Twitch

The Twitchers #1

by M.G. Leonard

The internationally bestselling author of Beetle Boy writes a thrilling mystery adventure about friendship, bravery and the wonderful world of birds, starring a birdwatching detective called Twitch.
Can a birdwatcher outwit an escaped convict? Twitch has three pet chickens, four pigeons, swallows nesting in his bedroom and a passion for birdwatching. On the first day of the summer holidays, he arrives at his secret hide to find police everywhere: a convicted robber has broken out of prison and is hiding in Aves Wood. Can Twitch use his talents for birdwatching to hunt for the dangerous prisoner and find the missing loot?

Genres: Middle Grade, Mystery, Animals, Nature, Childrens, Audiobook, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

M. G. Leonard is a writer of books, poems and screenplays. She has a first-class honours degree in English literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from Kings College London. She works as a freelance Digital Media Producer for clients such as the National Theatre, and Harry Potter West End, and previously worked as a Senior Digital Producer at the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe. She spent her early career in the music industry running Setanta Records, an independent record label, and managing bands, most notably The Divine Comedy. After leaving the music industry, she trained as an actor, dabbling in directing and producing as well as performing, before deciding to write her stories down. Maya lives in Brighton with her husband and two sons.
You can visit her online at www.mgleonard.com. Follow her on Twitter @MGLnrd.

Reviews

[Stace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com

Twelve-year-old Corvus Featherstone or Twitch as he is known is a nature lover, especially birds. He has lots of birds including a pigeon family that he is trying to train the young to be homing pigeons.

Twitch enjoys spending time with his bird friends far more than human ones, which makes him an easy target for the school bullies. His favourite place to watch the birds is in Aves Woods but on the first day of the school holidays, the place is crawling with police.

A dangerous criminal, Robber Ryan, has escaped from a nearby prison and was last seen nearby the woods. The rumours grow that Ryan hid his five-million robbery money in the woods and he is looking to retrieve it.

The woods is a vast land and Twitch knows the area like no other. Can he help catch Ryan?

Twitch is a fun adventure middle-grade book featuring a wonderful young lad who has found his passion in life, birds. He loves looking after them, watching them and he wants to work with them when he is older. He has a good head on his shoulders, is caring, loyal, and helpful.

Twitch has a good relationship with the older people in his life including his mother, newsagent, neighbour, and newcomer to town Billie. He doesn’t have a good relationship with his peers though who just see him as this weird kid they can easily bully.

The plot is fast-paced, easy to read, and enjoyable. It is filled with exciting scenes and scenes that show how the power of nature can be uplifting and is also vitally important. It will hopefully make the reader understand birds more and enjoy them nearly as much as Twitch does.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is on my website www.bookread2day.wordpress.com
Twitter @bookread2day

Twitch is the most unusual story I have ever read. It has amazed me how the author M. G. Leonard came up with this fabulous idea for a story.

For Twitch he liked watching the birds and training his pigeons they were better than humans to him.

Twitch has enemies, he is picked on by boys because he keeps Pigeons, and chickens, he has others nesting in his garden. Also Twitch has a pair of blue tits in a nesting box with swallows that come back every year.

A man who is a stranger comes to Twitch’s rescue while some boys are dangling a worm trying to force it Twitch’s mouth. Twitch is pleased that the man who saved him is a birdwatcher like him.

You know time and time again how it’s drummed into you that you must never talk to strangers or accept sweets. This strange man takes Twitch to a sweet shop and buys Twitch some sweet and a newspaper for himself.

Can Twitch a birdwatcher outwit an escaped convict ?

When Twitch is alone back in Aves Wood alone he sees a lot of police are looking for an escaped criminal from a prison. Twitch uses his bird watching skills to help catch the man who escaped prison.

Be aware there is a special mega big twist, one that I for sure didn’t see coming towards the end. I loved every page of the story of Twitch and I could clearly hear his voice as a boy character, because M. G. Leonard has an incredible way with voices in children’s stories.

[Becs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beautiful cover, fantastic relationships with animals and the integrity of the main character are every bit deserving of five stars, but the writing really knocks it down with its stilted and dialogue heavy approach.

Twitch tells the story of a boy who rescues a pigeon from some nasty kids at school, resulting in a new found relationship and interest in birds. This allows the boy to utilise his new found friends to become a sort of detective, or at least a detective's assistant.

