Blackbird Fly

Blackbird Fly
Erin Entrada Kelly
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2015 296 pages
Grades 5-8
Realistic Fiction

Apple Yengko knows that she would be awesome on the guitar--if only her mother would let her get one. Her deceased father must have been musical, judging from the old Beatles tape, his only existing possession, that Apple brought with her from the Philippines and has played over and over again. Her immigrant Filipino mother feels that music is a distraction from the business of succeeding in school and doesn't understand why Apple doesn't have more friends. As for Apple, she struggles with fitting in. She feels that her mother is too foreign and hates that they are poor, eat "weird" food and that she has Asian features. To make matters worse, she finds herself added to the school's informal "Dog Log": a list of the ugliest girls in the middle school. Naturally, Apple is shattered. Her best friends drift away in order for her low social status to not rub off on them. Reluctantly, Apple befriends a new boy in school and then another Dog Log lister and slowly learns to not define her worth through the eyes of others. An unfortunate decision in attempting to obtain a guitar blows up in Apple's face. She pays the consequences and then finally starts to realize her dream by following an ethical and honest path.

Through chapters subtitled by Beatles’ songs and Apple's first person narration, we learn of the struggle of a young immigrant girl and the transformation and healing power of music. Kelly shows middle readers the motivation behind bullying and that the victims are not alone. The bullying demonstrated in the book, though very true to middle school life, especially in this age of social media, may be a bit strong for an elementary audience, especially the racial slurs delivered by the mean kids towards Apple. Themes include finding your passion and pursuing it, despite opposition, accepting who you are, second chances, making the right decision even if it’s the longer road, the importance of finding nice friends, and, of course, that music, especially the Beatles, can be life-changing. The characters are well developed and we truly get to know the "real" Apple, warts and all. Appropriate for both girls and boys, this book reads quickly and will appeal to a wide audience. It features an amazing teacher and will work well in a classroom setting. I have heard so much about this book, even before the author won the 2018 Newbery award, and felt like I had read it, but hadn't. It was even better than I thought it would be and it made me very emotional. Give to fans of Wonder and Out of My Mind. Playing the The Beatles saved my life in middle school, so I completely can relate to Apple and heartily applaud her great taste in music.