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Swordbird #1
Swordbird
The blue jays and cardinals of Stone-Run Forest have turned against each other. According to legend, only Swordbird, son of the Great Spirit, has the power to conquer evil and restore peace to the land. But is he real or just a myth? Can Swordbird arrive in time to save the forest . . . or will it be too late? Twelve-year-old author Nancy Yi Fan has woven a captivating tale about the birds of Stone-Run Forest and the heroism, courage, and resourcefulness in their quest for peace.
219 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
September 24, 2022
As a novel written by a 12 year old, this is simply incredible and inspirational. It’s easy to see this is a book written by and for kids. It’s basic good versus evil in a creative setting as the protagonists are all birds. It’s a good idea with a heartwarming message. The world building is imaginative and just pure fun. While the young age of the writer is without a doubt a strength of this book, it is also a little bit of a weakness. A lack of experience does show a bit in the plot and most obviously in the characters but definitely not enough to take away from the reading pleasure this book has to offer.
November 20, 2008
Read Redwall, Mistmantle Chronicles, Warriors, etc instead.
March 27, 2018
I've been wrestling with what i am going to say about this book for a day or so now..
On one wing, this is one of the worst books i've ever read and i want to go into extreme detail to warn away others from reading it.
On the other wing, this was written by a tween in their second language, and i don't want to be a jerk.
So here's what i settled on, i'm reviewing it twice, once as a book by a 12 year old, and once as a book.
Here we go.
As a book by a 12 year old: this is pretty good, like a solid A as a creative writing project in school, when i was 12 i can honestly say i couldn't have written something like this.
There are a lot of characters, a great diversity of birds, and the illustrations are beautiful.
As a book: This is really, really bad you guys. I honestly don't know how this was published, it clocks in at just over 200 pages, but that's not the reality, because every chapter starts at like the middle of the page, the spacing of the margins is insane, and there is so much illustration in it (Sidenote, in all fairness i want to say again, i love the illustrations, there's this one of a theater group of birds that travels by hot air balloon (no, don't try to make sense of that) that i would have framed and hung on my wall), combine all these things and this book is honestly less than 100 pages of actual writing.
And the writing! besides all of the bird lingo like "look out, somebird is coming" and giving your friends a 'wing-tip up' that get old really fast, just the actually descriptive text is some of the worst i've seen, Nancy takes a sentence like:
[Jim turned to Sarah, "where shall we go?"]
and makes it into:
[After contemplating for several moments, Jim whipped around to look at Sarah, who looked at him as well, he was nervous what she would answer to his question "Where shall we go?" He asked her in a hushed whisper, wondering what her answer would be]
So maybe this book is actually 50 pages when you cut all that out too, which would make it a mercifully quick read.
The world building is also sloppy and poorly thought out, like i said before there are bird that ride around together in a hot air balloon, who made that? and why do birds need a flying vehicle?
oh, that's right, to transport there tiny GRAND PIANO. Where did birds get a bird-sized grand piano? They never say, can birds in this world build pianos? and even if they could, why would they? when they play the piano in the book, they play it with their feet, using their wings to hoover at the keys. That sounds exhausting, why wouldn't they instead have an instrument designed with birds in mind to play it?
The book also talks with extreme frequency about the clothes the birds are wearing, but these clothes are almost never depicted in the illustrations, more often they are shown just as birds, regular birds. Once it does show a cardinal in battle attire, and a bird named shadow in a black.. handkerchief? It is for sure not a full 'cloak' as described.
And not to beat a dead horse about the dialog, but here's a taste.
{also hey, if you were still thinking about reading this book, which i still advise against but that doesn't mean i would spoil it for you, this next paragraph is mildly spoilery, so you can skip down to where all the money signs are, cheers}
for context, 'Miltin' has been held captive in a slave camp for over a month, he's been beaten, and starved, and then attacked upon his escape, and then attacked AGAIN on his way home. When he arrives home, he's bleeding through several bandages and looks like death, then he collapses and this happens:
[The medicine bird quickly came. "Miltin is in danger, I'm afraid," he reported gravely after the examination.
Miltin's mother burst into tears. "How can you be in such a state, Miltin?" She wailed. "You were healthy and well before you were captured!" How can you be so sick after just over a month?"]
Yes, i'm sure before his internment in a work camp, Miltin would fly laps around the tree every morning, always drink his bird orange juice, ect, but i guess a month long imprisonment and being turned into an arrow pin cushion, TWICE, can just maybe affect one's health.
A "big" plot point in this story is the War going on between the Blue Jays and the Cardinals, who used to be friends but that has since fallen apart.
This is written like a big obstetrical that will need to be overcome, maybe like in the third act they'll have to set their differences aside and- what? Really? oh, ok. I've just been told that that actually wraps up way back in chapter six. like, totally wraps up, they even have a party together a little bit later (and hey, about that party, they have that party AFTER they learn there are a bunch of woodbirds being kept as slave labor and they were asked to help. but you know, Party first, THEN help, that's the hero's way- actually no i think it went party first, Then wait until the villain attacks you too, making it personal, Then fight the villain when he attacks a SECOND time, and THEN save the slave birds from the work camp, because THAT is the hero's way..)
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Even the name and Title character, SWORDBIRD, doesn't make sense, when i hear/read the name SWORDBIRD, i think of a Braveheart style master warrior bird, like a rambo bird, like if i called a human GUNMAN. But here's a twist, SWORDBIRD is their deity of peace. He's bird Jesus, and i really honestly mean that, they even call him the son of the all light or something to that effect, he was born to a mortal bird and everything. They pray to SWORDBIRD, they have holy texts that tell stories about SWORDBIRD, this is a very unsubtle Jesus allegory.
The over all message of this book is even naive and trite, Peace and friendship are good, Slavery and eating people are bad(no i mean it, the villain bird was straight up eating other birds).
To summarize, Nancy Yi Fan Wrote a book, and like i said, at her age that is pretty cool, but when you publish a book and have it sit next to other books, it will be measured against them, and this book just does not measure up. I do feel bad for lambasting this book, and i know a lot of people would say "it's for kids, it wasn't written for you" But i feel like you're underestimating kids, i read a lot of J fiction, and i know that while yes, a 10 year old could read this book, the truth of the matter is, there are so many better books for them to read than this one, even with its clunky and simple writing, the characters have names that are hard to pronounce so it isn't even a good fit for struggling readers, so why sugar coat it?
this isn't a good book.
On one wing, this is one of the worst books i've ever read and i want to go into extreme detail to warn away others from reading it.
On the other wing, this was written by a tween in their second language, and i don't want to be a jerk.