There is much to enjoy about this book, but it is incredibly difficult to look past the writing style. I would imagine this rests much more comfortably with a much younger middle grade audience, rather than similar books of its kind which lean closer to YA. Nevertheless, it still would sit perfectly within that audience (just not for me!), and we need to champion all authors who herald the need for care towards our furry, feathered and flippered friends and urge our children and young readers to champion the very same thing themselves.

Great message, brilliant characters but only an okay read.

ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

[Elif · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love M. G. Leonard, and this book made me love birds a lot more! If you are looking for a fun book that you can read in a sitting, try M. G. Leonard's middle-grade books. They are cute!
https://elifthereader.com/books/twitc...

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5* A unique, compassionate, fun and exciting mystery with a touching emphasis on the importance of protecting our wildlife and being kind to each other (and some fabulous bird facts!)

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books ever.
Twitch is bullied, lonely and a bird watcher.
He struggles to understand people.
I really love this book, the plot is unique, I also learnt alot of bird facts.

[Penguin · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAAAAAAH what an AMAZING book <3 As a bird nerd myself, I adored this book, and loved how it focused on something that a heroic, super-hero sort of protagonist would usually have to deal with, and then hand it right over to sweet little Twitch here, a Birder :D It's so unexpected, I guess - I honestly expected this book to be about a birdwatcher, trying to spot as many birds as he could or something, and then the whole escaped-criminal plot would be a side-thing that he would watch over, I guess? I'm not even sure what I had in mind, because this book delivered so much more! Also, the characters were amazing, AND THE PLOT TWIST.
I will never be able to read this book the same way again, because I did not see that coming at all. We all knew Ava and Tippy (I hope that's spelt right, because I listened to an audiobook and didn't read an e-book or read it in person. I really really want to own it IRL though!!!) were suspicious, and something was going on with Billy, but M. G. Leonard went "HELLO TIME TO BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF"

All in all:

Amazing book and Twitch was just so innocent and oiesfdni ewhsdn AND I love how his family also was super supportive and loved birds as well, instead of a family who thought he was weird - because most books with a social outcast as the main character would also have a weirded-out, rude/unsupportive family as a side plot as well, so I really like how M. G. Leonard actually had a family as bird-loving (well, less, actually, because how is anyone supposed to beat Twitch in the Birder departement!?) as he did!

Would 100% read again, and I'm sad nobody has really talked about this much!! I know it's relatively new, but still!

[Ellie (bookmadbarlow) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An older middle grade book following Twitch an avid bird watcher as he turns amateur detective to try to find the missing bank robber.
I enjoyed this one, but I must stress it was definitely an older middle grade read, twitch is about 11/12 and some of the scenes at the beginning of the book did make me feel uncomfortable to read, so could be distressing for younger readers.
Twitch is bullied, but stands up to bullies as they try to hurt a bird and so sets in motion a story of friendship, acceptance and danger as Twitch teams up with other school children to try to find the missing bank robber.
It took me a while to get into this one compared to the Adventures on trains series, maybe because there were no illustrations, but I did really enjoy it and the message that came through. I loved his relationship with Amita the elderly next door neighbour too.
It will be fun to see if there are any more written with Twitch as the main character.

[Lonneke Vandervorst]

Je wordt meegenomen in het verhaal vanuit het perspectief van Twitch. Vanaf het eerste hoofdstuk wordt je meegenomen in het verhaal en ben je benieuwd naar de waarom, hoe .... huh? Wordt je misschien een beetje boos en ben je vooral benieuwd naar hoe het verder gaat. De hoofdstukken zijn leuk, spannend en precies goed qua grootte. Ze zorgen ervoor dat je denkt ' nog één hoofdstukje' en voordat je het weet is het avond en heb je 't boek uit.

 

Vanaf 11 jaar.

[Inger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Onvoorspelbaar, spannend en gewoon gaaf!

[Suong Thach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duurde 100 pagina's voor ik er lekker in zat, maar vanaf dat moment was ik fan. Mooi boek!

[Mlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leuke serie ♥
Tussen de 3 en 4 sterren dit eerste deel, en helemaal 4 voor de vogelfeitjes die op een handige manier in de detective verwerkt zijn. Leuk gedaan en ga verder lezen!

[Len · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I was reading the adventures of Twitch and his pals escaping from, or in pursuit of, a violent bank robber I was reminded of happy weekend afternoons in my youth, crowded into the local cinema with a mob of similar thrill seekers watching the latest movie from the Children's Film Foundation. They were usually very similar: a group of children become suspicious of the activities of some adults, spy on them, foolishly refuse to go to the police, get captured then escape, and finally come up with some complex scheme to outwit the villains before handing them over to the adult world. Most of those stories had a theme running through them to hold the children together, perhaps cycling, or a hobby, or pony riding, and which also served to keep the audience occupied when the action dulled.

