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Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite
That Birds Would Sing is a novel of recollected adolescence by Joanna Franklin Bell. After reading a shocking obituary in her local newspaper, the once-mousy and watchful April Jones dissects her freshman year of high school, unpicking the pieces to make sense of the harrowing and sometimes alarming events that take place during a high-schooler’s formative years. Touching on subjects like sex, drugs, alcohol, assault crimes and discrimination, April’s story spotlights the varying personalities all around her and unveils some very important life lessons, many of which don’t really sink in until long after the high school drama period is put to rest.
Joanna Franklin Bell writes with literary style, using the older version of April to hark back and tell a more sophisticated and philosophical tale of the rigours of young adulthood. The prose is extremely accomplished, balancing nicely between the naïve teen persona of the freshman April and the mature, reflective personality she develops after the tumult that she undergoes. That Birds Would Sing is a wholly complex novel filled with character and style, and though it may be a little too overwhelming for the age group it is written about, adult readers are sure to relate to its coming of age theme. It may even prove eye-opening to those who have been out of the education system for a long while. Overall, I’d recommend this novel to those looking for sophisticated literary fiction which deals with angst and persecution, with a particular focus on characters and their motivations.
