Birdie and Me by J. M. M. Nuanez (review)

When their mother dies in a car accident, Jack (a girl) and Birdie (a gender-nonconforming boy) are forced to leave their beloved Portland to live with their uncles in rural California. Uncle Carl is fun and loving but unpredictable, and too many missed school days lead to the kids being moved to their uncle Patrick's house. Patrick is Carl's polar opposite, and he sets strict rules for the siblings, the first of which is a change to being a change to Birdie's flamboyant wardrobe. This debut novel is deceptively simple, written in first person from Jack's twelve-year-old perspective. While the reader is caught up in Carl's eccentricities, Patrick's country roughness, and Birdie's sparkly clothes, Nuanez carefully unfolds a tale of loss, individuality, and community. Patrick and Carl are both weird and believable, with odd interests that are balanced with realistic personality flaws, while Jack's tomboy nature is a gentle foil to Birdie's fabulous dazzle; astute readers may notice that she is never criticized the way Birdie is for not subscribing to gender norms. In the end, this is a story of a broken family becoming whole once more, and a warning of the consequences one might face when old wounds fester for too long. Fans of Jerry Spinelli will flock to Jack and the peculiar residents of her new town and may learn something about acceptance while they're there.