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The loneliness of growing up

Birdie

Laure Van den Broeck

Fifteen-year-old Birdie is an introverted teenager. She still struggles with the death of her father, who was murdered five years ago in prison, and feels like she can’t talk to anyone about her sadness. Her mother, Felicity, seems to care more about her appearance than her daughter, and Birdie hasn’t got many friends at school apart from Cassius. But he’s head over heels in love with her, so he isn’t always completely impartial. And so, Birdie holds back her tears and hides behind a veil of her hair.

The fact she writes like this shows literary self-confidence and ambition, the way she does it shows mature authorship.
NRC Handelsblad

It takes a funeral and a night on a stormy island with a disastrous ending to free Birdie from the web in which she is about to get stuck, and then she makes a new beginning...

Written from the perspective of adults as well as teenagers, ‘Birdie’ is a crossover novel that will appeal to both demographics. Van den Broeck creates incredibly believable characters with elaborate characterisation and fluid streams of thought. ‘Birdie’ is a gripping story about growing up and loneliness.

Her rich vocabulary and thoughtful wording leave a lasting impression.
Trouw