So here's what i settled on, i'm reviewing it twice, once as a book by a 12 year old, and once as a book.
Here we go.
As a book by a 12 year old: this is pretty good, like a solid A as a creative writing project in school, when i was 12 i can honestly say i couldn't have written something like this.
There are a lot of characters, a great diversity of birds, and the illustrations are beautiful.
As a book: This is really, really bad you guys. I honestly don't know how this was published, it clocks in at just over 200 pages, but that's not the reality, because every chapter starts at like the middle of the page, the spacing of the margins is insane, and there is so much illustration in it (Sidenote, in all fairness i want to say again, i love the illustrations, there's this one of a theater group of birds that travels by hot air balloon (no, don't try to make sense of that) that i would have framed and hung on my wall), combine all these things and this book is honestly less than 100 pages of actual writing.
And the writing! besides all of the bird lingo like "look out, somebird is coming" and giving your friends a 'wing-tip up' that get old really fast, just the actually descriptive text is some of the worst i've seen, Nancy takes a sentence like:
[Jim turned to Sarah, "where shall we go?"]
and makes it into:
[After contemplating for several moments, Jim whipped around to look at Sarah, who looked at him as well, he was nervous what she would answer to his question "Where shall we go?" He asked her in a hushed whisper, wondering what her answer would be]
So maybe this book is actually 50 pages when you cut all that out too, which would make it a mercifully quick read.
The world building is also sloppy and poorly thought out, like i said before there are bird that ride around together in a hot air balloon, who made that? and why do birds need a flying vehicle?
oh, that's right, to transport there tiny GRAND PIANO. Where did birds get a bird-sized grand piano? They never say, can birds in this world build pianos? and even if they could, why would they? when they play the piano in the book, they play it with their feet, using their wings to hoover at the keys. That sounds exhausting, why wouldn't they instead have an instrument designed with birds in mind to play it?
The book also talks with extreme frequency about the clothes the birds are wearing, but these clothes are almost never depicted in the illustrations, more often they are shown just as birds, regular birds. Once it does show a cardinal in battle attire, and a bird named shadow in a black.. handkerchief? It is for sure not a full 'cloak' as described.
And not to beat a dead horse about the dialog, but here's a taste.
{also hey, if you were still thinking about reading this book, which i still advise against but that doesn't mean i would spoil it for you, this next paragraph is mildly spoilery, so you can skip down to where all the money signs are, cheers}
for context, 'Miltin' has been held captive in a slave camp for over a month, he's been beaten, and starved, and then attacked upon his escape, and then attacked AGAIN on his way home. When he arrives home, he's bleeding through several bandages and looks like death, then he collapses and this happens:
[The medicine bird quickly came. "Miltin is in danger, I'm afraid," he reported gravely after the examination.
Miltin's mother burst into tears. "How can you be in such a state, Miltin?" She wailed. "You were healthy and well before you were captured!" How can you be so sick after just over a month?"]
Yes, i'm sure before his internment in a work camp, Miltin would fly laps around the tree every morning, always drink his bird orange juice, ect, but i guess a month long imprisonment and being turned into an arrow pin cushion, TWICE, can just maybe affect one's health.
A "big" plot point in this story is the War going on between the Blue Jays and the Cardinals, who used to be friends but that has since fallen apart.
This is written like a big obstetrical that will need to be overcome, maybe like in the third act they'll have to set their differences aside and- what? Really? oh, ok. I've just been told that that actually wraps up way back in chapter six. like, totally wraps up, they even have a party together a little bit later (and hey, about that party, they have that party AFTER they learn there are a bunch of woodbirds being kept as slave labor and they were asked to help. but you know, Party first, THEN help, that's the hero's way- actually no i think it went party first, Then wait until the villain attacks you too, making it personal, Then fight the villain when he attacks a SECOND time, and THEN save the slave birds from the work camp, because THAT is the hero's way..)
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Even the name and Title character, SWORDBIRD, doesn't make sense, when i hear/read the name SWORDBIRD, i think of a Braveheart style master warrior bird, like a rambo bird, like if i called a human GUNMAN. But here's a twist, SWORDBIRD is their deity of peace. He's bird Jesus, and i really honestly mean that, they even call him the son of the all light or something to that effect, he was born to a mortal bird and everything. They pray to SWORDBIRD, they have holy texts that tell stories about SWORDBIRD, this is a very unsubtle Jesus allegory.
The over all message of this book is even naive and trite, Peace and friendship are good, Slavery and eating people are bad(no i mean it, the villain bird was straight up eating other birds).
To summarize, Nancy Yi Fan Wrote a book, and like i said, at her age that is pretty cool, but when you publish a book and have it sit next to other books, it will be measured against them, and this book just does not measure up. I do feel bad for lambasting this book, and i know a lot of people would say "it's for kids, it wasn't written for you" But i feel like you're underestimating kids, i read a lot of J fiction, and i know that while yes, a 10 year old could read this book, the truth of the matter is, there are so many better books for them to read than this one, even with its clunky and simple writing, the characters have names that are hard to pronounce so it isn't even a good fit for struggling readers, so why sugar coat it?
this isn't a good book.
August 24, 2011
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
The Swordbird Song
by Kat Hooper
To be sung to the tune of “The Trees” by Rush.
There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble in the trees,
For the bluejays want their eggs back
And their nuts and their berries.
The trouble with the blue jays,
(And they're quite convinced they’re right)
They say the cardinals filched their babies
And they grabbed their food at night.
But the cardinals didn’t do it,
‘Twas the hawk and all his knaves
They are building a strong fortress
And the woodbirds will be slaves!
There is trouble in the Forest,
But the Swordbird, it is said,
Can be called to fight oppression
And can make the bad birds dead.
[long awesome instrumental section]
So the woodbirds formed a union
And demanded equal rights
"That hawk is just too greedy;
We will ask Swordbird to fight."
Now there's no more hawk oppression,
Peace and freedom are restored,
And the birds are all kept equal
By Swordbird’s magic sword.
Nancy Yi Fan Swordbird Sword QuestSwordbird is a children’s fantasy novel written by Chinese-American Nancy Yi Fan after the events of September 11, 2001. Fan was 10 years old when she started writing Swordbird and she sold it to HarperCollins when she was 12. The novel is an anthropomorphic fantasy — all of the characters are birds — and the fact that it was written by a 12 year old, and carries an unmistakable message of peace, has made it a popular choice for elementary school teachers’ required reading lists. My son read it in fourth grade.