So to Twitch and his birdwatching. The story has all of the old components. The police are buzzing around the small town of Briddvale. There is talk of an escaped convict on the loose. Twitch encounters strangers he is not sure he can trust and he also has enemies at school. Thank heaven he has his birdwatching hide in Aves Wood and the pigeons he is training to become homers to take his mind off things.

Where this story sets a different course to the old adventure films is that it allows Twitch to grow from an obsessive hobbyist and loner into a boy who comes to understand the importance of winning friends and working with others to achieve results. The finale drifts back into the old style when the twitching gang plan to trap the villain and Twitch comes up with the notion of behaving like a murmuration of starlings to confuse the doomed victim. If there was one person in the story I felt sorry for it was young Jack. He starts as one of Twitch's enemies, an unsympathetic bully who might deserve what he gets, but as his reformation gathers pace he is the one who is regularly beaten up, slapped down, threatened and tied up by a variety of the bad guys. However, plucky chap that he is, he shrugs away his bruises, pitches in and comes good in the end.

It is an entertaining little romp with plenty of action and a continuous supply of bird facts to keep everyone enthralled, even when the thrills are subdued.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love loved this. I've developed a big love of birds and birdwatching in the past year - kicked off in part by reading Dara McAnulty's 'Diary of a Young Naturalist' and a couple other books and TV shows and the like. Watching the birds just getting on with life as normal, learning about them, listening to them and looking after them has been a total delight and I adored this book, celebrating the wonder of birds. I'm excited to think of the young people who might go on their own journey of falling in love with the bird world through this book. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twitch loves birds. In fact, he has pet chickens, pigeons and he’s made a hidey hole in the woods to watch birds from. However, this love of birdwatching only brings ridicule from other children at school and Twitch’s unpopularity has led to bullying. One day when Twitch goes to his spot in the woods, he finds them crawling with police as a dangerous prisoner has broken free. Twitch plays detective and tries to use his observant nature to find out what is going on before it’s too late.

I love the Adventures on Trains series written by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman, so I knew I had to immediately request Twitch when it arrived on NetGalley. Twitch is a fantastic story interspersing facts about birds, detectives and overcoming differences to find friendship. I don’t know much, if anything, about birds and I loved the little details spread throughout and I feel like I actually learned something (or at least enough to make me notice birds a little more).

Middle grade detective stories are generally really fun and this was no exception. I always like trying to pick up clues and work out what’s going on, but as per usual I didn’t figure much out until nearer to the end. Not everything is as it seems as I read this book and it was good to see lots of twists and turns with many unexpected realisations about characters and gut feelings coming true.

Twitch is instantly likeable as the reader feels for his plight with struggling to fit in at school as many children do. I loved to see that he wasn’t afraid to be proud of his passion, despite knowing that bird watching isn’t something that is traditionally ‘cool’. He’s truly compassionate and kind and his desire to see the best in people, even though in the past he’s been let down, makes Twitch a character that many readers will want to identify with. The supporting cast are equally likeable, but I won’t discuss them in order to avoid spoilers! The development of the friendship between Jack and Twitch shows a real feeling of acceptance despite their differences.

Twitch is a story which shows that it’s okay not to fit in with the crowd. Altogether, this was a fantastic detective story meets birdwatching guide and I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Walker Books for providing an e-book review copy.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twitch has been happy keeping to his own company: just him and his mum and the chickens. The other children in Year 7 seem to find him odd and too geeky to fit in; at least, that's what Twitch thinks. But there is other company that Twitch values as much as all the others; birds. With his hide in a local wood, his binoculars and a growing knowledge of the natural world, Twitch is happiest logging and viewing his feathered friends.

As the summer holidays begin though, a series of events occur to turn Twitch's world upside down. From bullies to a suspected murderer, Twitch must learn to navigate a dangerous new world in which he will have to learn to read people as well as he can read birds and in which his trust in others will be tested to the limit.

I have no idea how Leonard manages to juggle so much in one book. The complexity of friendships at the start of Secondary School, bullying and self-esteem in amongst a cracking little mystery that arrives in his home town. With an ending that just shows how good Leonard is at plot and character, Twitch was a little welcome hit of my reading year. I think Maya has this extraordinary gift of writing in the style of those excellent post-war writers whilst keeping the themes contemporary and relevant.

