The Nature of Small Birds

 

 

 

 About the Book

 In 1975, three thousand children were airlifted out of Saigon to be adopted into Western homes. When Mindy, one of those children, announces her plans to return to Vietnam to find her birth mother, her loving adoptive family is suddenly thrown back to the events surrounding her unconventional arrival into their lives.

Though her father supports Mindy's desire to meet her family of origin, he struggles privately with an unsettling fear that he'll lose the daughter he's poured his heart into. Mindy's mother undergoes the emotional roller coaster inherent in the adoption of a child from a war-torn country, discovering the joy hidden amid the difficulties. And Mindy's sister helps her sort through relics that whisper of the effect the trauma of war has had on their family--but also speak of the beauty of overcoming.

Told through three strong voices in three compelling timelines, The Nature of Small Birds is a hopeful story that explores the meaning of family far beyond genetic code. (Goodreads)

 

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My Thoughts

 This book has a lot going on but I was excited to read about a fictional account of something historical that I knew nothing about. It really is fascinating how something that happened in 1975 (not so long ago really) is not something of common knowledge. Children being airlifted out of Saigon to be adopted is so interesting and I would love to read more of the real life stories on this. But Finkbeiner does a good job at taking this part in history and weaving it into the lives of multiple fictional characters. I enjoyed reading Sonny's point of view the most as this book does a lot of jumping around. At times I had a hard time remembering whose point of view I was reading from and what time period. It got a little tricky but it was still interesting to view life from different perspectives.  

I felt like this book was a bit slow for me. I wasn't fully invested in each character but I wanted to know what happened next. It is a decent read but not my favorite of Finkbeiner's. 

Three Stars. 

"I received this book from Revell for free. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review."