I listened to the audio version (Harper Audio, nicely narrated by Colleen Delany) with my kids in one evening. We all agreed that the plot was a lot like playing Angry Birds (and just as violent!). While the kids enjoyed it, I thought it was unoriginal (Redwall does it better) and predictable with flat characters, clumsy dialog, cardstock villains, and trite messages:
Peace is wonderful; freedom is sacred. As long as there is peace and freedom, there is tomorrow.
However, that’s because I’m comparing Swordbird to children’s books written by adults. Nancy Yi Fan’s accomplishment here is truly remarkable and I understand why school teachers want to expose their students to Swordbird. I am sincerely impressed with Miss Fan and I hope she continues to write. I feel guilty giving Swordbird only two stars, but I need to keep it consistent with our rating system. Swordbird is just “okay” as a novel, but I give 5 stars to Nancy Yi Fan!
The Swordbird Song
by Kat Hooper
To be sung to the tune of “The Trees” by Rush.
There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble in the trees,
For the bluejays want their eggs back
And their nuts and their berries.
The trouble with the blue jays,
(And they're quite convinced they’re right)
They say the cardinals filched their babies
And they grabbed their food at night.
But the cardinals didn’t do it,
‘Twas the hawk and all his knaves
They are building a strong fortress
And the woodbirds will be slaves!
There is trouble in the Forest,
But the Swordbird, it is said,
Can be called to fight oppression
And can make the bad birds dead.
[long awesome instrumental section]
So the woodbirds formed a union
And demanded equal rights
"That hawk is just too greedy;
We will ask Swordbird to fight."
Now there's no more hawk oppression,
Peace and freedom are restored,
And the birds are all kept equal
By Swordbird’s magic sword.
Nancy Yi Fan Swordbird Sword QuestSwordbird is a children’s fantasy novel written by Chinese-American Nancy Yi Fan after the events of September 11, 2001. Fan was 10 years old when she started writing Swordbird and she sold it to HarperCollins when she was 12. The novel is an anthropomorphic fantasy — all of the characters are birds — and the fact that it was written by a 12 year old, and carries an unmistakable message of peace, has made it a popular choice for elementary school teachers’ required reading lists. My son read it in fourth grade.
I listened to the audio version (Harper Audio, nicely narrated by Colleen Delany) with my kids in one evening. We all agreed that the plot was a lot like playing Angry Birds (and just as violent!). While the kids enjoyed it, I thought it was unoriginal (Redwall does it better) and predictable with flat characters, clumsy dialog, cardstock villains, and trite messages:
Peace is wonderful; freedom is sacred. As long as there is peace and freedom, there is tomorrow.
However, that’s because I’m comparing Swordbird to children’s books written by adults. Nancy Yi Fan’s accomplishment here is truly remarkable and I understand why school teachers want to expose their students to Swordbird. I am sincerely impressed with Miss Fan and I hope she continues to write. I feel guilty giving Swordbird only two stars, but I need to keep it consistent with our rating system. Swordbird is just “okay” as a novel, but I give 5 stars to Nancy Yi Fan!
July 25, 2014
I was tempted to rate this 5 stars on principle, but I felt like I had to be honest. It's a terrible book.
February 24, 2008
The problem with young writers is that they generally think they have to be adults. Nancy Yi Fan does not have this problem. Her debut novel is poignant, touching, well-crafted and, above all else, written in a child’s voice. Her voice was what drew me into the story. I felt as if I were listening to a prodigy bard telling a tale. I could almost hear the inflections of her voice. Yes, she sounds like a child, but therein lies the book’s excellence. The complex problems of good and evil, beauty and ugliness, freedom and slavery, suffering and happiness, are all seen through the honest eyes of a child and told in a simple story. If she had tried to write like an adult, she would have lost this fragile beauty of her tale. After all, she has most of her life to be an adult, and she has wisely chosen to write as a child while she has the chance. To find a book by a child that comes so purely from the child’s soul is rarer than gemstones. Therefore, I would say that Swordbird is the finest example of a child’s writing that is in the market today. I look forward to reading more of her work and watching her mature in her craft. But, I do not look forward to that so much that I cannot enjoy the childlike wonder of her first novel.
August 18, 2008
It’s hard to believe but the author was only 12 years old when she wrote this thrilling, beautifully crafted fantasy about evil Lord Turnatt, a hawk who has enslaved birds to build a fortress and has set the cardinals and bluejays to fighting each other.
She creates vivid characters with wonderful names (Flameback the cardinal, Dilby the loon) and other cool words like “nobird”, “somebird,” and “everybird.” There’s a hummingbird circus, birds dining on raspberry pie and fending off invaders with scalding bean soup. Best of all each chapter starts with a quotation from some book of bird lore, including the Book of Heresy which promises the terrible Turnatt eternal life - if he eats the egg of one woodbird every day.
Nancy Yi Fan is a talent to watch!
- Jean Westmoore, The Buffalo News
She creates vivid characters with wonderful names (Flameback the cardinal, Dilby the loon) and other cool words like “nobird”, “somebird,” and “everybird.” There’s a hummingbird circus, birds dining on raspberry pie and fending off invaders with scalding bean soup. Best of all each chapter starts with a quotation from some book of bird lore, including the Book of Heresy which promises the terrible Turnatt eternal life - if he eats the egg of one woodbird every day.
Nancy Yi Fan is a talent to watch!
- Jean Westmoore, The Buffalo News
May 28, 2020
Hands down the worst Redwall knock-off I've encountered yet.
October 23, 2011
I read this book and it was ok.
First thing to discuss is the layout. It can could tell people tried to desperately expand this book. The text was big, when a chapter ends, there would be just a qoute on the left page and the next chapter on the right (the paragraph starting at almost at the bottom) page, there would be drawings taking up whole pages, and repeated smaller drawings. If it wasn't for those factors, this book might of been 100 pages or even less.
The reason why I liked this book is because it was fun to read and I love birds. Not very often that I pick up a book with birds as the main character. But the story went to fast for me and I wish it was more expanded. I want to hear more about Aska's, the robin's, Cody's, and the other birds' life. I wanted more to happen in the story.
But overall, it was ok. It is a very easy read.
First thing to discuss is the layout. It can could tell people tried to desperately expand this book. The text was big, when a chapter ends, there would be just a qoute on the left page and the next chapter on the right (the paragraph starting at almost at the bottom) page, there would be drawings taking up whole pages, and repeated smaller drawings. If it wasn't for those factors, this book might of been 100 pages or even less.
The reason why I liked this book is because it was fun to read and I love birds. Not very often that I pick up a book with birds as the main character. But the story went to fast for me and I wish it was more expanded. I want to hear more about Aska's, the robin's, Cody's, and the other birds' life. I wanted more to happen in the story.
But overall, it was ok. It is a very easy read.
