The Firebird Song
by Arnée FloresPublished by: Bloomsbury Children's Books on June 8, 2021
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Rating:
The Kingdom of Lyrica was once warm and thriving, kept safe by the Firebird, whose feather and song was a blessing of peace and prosperity. But the Firebird disappeared, and Lyrica is now terrorized by the evil Spectress who wields her powers from within a volcano. All that remains is a mysterious message scrawled on the castle wall in the Queen's own hand: Wind. Woman. Thief.
Young Prewitt has only known time without the Firebird, a life of constant cold, as his village is afraid to tempt the volcano monsters with even the feeblest fire. But he has heard whispers that the kingdom's princess survived the attack . . . and he is certain that if he can find her, together they can save Lyrica.
Princess Calliope has no memories beyond living on her barge on the underground lake. But as she nears her twelfth birthday, she is certain there is more to life than the walls of a cave. When Prewitt finds her, he realizes that she is the missing princess: the only hope for Lyrica. Determined to decipher the meaning of her mother's strange message and find the Firebird, Calliope and Prewitt set off on a quest that puts them in more danger than either of them ever anticipated.
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- A dark whimsical world poised on the edge of major change.
- Kids finding inner strength and saving the day.
- Generations of problems that need fixing.
- A heartbreaking story about growing up with certain expectations.
- Prophecies and songs that need fulfilling!
- Characters who have the fortitude to do the right thing, even if it’s dangerous.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books and TBR and Beyond Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished copy and may differ from the final product.
This book cover reminds me so much of all sorts of popular books these days, as well as books I loved myself as a kid. So obviously I was going to need to give this one a try, right?
The Firebird Song is the perfect mix of light and dark. It’s a magical world filled with strong females who refuse to be told they can’t do things, with a prophecy that isn’t quite as it seems and characters in desperate need of a little bit of hope.
Going in, I was a little surprised at how dark this was, but for good reason. I would maybe caution against younger middle grade readers who may not be able to handle the death and darkness, but it isn’t without reason. Underlying that is a beautiful story of hope and change and believing in the future.
The Firebird Song is written in the whimsical way that a dark fairy tale might be, with a lot of the same elements.
Readers will recognize tropes like the Chosen One (hint: it’s a girl, though, in this case) and a prophecy that spur the bad guys into action. The tropes themselves aren’t particularly unique, despite being tried and true tropes in middle grade. The delivery, though, makes all the difference.
The tropes used in this are recognizable and comfortable for middle mid-grade readers whose favorite books also use them, but they’re more of a scaffolding here to build the rest of the narrative off of. Flores questions whether prophecies are a given, how they are understood, and what makes a Chosen One.
Also, do people have to be good in order to be a hero in a prophecy? I enjoyed the way Flores subverted some of the tropes while still remaining true to them. I mean, tropes are popular for a reason, right? Sometimes it’s nice to go a tried and true approach with a sprinkle of spice for something new.
This book is definitely dark and touches on some big themes, so it may not be a good fit for younger middle grade readers. However, Flores tackles these with grace and tact.
I mean, the whole point is sort of how awful the world is. The Spectress is attempting to destroy hope, so of course it’s not really going to be a world filled with sunshine and roses, now is it? The darkness is needed to show that hope can grow even in the worst circumstances. That means there are some really big themes in this book, such as death, mistreatment of children, starvation, fear, kidnapping, and mention of killing baby girls. This is very much a hope-conquers-all plot line, which Flores does a fabulous job establishing, but that means the world is a little darker than some middle grade books!
Built into the narrative is a testament to the strength and worth of girls.
There’s an ongoing theme where Calliope is repeatedly told she’s “just a girl” until she eventually comes to believe it when things get hard. It’s meant as an excuse for why she shouldn’t or can’t do things, but over the course of the story, it becomes flipped. She isn’t just a girl. She’s a girl who’s managed to survive, despite the odds, despite the slaughter of baby girls born that year. So she isn’t just anything and should celebrate the fact that, despite everything, she’s a girl.
This isn’t necessary girl power, and it’s not at the detriment of boys. Flores weaves it into a cautious tale not to make assumptions about someone’s worth or capability. She ties it nicely into the idea that people are often more than they seem, which is another major theme of the book.
Her gaze was so intense that Calliope couldn’t bring herself to answer.
Ilsbeth nodded. “That’s right. The Spectress didn’t care, did she? No. So don’t you ever say that you’re just a girl again. If you truly think that, then you’ve already lost, and I’m wasting my time helping you.”
More than just girls in general, the book celebrates sisterhoods and girls supporting each other, even though the rest of the world has betrayed them.
I am such a fan of this in middle grade books! Too often, books seem to pit girls against each other for one reason or another. Which makes it all the more special when girls work together. These are girls who were sent away by parents in the hopes that they would survive the slaughter and be taken in. In this way, the story very much resembles Moses’ story of being sent down the river. These girls, however, have each other and have created their own little family, despite everything.
“Of course,” said Hazel and Ilsbeth together.
“What binds us if not blood?”
“The fight,” said Ilsbeth.
“Survival,” said Hazel.
“And loss, too?” asked Fi.
“Yes, loss most of all,” said Ilsbeth, mouth tight.
“Then the Princess must also be our sister, for she has lost, and fought, and survived just as we have—only she has done it all alone, with only this boy to help her.”
One of my favorite themes in this is children having to fix the mistakes of their ancestors. Because queens don’t rule in a vacuum, and the princess inherits more than just genes from her foremothers.
This is always a touchy subject, isn’t it? I’d hate for my mistakes to become my daughter’s mistakes, and yet … in a magical world where beings are old enough to have seen many generations of humans? That’s definitely the case. I loved this narrative, because it raised some really big questions about whether one human should be judged on others’ mistakes. From a human perspective, you’d like to say no, right? What if you’re an ancient being who has been betrayed and wronged by generations of humans, not just one of them, and still bears the pain from that? Can one human make a difference among all that? I absolutely loved all the questions this book raised! It really makes the reader think about some big issues.
“You are the daughter of generations of Firebird Queens who forgot whta mattered, who caused pain, and sorrow, and suffering. I have always championed humans, but how can I still after what they did to the Glade? After the Wild Woman opened our borders and taught her lesser spirits to trust, only to have that trust be so horribly broken? Humankind did what they always do; they forgot their promises. They destroyed nature that had grown for them. They conquered and pillaged instead of simply enjoying and honoring what the Wild Woman had given them. They broke her heart.”
About Arnée Flores
Arnée Flores spent her childhood shifting across rural Washington towns, lugging along boxes of books, and switching schools nine times before her family finally settled down on a wheat farm in the tiny town of Reardan, Washington.
Arnée identifies as Vietnamese American, but as a transracial adoptee raised by a Caucasian family in small-town America, she grew up feeling displaced.
It took a long while and a winding path for her to find herself. She spent a few nomadic years exploring, working odd jobs, and studying subjects from Piano Performance at Washington State University to Pre-Law and Political Science at Gonzaga before she finally understood that all she really wanted was to stay in one place and write the kinds of stories that had helped her feel safe during her chaotic childhood.
Today, she can be found collecting rocks,shells, and other curiosities on the beach near her Seattle apartment, all the while dreaming up wild and magical tales, her little white dog splashing along behind her through the tide pools.
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Confessions of a YA Reader – Review
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May 23rd
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