[Hanneke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Echt een boek voor vogelaars en dierenliefhebbers. Helaas kreeg het mij niet zo in z'n greep als de Keverjongenserie.

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an eARC from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

TWITCH was a simply charming book. A birdwatcher getting tangled up in an escaped convict case that isn't as simple as it first appears.

The mystery was a lot of fun. I wouldn't say the book comes under "mysteries and thrillers" as there are a lot of constituent parts in this book, so it's not the main focus. The clues and misdirection slowly stack up, building a great atmosphere of something not being right.

The main focus was the environmental. Birds are the centre of Twitch's life, with chickens and nesting birds to protect from a naughty cat, to rock doves (pigeons) he's training as messenger birds. The nature reserve on his doorstep was a lovely backdrop, and a great place to showcase Twitch's knowledge of birds. There's a wetland centre in London I've been to a fair few times and, if I'm honest, I was never much of a fan of sitting and watching the birds ("can we go to the playground yet?") but TWITCH manages to make birdwatching both engaging and beautiful.

As well as a strong environmental theme, the book also tackles bullying and friendship. Twitch starts off friendless and preferring his own company as he's picked on at school, and the book follows him as he meets people from school and others throughout the holidays.

I'm pretty sure it's just a standalone, but I'd love it if it were more books to come!

[Insert Name Here · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, clever, fast paced read about a young boy. Bullied in school for being small and quiet, Twitch takes comfort in the birds he watches and his friendly neighbour. His plans to spend the summer in blissful, birdwatching solitude are disrupted by the escape of the notorious killer and bank robber, Robber Ryan! (And by the bully who wants to kick his head in, but that's a minor point.) Can Twitch use the skills he's honed over years of bird watching to bring Robber Ryan to justice? (And save his head?)

This is so funny. I really enjoyed it. At the same time, it doesn't shy away from topics important to kids like bullying and ecology; it faces them head on and acknowledges them. There's a lot of knowledge in here as well, hidden away in the story ... I won't be surprised if kids want to find out about keeping chickens and growing allotments and bird watching after reading this!

I loved watching the rally at the end, and Twitch's murmuration plan was amazing. This could be a fantastic TV special. I'd love to watch it on screen! But reading it was amazing too, and I really enjoyed it, and I think kids will really enjoy.

A fantastic read.

[whatbooknext · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twitch loves birds. He has chickens called Eggbum and Fandango, pigeons Squeaker, Frazzle and Scabby and a pair of Swift nesting in his bedroom. Saving an injured bird from a group of boys makes him the target of this group of bullies, but he’s used to it. Jack is the leader, and ever since he’s moved to Twitch’s little town of Briddvale, he feels he has something to prove.

Now it’s the school holidays, Twitch is planning to train his pigeons to fly home, hang out in his hide (secret hut hidden in Aves Wood) to bird watch, and avoid Jack and his gang.

Aves Wood however is swarming with police, sure that an escaped bank robber dubbed Robber Ryan, is hiding there. Twitch’s birdwatching binoculars see lots of strangers. Two girls hiding in the bushes, one blond lady, and possibly even Robber Ryan himself!

There is also Billy, a man who comes to Twitch’s rescue, when he’s being bullied again. Twitch wants to like Billy, and he says he’s also in the wood for the birdwatching too, but Twitch isn’t so sure.

Over the holidays, he gets to meet the two girls and their Nan who all live on a house boat. They’re friendly and thankful when he returns something they’ve dropped in the wood, but they too seem to be hiding something.

Another conundrum is Jack. Despite the endless bullying, Twitch finds himself going to Jack’s rescue, and even becoming friends – at least he thinks he’s a friend.

For a summer holiday that was supposed to be simple, quiet and full of birdwatching, it turns out to be dangerous, full of rescues, and possible to finally putting all the confusing jigsaw pieces of the new people he has met, into place.

Standing up to bullies, making new friends and actually using his messenger pigeons for real are an added bonus.



Twitch is a modern, mystery, adventure story with an exciting plot that builds steadily to a crescendo of action full of birds, bats, a skateboard, a fishing road and a mobile phone! Sound crazy? It’s all part of a cunning plot Twitch has to throw together to save a new friend, put a family back together and prove a crime.

Twitch is an engaging character, living with his mum, looking after his birds and building the coolest huts that even a police-hunt overlook. He copes with bullies with a shrug, stands up to them when he’s able, and is disappointed and angry when a supposed friend lets him down.