February 26, 2019
This book was very cute, and the world was pretty well built. The tone of it was sort of confusing--it felt pretty formal, and didn't mesh for me in the way I normally like--but that may also be a side effect of me like. Not having read an MG book in about 100 years. I think if you've got a kid who likes birds, or animal stories in general, they might really like this. As an adult, some of it seemed a little weird (as like a person who cannot turn their brain off, the sort of Biblical allegory seemed to really hit me over the head and I wasn't sure I was super comfortable with it) but obviously the message is positive and it doesn't go much further into that allegorical territory that I possibly just made up.
January 31, 2015
Swordbird is an interesting, though simple story that is told through the perspectives of many different characters. For the author to write and publish this book is truly an amazing accomplishment, and reading as a child myself, I couldn't help but found it more relocatable just knowing that fact.
Swordbird tells the tale of around four (or six depending on how you look at it) different groups of birds. Since there are so many groups that could be, and are, considered the good guys, let me start with the villains first.
The main villain of the entire series is Turnatt and evil hawk who's main goal is to build a giant fortress to live and store eggs (that can supposedly grant him eternal life), and using slavebirds to do so. The reason I call Turnatt here the villain instead of the antagonist, is because the roles of the characters are truly hard to make out in this book, and are definitely not clear-cut. I, personally, like to think of Turnatt and the protagonist since he is who we start with, and generally who's story we technically follow.
Speaking of protagonists, Sword bird has many groups of birds who could be labeled, "good guys". The first two that we are introduced to are the Red and Blue. These consist of the Cardinals in Sunrise, and the bluejays in the Bluewingle tribe. These groups later merge into 1 general group, which then temporarily adds on the birds of the Willowleaf Theater and the Waterthorn tribe of robins, before they go their separate ways at the end of the book.
The last group worth mentioning are the slavebirds, who ave to work under Turnatt. There is nothing particularly interesting about this specific group, except for one of the perspectives you get from it. This one perspective out of many in the book, belongs to Milton the robin, probably one of the most likable characters in the book. He is around for a major portion of the book, and is a very important part of the plot.
Speaking of the plot, the story in this book is very much black and white, despite all of the many different groups and perspectives we get to see. The world and people in it are very much clear-cut good or bad, and a majority of them are good. (On a side note that doesn't really relate to the plot, I felt that the characters weren't very fleshed out due to this straight out concept of black or white.)
Going back to the ploy, there are some subtle plot twists that do well once you come to realize things, but it doesn't go out much further than that. To some it up in one sentence, the plot is basically "let's defeat Turnatt".
I found that the pacing was also awkward for the plot, and the transitions from scenes were also awkward. There were also multiple uses of plot armor, one such being the fact that, somehow, the cardinals and the bluejay's just suddenly make up really quickly.
There are even plot holes too, such as "What happened to Shadow?" (a raven from Turnatt's side), or "What was that about Swordbird's father?" Of course, there is always the possibility that such questionhs wioll be answerd in the other books, though I for one, just don't plan on tagging along for that ride.
Overall, the book "Swordbird" was good and likable, and it's pros outweighed its cons, but it was still a pretty close call.
Swordbird tells the tale of around four (or six depending on how you look at it) different groups of birds. Since there are so many groups that could be, and are, considered the good guys, let me start with the villains first.
The main villain of the entire series is Turnatt and evil hawk who's main goal is to build a giant fortress to live and store eggs (that can supposedly grant him eternal life), and using slavebirds to do so. The reason I call Turnatt here the villain instead of the antagonist, is because the roles of the characters are truly hard to make out in this book, and are definitely not clear-cut. I, personally, like to think of Turnatt and the protagonist since he is who we start with, and generally who's story we technically follow.
Speaking of protagonists, Sword bird has many groups of birds who could be labeled, "good guys". The first two that we are introduced to are the Red and Blue. These consist of the Cardinals in Sunrise, and the bluejays in the Bluewingle tribe. These groups later merge into 1 general group, which then temporarily adds on the birds of the Willowleaf Theater and the Waterthorn tribe of robins, before they go their separate ways at the end of the book.
The last group worth mentioning are the slavebirds, who ave to work under Turnatt. There is nothing particularly interesting about this specific group, except for one of the perspectives you get from it. This one perspective out of many in the book, belongs to Milton the robin, probably one of the most likable characters in the book. He is around for a major portion of the book, and is a very important part of the plot.
Speaking of the plot, the story in this book is very much black and white, despite all of the many different groups and perspectives we get to see. The world and people in it are very much clear-cut good or bad, and a majority of them are good. (On a side note that doesn't really relate to the plot, I felt that the characters weren't very fleshed out due to this straight out concept of black or white.)
Going back to the ploy, there are some subtle plot twists that do well once you come to realize things, but it doesn't go out much further than that. To some it up in one sentence, the plot is basically "let's defeat Turnatt".
I found that the pacing was also awkward for the plot, and the transitions from scenes were also awkward. There were also multiple uses of plot armor, one such being the fact that, somehow, the cardinals and the bluejay's just suddenly make up really quickly.
There are even plot holes too, such as "What happened to Shadow?" (a raven from Turnatt's side), or "What was that about Swordbird's father?" Of course, there is always the possibility that such questionhs wioll be answerd in the other books, though I for one, just don't plan on tagging along for that ride.
Overall, the book "Swordbird" was good and likable, and it's pros outweighed its cons, but it was still a pretty close call.
March 17, 2010
I find it amazing that this book was written by a twelve year old girl. She did a fantastic job. The characters (even the bad ones) were easy to relate to, and very lifelike. I like that she didn't use scary violence in the story. Sure, there are battles, but she doesn't over-do it. In fact, the battles were my favorite parts of the book because I knew something funny was going to happen. Instead of making the battles scary, she makes the good guys come up with amazing ideas so they can win the battles with funny tactics.
The cardinals and blue jays of Stone-Run Forest have turned against each other. They used to be great friends, but one day the cardinals acused the blue jays of stealing; and ever since, the two Tribes have been at war.
It turns out that the evil hawk lord, Turrant, has been ordering his soldiers to steal from both Tribes; so they would fight, and fight, and fight; then be too weak to resist his attack, and to weak to put up a struggle when he turns them into slaves to finish building Fortress Glooming, a giant( and quickly spreading) black muddy spot in the white snow of peace.
Miltin, one of the slavebirds, plans carefully with the other slaves on how to escape the compound of Fortress Glooming. When they do, they find the bluejay Tribe and tell them the truth: the hawk lord was the one stealing from them! Once the cardinals and blue jays learn the truth, they unite to battle Turnatt. They find out that the only way they can defeat him once and for all is to summon Swordbird, son of the Great Spirit.
