A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe

Gr 9 Up–Browne’s newest title follows interwoven threads of folks living in New York City from the lockdown through the availability of vaccines in a mixture of prose, poetry, and short stories. The plot mainly follows six youths and their families: Hyacinth, a Caribbean American 15-year-old living in foster care; Malachi and his family missing their father who is incarcerated; Tariq, a nonbinary teen who is caring for their grandmother amid her memory loss; Zamira, who lost both parents and is in the care of her sister; Pops, who is from Yemen and works at a bodega; and Emerelda, who is queer and recently graduated. The collection of voices presents the experience of poverty during the pandemic and how young people helped their families survive while living with depression and anxiety with limited support from the overtaxed social services. The topics include reflections on loss of community and connection as well as concerns about climate change. Browne includes footnotes to authenticate statistics associated with lives lost and treatment of those who were incarcerated during the pandemic.