The intrigue between these new people in Twitch’s town kept me reading – who is telling the truth? Who is a friend and who is the enemy?

One of my favourite middle grade reads of 2021 so far.

Author – M G Leonard

Age – 8+

[Justine Laismith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This middle-grade book is about a boy who adores birds.

Twitch loves his own little world with birds and has even constructed his own bird-watching hideout in the local forest. His hideout is so good that even the police did not find it when they combed the woods for an escaped convict. This unusual incident causes an annoying inconvenience to our protagonist as he cannot camp out on his own in his hideout as he had hoped. As the story progress, Twitch learns to make two-legged friends who do not have feathers.

This is perfectly pitched for middle-grade readers, especially those who love the outdoors. We gleam a lot of little bird facts in the story, and if you don't know much about birds, by the end of this book you'll know the difference between a blackbird, a crow and a raven.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eindelijk dit boek uitgelezen! Kwam er maar niet doorheen, de eerste helft vond ik 'dreech', Fries voor traag, lastig, moeilijk, zwaar 🫠 Gister dan tóch de tweede helft uitgelezen (op een plek waar ik geen telefoon of andere boeken had).

De tweede helft sprak me meer aan. Eindelijk kwam er actie en spanning in het verhaal en zag de toekomst voor Twitch er ook wat rooskleuriger uit.

Ik denk dat het boek herkenbaar kan zijn voor mensen/kinderen die zich anders voelen dan hun omgeving, klasgenootjes. Boek is ook leuk voor vogelspotters en natuurliefhebbers. Fun fact: 'twitcher' betekent volgelspotten. In het boek leer je ontzettend veel over vogels, hun geluiden en gebruiken en andere bosdieren.

Ondanks trage start toch benieuwd naar het vervolg!

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit verhaal over vogelliefhebber Twitch die gepest wordt op school en daarna in de zomervakantie een heel avontuur beleefd in de bossen nabij zijn huis. Meerdere puzzelstukken worden gegeven, zodat ik als lezer aan het einde 'ah, zo zit dat' kan zeggen. Mooi om te lezen dat Twitch gewoon zichzelf wil blijven.

In de klas zou ik dit boek gebruiken om kinderen meer te leren over vogels, over vriendschap en over verraad. Met dit boek zou ik op meerdere vlakken het gesprek aan kunnen gaan.

Lezers die houden van spannende boeken en avontuur en daarnaast meer over vogels willen leren, worden zeker blij van dit boek. Er zijn meer delen, deze kunnen afzonderlijk van elkaar gelezen worden.

NUR 283: 10 - 12 jaar

KoboPlusboek

[Tracy Hager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discussing this book with my 9-11 group tomorrow so opinion may be swayed. It's a wonderful book with a fist-pumping end. Twitch is a weirdo, an outcast, because he prefers birds to people and although he's sensitive and his feelings can be hurt he always stands up for what he believes in.
Leonard does a great job weaving a crime story with issues of bullying and trust and a myriad of info about birds! This book will be a 5 for many and lose others because for some (like me) the detail can detract from the flow. If you love birds you'll swiftly fly through it.

[Dreximgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a brilliant story about friendship and birdwatching with adventure and mystery thrown in. I adored the kids in this book, Twitch was a delight - I loved how strong he was and knowledgable about birds. I also like how he interacts with all the other characters.

A superb story which brought enjoyment with every page.

I was sent this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audio book of this, my 5 year old loved it! Team work, care of animals and nature observance, overcoming bullies with kindness, plus a bit of a crime mystery to keep it interesting. Keen to get up at 5 am and listen to the dawn chorus after hearing Twitch’s description.

[Katie & Alfie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books we've ever read! Most enjoyable. Fun, funny, FANTASTIC!

We enjoyed this book as a family. Great characters, unusual storyline and settings. We would recommend this book, it has something for everyone. We will definitely be exploring the other books in this series and by this author.

Marvellous!

[Ivka_s_knihou · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5*... Protože jako nejsem mladý ornitolog a tak mě všechny ty informace o druzích ptáků a jejich znacích fakt uspávaly. Ale když přišlo na akci, tak to bylo Kevin ze Sám doma.

[laaibahhh :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spannend verhaal over Twitch, een vogelspotter. Als blijkt dat er in het bos waar hij vogels spot een overvaller en moordenaar is, komen zijn talenten goed van pas.
Geschikt voor groep 6 t/m 8.