Swordbid is a half-dove with magical powers, and is the only bird who can truly defeat Turrnat. But Swordbird can only be summoned with a Leasorn gem; a crystallized tear of the Great Spirit, and there are only seven in the entire world.
Miltin, fomer slavebird, and Aska, a pretty bluejay, embark on a dangerous quest to find a Leasorn gem before Turrnat attacks. Will they find one in time? Or will the evil hawk suceed?
Read this funny, well-written, well-placed, dangerous, scary, delightful book to find out. (240 p.)
The cardinals and blue jays of Stone-Run Forest have turned against each other. They used to be great friends, but one day the cardinals acused the blue jays of stealing; and ever since, the two Tribes have been at war.
It turns out that the evil hawk lord, Turrant, has been ordering his soldiers to steal from both Tribes; so they would fight, and fight, and fight; then be too weak to resist his attack, and to weak to put up a struggle when he turns them into slaves to finish building Fortress Glooming, a giant( and quickly spreading) black muddy spot in the white snow of peace.
Miltin, one of the slavebirds, plans carefully with the other slaves on how to escape the compound of Fortress Glooming. When they do, they find the bluejay Tribe and tell them the truth: the hawk lord was the one stealing from them! Once the cardinals and blue jays learn the truth, they unite to battle Turnatt. They find out that the only way they can defeat him once and for all is to summon Swordbird, son of the Great Spirit.
Swordbid is a half-dove with magical powers, and is the only bird who can truly defeat Turrnat. But Swordbird can only be summoned with a Leasorn gem; a crystallized tear of the Great Spirit, and there are only seven in the entire world.
Miltin, fomer slavebird, and Aska, a pretty bluejay, embark on a dangerous quest to find a Leasorn gem before Turrnat attacks. Will they find one in time? Or will the evil hawk suceed?
Read this funny, well-written, well-placed, dangerous, scary, delightful book to find out. (240 p.)
March 16, 2018
My view on this is ABSOLUTELY colored by the fact that it was written by a preteen. Swordbird was like reading Redwall fanfiction circa the 1990s on Geocities pages, except everyone (sorry, "everybird") is an avian instead of rodents. I say 'was like reading', but really, the roots here are obvious - tons of feasts, fabulous swords, characters bursting into song/poetry every other chapter, and to top it off, the obligatory traveling circus troupe - flattened through the eyes and limitations of a kid writing their first book.
And you know what? I had a ridiculous amount of fun. There's no point blasting something like this. I mean, come on. Is it clunky? Unavoidably, but in the time it took me to get through the audiobook, I also read three "adult" novels that were actually worse in the dialogue/plotting/character motivation department, so take that, @adult authors. I hope Nancy Yi Fan continued to write and find her own voice - there's promise and the occasional lovely turn of phrase in this bonkers story about birds waving around magic swords and throwing bean soup at each other.
So, probably 2/5 objectively speaking, but 100000/5 for the sheer nostalgia of reliving my middle-school infatuation with Brian Jacques and my own tween fanfic attempts. The audiobook version is read like a dramatic Youtube reading and definitely adds to the whole surreal experience. It made my morning commute bearable. How many ~serious~ novels written by serious adults have done that, I ask you. I am so glad to live in a world where I can type the phrase "Swordbird". THE COVER ALONE, my god
And you know what? I had a ridiculous amount of fun. There's no point blasting something like this. I mean, come on. Is it clunky? Unavoidably, but in the time it took me to get through the audiobook, I also read three "adult" novels that were actually worse in the dialogue/plotting/character motivation department, so take that, @adult authors. I hope Nancy Yi Fan continued to write and find her own voice - there's promise and the occasional lovely turn of phrase in this bonkers story about birds waving around magic swords and throwing bean soup at each other.
So, probably 2/5 objectively speaking, but 100000/5 for the sheer nostalgia of reliving my middle-school infatuation with Brian Jacques and my own tween fanfic attempts. The audiobook version is read like a dramatic Youtube reading and definitely adds to the whole surreal experience. It made my morning commute bearable. How many ~serious~ novels written by serious adults have done that, I ask you. I am so glad to live in a world where I can type the phrase "Swordbird". THE COVER ALONE, my god
October 16, 2019
An fantasy/adventure tale in which all the characters are birds. While an evil hawk and his crow minions use slave labor to build a stronghold in the midst of the forest, they pit the cardinals and the blue jays against each other to keep them distracted from the greater threat. Enter "swordbird," a messiah of sorts, who dishes out prophecies and promises. Etc. Etc.
October 23, 2021
I stayed up late to finish reading this, very poignant and action packed. Swordbird is the other birds savior and they are trying to bring peace back and to free the slaves of the bad hawk. I liked the characters the best they were easy to like and I as the reader was able to understand the characters by what they said and did instead of being told by a narrator.
August 18, 2008
I wanted to like this book. I really did. Any 12 year old girl who writes a book and gets it published is an inspiration to me and a great motivator to my own students who are the same age as Fan when this book was published. However, the story only slightly held my interest and while Fan is clearly a mature writer for a 12 year old, there were too many inconsistencies with the flow and style of the writing. Perhaps the editors did that by design as a reminder to people that this is, after all, a 12 year old girl, but it was still difficult for me to get past. Of course, another reason I didn't like this story is for the simple fact that fantasy like this is just not my style. I prefer realistic fiction and have really only enjoyed a handful of fantasy stories in my lifetime.
January 26, 2011
This tale is written for younger readers with birds of all types as the characters. The evil bird lord is a one eyed hawk who bullies and leads an army of renegade crows and ravens. His goal is to rule the nesting areas and enslave other birds to build his fortress and compound. All other birds are the good guys and the young reader may be searching for a bird guide to see what these birds look like. The messages are peace, harmony and freedom The good birds are defended by Swordbird, summoned through the use of a special stone and a song. It's a fun read that parents and grandparents would enjoy sharing with the children in their lives.
December 14, 2014
This book is like a cross of 'Redwall' and 'Guardians of Ga'Hoole', and it's just as good. I like the magic atmosphere it creates. Don't expect tangled and complex plot or morally grey characters - this book reads like a fairy tale above all things. Here we have cruel tyrant, brave heroes and dangerous quest - classic formula, but for me it still works. I'm especially impressed by the main heroes - blue jay Aska, who is always first volunteering to help her tribe, and robin Miltin, who was getting wound after wound on the quest but kept going. My only disappointment is that the final battle wasn't as epic as I expected. However, there were enough well-written battles earlier.
