A really beautiful and touching coming-of-age story with a touch of magic. We follow a young boy named Owen from the day he is born. At first doctors believe he will die due to heart failure, but after his mother takes him home with her to grieve in peace, a hole with a bird inside appears in his chest. After this his mother goes on the run, afraid of what the medical field will do to her son if he is discovered.
Owen is raised in heavy isolation for the first ten years of his life in his mother‘s quest to keep him safe. There is only him, his mother and Gail, the bird in his chest. Gail desperately wants to go outside and begs Owen to allow her freedom. The childhood scenes were incredibly melancholic and I really enjoyed how this isolation was portrayed and that the love even though it was clearly present just wasn’t enough.
After a medical emergency causes Owen‘s secret to be discovered by an obsessed doctor, his mother hides him with her brother and for the first time in Owen‘s life he gets to experience a different world, one where he is allowed to form connections with others, coinciding with the start of his puberty and the many things that change during it.
This book shows the beauty of connection and of getting to share your deepest truths with those close to you, while also showing the danger that comes with being different. I spent a lot of time grieving for the time Owen had lost due to his isolation in childhood and from having to hide who he is to such an extent and yet fearing the repercussions that came from him becoming more visible. This was a really beautiful coming-of-age that explores growing up gay and features some hints towards potential future gender exploration. All in all it is an incredibly tender story and it made my heart ache and warmed me at the same time.
TW for medical abuse, child abuse, forced isolation, bullying, graphic violent assault, homophobia, sexual assault, drug use.