mad. As events spiral out of control, Edie suspects that someone in the school is trying to set Anastasia up as a mad case. It is up to her to find out quickly if it is a malicious student acting out of spite, or if something much worse is going on.

The Glass Bird Girl is very compelling and readable, and the Knight’s Haddon boarding school setting has a classical, old-fashioned vibe that put me in mind of books like A Little Princess and Charlotte Sometimes. The dark ‘edge’ to the story is Anastasia’s growing sense of isolation, and the idea that others’ perceptions can negatively impact our own self-awareness; like a metaphorical glass bird, Anastasia becomes increasingly fragile, feeling more and more that ‘I have to agree with other people’s versions of what’s going on, in order to be left alone.’ As such, Anastasia begins to wonder if she really is going mad and that perhaps she is the only one who doesn’t realise it. Edie’s determination to help her carries the story forward, and Edie makes a perceptive, loyal and likeable lead character. The mystery itself is far-fetched but this suits the spirit of the book, the boarding school mystery, and you don’t guess the culprit too quickly, as there are quite a few red herring moments scattered through the plot. The book ends with the friendship between Edie and Anastasia cemented, and the potential for more stories to come, which I will definitely keep an eye out for. A lovely debut from Esme Kerr!