February 27, 2008
The blue jays and cardinals of stone run forest have turned agaisnt each other. According to legend, only Swordbird,son of the great spirit, has the power to conquer evil and restore peace to the land. But is he realor just myth? Can Swordbird arrive in time to save the forest or will it be to late? Twelve year old author Nancy Yi Fang has woven a captivating tale about the birds of stone run forest and the heroism,courage, and resourcefulness in thier quest for peace. I absolutley highley suggest this book it is amazing im really suprised it was written by a twelve year old!!!
March 23, 2017
DNF at about 60%.
There wasn't even a main character yet. The only reason it sells so well is because NYF is so young. The intelligent-fighting-bird idea is cute, but it's naive and impractical and totally fantastical. As in, it could've worked if done well. The whole fight thing started too easily and ended too easily and, for a war, there wasn't enough peril. I think the bad hawk or whatever would be good for the rest of the book, however it ended, but the story needed more uniformity.
There wasn't even a main character yet. The only reason it sells so well is because NYF is so young. The intelligent-fighting-bird idea is cute, but it's naive and impractical and totally fantastical. As in, it could've worked if done well. The whole fight thing started too easily and ended too easily and, for a war, there wasn't enough peril. I think the bad hawk or whatever would be good for the rest of the book, however it ended, but the story needed more uniformity.
May 3, 2013
I really wanted to like this one. It is a young author with a great inspirational story as to how the book came to be, and a world filled with colorful songbirds. But in the end it just falls short. Too many characters, too little plot and too many inconsistancies. Its' mythos is never fully explained, and there's deus-ex-machina all over the place. It definitely sounds like a twelve year old girl wrote it.
I do very much like the illustrations of the birds throughout though.
I do very much like the illustrations of the birds throughout though.
October 17, 2020
This book was one of my favorites when I was younger. It was inspiring to me to see that a young girl could publish a fantasy book and get it on shelves in Barnes and Noble, where my mother worked full time (and where I spent my summer days off school full time.) The story is solid, creative, unique, and simple but still enjoyable. The concept was intriguing and similar to Redwall, which I also love. I could read this book over and over.
February 11, 2011
I enjoyed this book very much. It was a good recommendation by Miss Kate. I think that it targets a little bit older audience, perhaps 4th or 5th grade.
October 28, 2024
We needed something to listen to on the drive to and from Flagstaff over the weekend, this was the perfect length AND featured birds (bonus!). For a book by an 11-year-old, it was OK. Surprisingly violent for a book that was purportedly written because the kid-author wanted peace. Even more surprising, these birds drink beer and wine that they make themselves!
The above quote took me out of the story. Blue jays are definitely bigger and bulkier than cardinals (and louder) according to The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and many other sources because I was trying to give this kid every opportunity to be correct. Maybe she's not talking about Blue Jays, but a blue jay (no caps) -- they're all still bigger, coming in at a length of 11-13 inches (nearly double the weight!). A Northern Cardinal is around 8-9 inches in length.
But then in the acknowledgements, the tween author discusses her lifelong love of birds and well...I'm doubting that considering she got the sizes so very wrong. Maybe in this world all the birds are different sizes than they are in our world -- and if that's the case: cool. But why were all the illustrations of birds that look just like Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and Robins in our world?
The kid reviews on Common Sense Media are gold. My favorite from a kid posted 15 years ago, "All the parents say it is a great book for KIDS but the kids say it is a horrible book including me, just shows how much parents know about their kids...." With my second favorite stating, "they're use the same drawings on every other page, and the plot makes no sense. Second of all the author is SO pretentious and it showed throughout the entire book. She thinks this book is so good... in the afterwords where she’s like “I was a mere child of ten when I wrote this book and my favorite song is Für Elise” like come on."
What's really nuts is that there are two more books in this world, it's cool that publishers were willing to publish a book by a kid, but should they?
"Fighters from both sides were getting tired. The blue jays were light and agile in build, while the cardinals were muscular and heavy-framed."
The above quote took me out of the story. Blue jays are definitely bigger and bulkier than cardinals (and louder) according to The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and many other sources because I was trying to give this kid every opportunity to be correct. Maybe she's not talking about Blue Jays, but a blue jay (no caps) -- they're all still bigger, coming in at a length of 11-13 inches (nearly double the weight!). A Northern Cardinal is around 8-9 inches in length.
But then in the acknowledgements, the tween author discusses her lifelong love of birds and well...I'm doubting that considering she got the sizes so very wrong. Maybe in this world all the birds are different sizes than they are in our world -- and if that's the case: cool. But why were all the illustrations of birds that look just like Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and Robins in our world?
The kid reviews on Common Sense Media are gold. My favorite from a kid posted 15 years ago, "All the parents say it is a great book for KIDS but the kids say it is a horrible book including me, just shows how much parents know about their kids...." With my second favorite stating, "they're use the same drawings on every other page, and the plot makes no sense. Second of all the author is SO pretentious and it showed throughout the entire book. She thinks this book is so good... in the afterwords where she’s like “I was a mere child of ten when I wrote this book and my favorite song is Für Elise” like come on."
What's really nuts is that there are two more books in this world, it's cool that publishers were willing to publish a book by a kid, but should they?
April 14, 2019
This book is very good and it was written by a teenager. The fantasy world of the birds which mirrors the war weary world of humans...and a people or in this case a tribe of birds looking for the hero that was foretold in prophecy.
The characters are very well-rounded and believable. You root for the good guys while you boo the bad guys. There is alot of war weary events here including torture and slavery. So it might be better for more MATURE READERS. There is also a lot of drinking beer and wine.
I like how the two tribes of birds who have been currently warring with each other finally realizes the truth that have been played against each other and bravely come up with a plan to renew their alliance and defeat the bad birds that have taken over the forest.
There are two books of prophecy (Old Scriptures & The Book of Heresy) -- one of good and one of evil. Shows the power of the word and how stories can change behavior.
I also like the traveling theater group who brings joy and hope to all they encounter...but they aren't above getting involved to help overthrow the cruel warlord
The illustrations by Mark Zug are spectacular and add much to the character of the birds.
There is probably more that I should say, but I'm writing this a few months after reading and I have forgotten some of the little details.
The characters are very well-rounded and believable. You root for the good guys while you boo the bad guys. There is alot of war weary events here including torture and slavery. So it might be better for more MATURE READERS. There is also a lot of drinking beer and wine.
I like how the two tribes of birds who have been currently warring with each other finally realizes the truth that have been played against each other and bravely come up with a plan to renew their alliance and defeat the bad birds that have taken over the forest.
There are two books of prophecy (Old Scriptures & The Book of Heresy) -- one of good and one of evil. Shows the power of the word and how stories can change behavior.
