I've owned this book for years and have read it a few times, it's always a treat. It was neat having a different perspective of being a "lady" and not fitting in.


Would fit The 52 Book Club's 2021 prompts:
10 - Related to the Word Fire
16 - Set Before the 17th Century
32 - A Selfish Character
42 - An Epistolary
47 - A Character With a Disability ( )

Surprisingly hilarious! I listened to the audiobook in anticipation of the movie version coming soon. The best part of this book is Birdy's sharp, grumpy, occasionally wise voice. Like a modern teenager, she seems to be annoyed by everything, particularly the limits put on her as a girl. Unlike a modern teenager, she and her community are at the mercy of the politics of the Middle Ages. Her father intends to marry her off regardless of Birdy's wishes. She manages to trick her suitors into rejecting her, but she can't escape her fate.

As Cushman writes in the author's note, in those days you were born into a certain role and you had little choice but to play it. This is not a book with a modern moral like "You can be whatever you want to be if you work hard." Instead, this book imagines how it might have felt for a fiery young lady to be so constrained and powerless. How can she accept such a life?

The unexpected delights of this book are many. It's pretty gross (they eat a lot of eel pie, there are illnesses, injuries, disgusting remedies, so many fleas, etc.). I really enjoyed hearing about all the obscure saints and what they were sainted for. So strange and funny the way Birdy deadpans their miraculous achievements.

The book is also realistically dark like when Birdy attends a hanging. She's excited to see a criminal punished but it's just young boys and it's horrible.

I think the movie will have to give this story a stronger plot. I'm also really confused about the casting of Birdy's father. In the book Birdy describes him as a nasty beast, but he's played by Andrew Scott (AKA hot priest from Fleabag). Does not compute. ( )

In 13th century Britain, Birdy’s options are limited: she will be married off as her father wills (though she manages to pull off a few pranks to discourage some suitors). Her brother has given her a journal to chronicle her days, hoping that it will help her become more mature and thoughtful. Over the course of a year, her entries do show her growth of character as she experiences the ups and downs of medieval life.

I think I may have been a teenager myself last time I read this book. I appreciated it very much this time through, probably more that I did at first reading (though I’ve always been a Cushman fan). The writing is top notch, and the author brings to life Birdy’s world, so different from our own. ( )

As an audio book read by a delightful young actress, Catherine transported me to another time and place. Made for a few interesting conversations with my teenage daughter.

Re-read (listened) when the title came up as a Lena Dunham production for screen. How will this go? ( )

This was a book that was always around when I was young, but I never picked it up. More fool me, because it was an excellent book. I loved the narrative voice; Catherine sounds exactly like I would have at that age. She regularly made me laugh out loud with a well-placed wisecrack or a devastatingly direct statement. I tore through this in a day and really enjoyed it. Would recommend it for those looking for teen historical fiction. ( )