I approached this with fairly average expectations, having just read her "Up the Pier" (both acquired from a charity shop). "Up the Pier" was sketchy and went nowhere, and felt as though made up in a hurry; it was like the germ of an idea for a much longer book. Though "Moondial" is quite good.
But "Birds" was a lovely, truly magical read, involving a boy who'd love to be a hero, an area in decline with its church about to be demolished, and a battle between good and evil. Quite serious themes like attempted suicide (his uncle), adoption, a lonely old man, a rough area with bullying kids, are handled delicately and humanely. I think Patrick Finn, a mysterious figure who steps in and is the catalyst for change, takes his name from the Irish hero Finn McCool!