I also like the traveling theater group who brings joy and hope to all they encounter...but they aren't above getting involved to help overthrow the cruel warlord
The illustrations by Mark Zug are spectacular and add much to the character of the birds.
There is probably more that I should say, but I'm writing this a few months after reading and I have forgotten some of the little details.
January 3, 2024
Just like the year before, my class had an assigned text list for the summer and I dreaded having to go to the bookstore with my parents to retrieve them. I struggled to read as a kid, needing the help of a finger to underline the words as I sounded out each one in my head. The assigned readings only got tougher and tougher, and I was completely discouraged by my lack of skill. Because of this, I read books only when necessary.
On my search for the texts on my list I came across the spine of one book in particular that caught my eye, "Swordbird." Intrigued, I picked it off the shelf and turned it in my hand to see the cover. A blue jay and cardinal, a blade each clutched in their talons. These were backyard birds of mine caught in a serious battle and I needed to know why.
I sat down with the book and carefully read the back to myself. Before I knew it, I was reading the whole first chapter. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed the story even if I was taking it in at a snail's pace and snagged on words.
Then I flipped to the inside cover at the back. A young girl with a parakeet on her knee. I had a parakeet as well at the time and amongst my friends and family it was an uncommon pet. I saw a young Nancy Yi Fan and thought, "She wrote this book? A girl a little older than me was able to write this?" I knew it would be a disservice to myself if I didn't bring this book home. For the first time I was reading and enjoying it.
This is the book that encouraged me to try. Encouraged me to read for the sake of reading and feel joy as I did it.
On my search for the texts on my list I came across the spine of one book in particular that caught my eye, "Swordbird." Intrigued, I picked it off the shelf and turned it in my hand to see the cover. A blue jay and cardinal, a blade each clutched in their talons. These were backyard birds of mine caught in a serious battle and I needed to know why.
I sat down with the book and carefully read the back to myself. Before I knew it, I was reading the whole first chapter. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed the story even if I was taking it in at a snail's pace and snagged on words.
Then I flipped to the inside cover at the back. A young girl with a parakeet on her knee. I had a parakeet as well at the time and amongst my friends and family it was an uncommon pet. I saw a young Nancy Yi Fan and thought, "She wrote this book? A girl a little older than me was able to write this?" I knew it would be a disservice to myself if I didn't bring this book home. For the first time I was reading and enjoying it.
This is the book that encouraged me to try. Encouraged me to read for the sake of reading and feel joy as I did it.
February 24, 2012
This book, while neither fantastic or horrible, was still written by a twelve year old. Now, that is little excuse for its sub-par...everything, but that achievement in and of itself does deserve some credit. I've read and watched several interviews with Nancy, and I have to admit, she's adorable! I completely understand where she's coming from when she talks about the writing process for her, and I really admire how she picked up the English language so quickly after moving to the US from China. So for all of that, she deserves a round of applause!
Now for her book:
1. I never felt that there was a main character. Of course, there were at least twenty secondary characters, but never really main. It was just that there were so many characters, with so many different roles, that I think it would have been better to have had a few really fleshed out birds with a large sum of qualities versus a lot of characters with very little to them at all.
2. Character's names. I, for one, am one of those people that hate villains with very villain-y names. I mean, what mother names their child "Slime-Beak" unless she knows he's going to become a villain? And how is there a Slime-Beak anyway, when other birds are named Milton and Aska? It's very strange. Take the Warrior Cats series, by Erin Hunter, for example. Everyone is named something-paw or something-pelt or something-wing. There is no random character just named "Hannah" (with the exception to cats that are not from the clans). See how its off with Nancy's book now? Either give everyone the same kind of name, give the villains names that don't make them 100% evil from birth, or give us a decent reason as to why there is such a difference in names with everyone living in the same area.
3. The Villain. I think his name was...Tornat? That's probably spelled wrong, so my apologies, but that's not the point. The point is that he is a very stupid, pathetic, and useless villain. There's nothing to him at all that makes him evil. Sure, there's eating birds' eggs, looking evil, building an evil castle, and saying he's evil, but that's not really enough. Look at Eragon, by Christopher Paolini, for a moment. Eragon asks his dragon why his villain would do something so evil (I believe he was attacking his own people through a third party), to which his dragon replies, "because he is evil". What kind of reasoning is that? A villain will have a reason for being evil, not just because they are! And when they are a villain, at least make them formidable! Give him/her that extra little 'edge' so at least the main characters have to struggle a little bit to defeat him!
4. Bad researching. Nancy Yi Fan herself has said many times that she had to do a lot of research about birds before and during the time she was writing her book. If so, why do her birds sweat during battle? Why are the cardinals bigger than the blue jays? How can bird's claws hold swords without plummeting to the ground from the added weight? Little things like this were a real bother to look beyond, especially because they were so glaring.
5. Preachy. I like a good moral as much as the next person, but Nancy's were constantly being shoved down my throat. I think a more subtle approach to it would have been better, instead of everyone shouting "you can do it" "believe in yourself" "the power comes from within" every other line.
6. The bird's "lifestyle". Where did the books comes from? What are they made of? Who made them? How did these birds make bowls, and musical instruments, and hot air balloons? This was such a glaring hole in the story that it nearly drove me crazy. Its quite one thing to have them there, but quite another to stick them in without backing up how they came to be in the first place. They're birds for crying out loud! In Redwall, by Brian Jacques (R.I.P.), it makes sense. They lived in a human's world, and had mines and blacksmiths and stuff. Their stuff had a reason for being there. Nancy's stuff does not.
7. Mistakes. Or, at least, they seem like mistakes. There's one line, at the beginning of chapter three of four, when the evil birds are bringing a bunch of slave-birds to the evil castle. It notes, and I'm paraphrasing here, "There were thiry-three birds in all. The slave drivers pushed their slaves hard every day, regardless of the weather, and many soon became sick. By the end of the travel, only a mere thirty-one birds remained." See what I mean? Two birds were lost, and yet, from the text, it seems like almost everyone died. Then there were other instances like "and its not like anybirds can..." or "he did this and then this and he saw this and said that and then went there" etc. It just needed some good editing, and many of these things could have been done away with.
8. Nancy's writing style was very juvenile. And I know, she's 12 right? Well, 12 or not, you could tell it written by a 12 year old. The word choices were usually very, very simple, and there were a lot of run on sentences that either jumped around everywhere like crazy beans or became so choppy that everything. just. happened. like. this. If you look at Nancy's second novel, Sword Quest, a lot of these things are gone. As you can see, this comes from experience. Swordbird, being her first novel, really lacked that voice.
