The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla (review)

Charlie has the literal imagination, compulsive tendencies and hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli that characterize those on the autism spectrum, but his family, particularly his older sister, Davis, and his father, have helped him figure out ways to cope with the world. Now, though, all Davis seems interested in is boys, and his father is in a coma, having been hit by an IED while traveling as a journalist in Afghanistan. When his grandmother takes his dad to a hospital in Virginia and leaves them in the care of Ludmila, whom they’ve never met, Davis decides they need to be with their dad. She enlists her boyfriend to drive and packs up Charlie and his younger twin brothers for the cross-country trip, but when they lose their driver, the mysterious Ludmila helps them finish their journey. It turns out that Ludmila’s brother was killed in the accident that harmed Charlie and Davis’ father; her story spools out on the road trip, where Charlie also honors his father by tracking down all the birds he and his dad have put on a must-see wishlist. This has all of the possible/impossible elements of successful middle-grade fiction: an unusual hero faced with the loss of his usual support systems, a targeted quest, some magical thinking, a potentially dangerous solitary voyage into a natural wilderness, and a happy ending facilitated by the kindness of strangers. Ludmila’s past as a war orphan from Bosnia introduces some recent history into the mix and highlights the importance of families we’re born with and those we make. Readers who enjoyed Sloan’s Counting by 7s (BCCB 9/13) will be the ideal audience for this.