9. Exposition. Simply put, there was a lot, and it usually went down as, "everyone knows the story of Swordbird. Back in the good old days when..." Couldn't there have possibly been a better way to slide in this information without making it ridiculous?
I know, I know, it looks like I hated this book. At the nitty-gritty level, I did. But as a whole, this book was a solid three stars. It shows promise, had bits of excitement, and intrigued me enough to read the next book (which was considerably better). All in all, worth a read, but don't expect something amazing.
Now for her book:
1. I never felt that there was a main character. Of course, there were at least twenty secondary characters, but never really main. It was just that there were so many characters, with so many different roles, that I think it would have been better to have had a few really fleshed out birds with a large sum of qualities versus a lot of characters with very little to them at all.
2. Character's names. I, for one, am one of those people that hate villains with very villain-y names. I mean, what mother names their child "Slime-Beak" unless she knows he's going to become a villain? And how is there a Slime-Beak anyway, when other birds are named Milton and Aska? It's very strange. Take the Warrior Cats series, by Erin Hunter, for example. Everyone is named something-paw or something-pelt or something-wing. There is no random character just named "Hannah" (with the exception to cats that are not from the clans). See how its off with Nancy's book now? Either give everyone the same kind of name, give the villains names that don't make them 100% evil from birth, or give us a decent reason as to why there is such a difference in names with everyone living in the same area.
3. The Villain. I think his name was...Tornat? That's probably spelled wrong, so my apologies, but that's not the point. The point is that he is a very stupid, pathetic, and useless villain. There's nothing to him at all that makes him evil. Sure, there's eating birds' eggs, looking evil, building an evil castle, and saying he's evil, but that's not really enough. Look at Eragon, by Christopher Paolini, for a moment. Eragon asks his dragon why his villain would do something so evil (I believe he was attacking his own people through a third party), to which his dragon replies, "because he is evil". What kind of reasoning is that? A villain will have a reason for being evil, not just because they are! And when they are a villain, at least make them formidable! Give him/her that extra little 'edge' so at least the main characters have to struggle a little bit to defeat him!
4. Bad researching. Nancy Yi Fan herself has said many times that she had to do a lot of research about birds before and during the time she was writing her book. If so, why do her birds sweat during battle? Why are the cardinals bigger than the blue jays? How can bird's claws hold swords without plummeting to the ground from the added weight? Little things like this were a real bother to look beyond, especially because they were so glaring.
5. Preachy. I like a good moral as much as the next person, but Nancy's were constantly being shoved down my throat. I think a more subtle approach to it would have been better, instead of everyone shouting "you can do it" "believe in yourself" "the power comes from within" every other line.
6. The bird's "lifestyle". Where did the books comes from? What are they made of? Who made them? How did these birds make bowls, and musical instruments, and hot air balloons? This was such a glaring hole in the story that it nearly drove me crazy. Its quite one thing to have them there, but quite another to stick them in without backing up how they came to be in the first place. They're birds for crying out loud! In Redwall, by Brian Jacques (R.I.P.), it makes sense. They lived in a human's world, and had mines and blacksmiths and stuff. Their stuff had a reason for being there. Nancy's stuff does not.
7. Mistakes. Or, at least, they seem like mistakes. There's one line, at the beginning of chapter three of four, when the evil birds are bringing a bunch of slave-birds to the evil castle. It notes, and I'm paraphrasing here, "There were thiry-three birds in all. The slave drivers pushed their slaves hard every day, regardless of the weather, and many soon became sick. By the end of the travel, only a mere thirty-one birds remained." See what I mean? Two birds were lost, and yet, from the text, it seems like almost everyone died. Then there were other instances like "and its not like anybirds can..." or "he did this and then this and he saw this and said that and then went there" etc. It just needed some good editing, and many of these things could have been done away with.
8. Nancy's writing style was very juvenile. And I know, she's 12 right? Well, 12 or not, you could tell it written by a 12 year old. The word choices were usually very, very simple, and there were a lot of run on sentences that either jumped around everywhere like crazy beans or became so choppy that everything. just. happened. like. this. If you look at Nancy's second novel, Sword Quest, a lot of these things are gone. As you can see, this comes from experience. Swordbird, being her first novel, really lacked that voice.
9. Exposition. Simply put, there was a lot, and it usually went down as, "everyone knows the story of Swordbird. Back in the good old days when..." Couldn't there have possibly been a better way to slide in this information without making it ridiculous?
I know, I know, it looks like I hated this book. At the nitty-gritty level, I did. But as a whole, this book was a solid three stars. It shows promise, had bits of excitement, and intrigued me enough to read the next book (which was considerably better). All in all, worth a read, but don't expect something amazing.
May 6, 2020
This book is impressive if you consider it was written by a thirteen year old. It may not stack up to other books of this genre. However, I can imagine that with time and experience Nancy Yi Fan will become a welcome writer of fantasy novels. This is a book best read by upper elementary and middle school children. The story involves a group of blue jays and cardinals that were once friends who become enemies. They each believe that the other group is stealing from them. It turns out a mean hawk named Turnblatt is doing the dirty work along with his cronies. I really wanted to write "crow-nies" because they are crows. The birds have to discover this and figure out how to defeat Turnblatt. Recommended for children who like personified animals and fantasy.
September 9, 2017
This book is too much like the prequel: very predictable. The only reason I wanted to read it was I wanted to see what she did with the series since the prequel didn't end on a cliff hanger. Really it was basically the same story, but a with a lot of time between the two stories. It bored me and I didn't really want to read it, but I don't like leaving things unfinished, so I eventually made myself finish it. I wouldn't recommend this series at all unless you are eight years old to twelve. It would bore anyone else. Good read for a younger person though. It's a lot like the Warrior Cat series, but not as interesting.
October 30, 2019
Okay book for a young writer
I hate to be the type to demean someone by age. I believe anyone can write whatever they want.
So I'll let you all understand the sheer magnitude of someone this young writing their own book and going through the process of writing two more. That is incredible, no matter the age. Much older writers sometimes can't even get started on one page. Yes this book does hit almost every cliche mark but if it shows potential and opportunity.
Don't look at this as a juvenile book but as an example of extreme potential that anyone can write and get published today.
I hate to be the type to demean someone by age. I believe anyone can write whatever they want.
So I'll let you all understand the sheer magnitude of someone this young writing their own book and going through the process of writing two more. That is incredible, no matter the age. Much older writers sometimes can't even get started on one page. Yes this book does hit almost every cliche mark but if it shows potential and opportunity.
Don't look at this as a juvenile book but as an example of extreme potential that anyone can write and get published today.
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