Nina is always felt like the odd one out; at school, with her family and with the Deaf girl who lives across the street. Given a chance to attend a summer wilderness camp run by her Aunt, Nina is ok with helping the adults set up camp, but when the campers her age arrive, Nina is ready to pack it in and head home. Socially awkward, Nina would rather spend time by herself watching birds than interacting with the rest of the campers. When she meets a group of three girls calling themselves "The Oddballs" it seems that Nina has finally found her circle of friends.

But friends isn't all that Nina has found that summer. By an abandoned Infirmary near the swamp, Nina discovers a bird that hasn't been seen in Texas for over a hundred years. And surprise! it has a mate and is nesting. Sharing her secret with her new friends, the group discovers the birds are endangered Whooping Cranes and calls a wildlife expert to share their discovery. The male bird is in the registry, but who is the female? She doesn't show up on any registry. The girls are up to the challenge and are determined to solve the mystery and identify the female before camp is over.

A wonderful tale of finding your place in life's "flock." Realizing your strengths and coming to accept who you are are lessons woven subtly into the story. The mystery of identifying the female Whooping Crane is an excellent tool to show how the group bonds together. And perhaps, just like the cranes bond for life, these campers will have found bonds of friendship that will last throughout their lives too.

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's, Delacorte Press through NetGalley.
Tears in my eyes as I finished this one. Kelly has a sensitive touch when sharing her characters with readers. We meet Nina as summer approaches and she is figuring out what she wants to do. She decides to spend the summer with her Aunt Audrey at the camp she runs. Nina struggles to fit in and make friends so looks forward to time in nature. Her interest in birds comes into play when she discovers whooping crane mates building a nest. This is extremely rare in Texas and she uses her skills to document their lives. She also becomes friends with three campers who make her feel welcome and offer acceptance of who she is.
I love seeing the four girls grow over the summer weeks. Readers see them share about themselves and live in community and acceptance. Nina is accepted for who she is and begins to figure out what she wants from life. I appreciate Kelly bringing Iris (Song for a Whale) in and to see the healing for Nina and she by the story's end.
Tender story of growing up and finding a place to belong.

I admire how the author conveys a great life lesson without being preachy. This is a wonderful middle grade novel about a girl who finds an "oddball" group of friends. The author does a great job of conveying what it feels like when you don't fit in, a feeling that should be relatable to many readers of all ages. I loved reading about Nina's interest in birds. I think the story will inspire readers to appreciate nature. The focus on the environment and friendships make this one a winner.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley; all opinions are 100% my own.

Lynne Kelly, like all great storytellers, has the gift to spin an engrossing story with realistic and engaging characters. Nina is a young girl with a loving family, who wants her to succeed. Unfortunately she is shy and doesn’t always stand out among her siblings and sometimes feels forgotten, with good reason. She developed a passion for bird watching and study that encourages her to go to her Aunt Audrey’s summer camp where she finally finds a group of friends, aptly named The Oddballs, who accept her for who she is and give her a great deal of much needed support. While investigating a local ghost story one night, she discovers something amazing: a nesting pair of highly endangered whooping cranes. Although the task of protecting them seems enormous she commits to it with her friends wholeheartedly to make sure tourists don’t find the birds and cause them to abandon their nest or worse. Over the summer this helps her build confidence in herself and repair and strengthen bonds with the girls that help her.

This cleverly woven rainbow of a tale illustrates how young people can make a huge difference, the importance of friendship in our developing years, and how differences can be strengths when give the opportunity to flourish. It perfectly meshes an ecological and educational teaching about large and highly vulnerable animals with that of a coming of age and self discovery and growth of a girl who is her own kind of miracle but needs help to realize it. Perfectly charming, heartwarming and fun. Great characters that are realistic but enjoyable.

I read this book out loud to my eleven-year-old daugher, and we were both wholly invested after the first page. Any book that starts with a Buc-ee's scene is a good one in my opinion. I introduced my daughter to Buc-ees (and Texas) last spring, and she loved being able to relate to the setting. Really, the book just kept getting better and better from there.

Nina is a middle child of a busy, big family. She feels forgotten (with good reason, because she did get left at Buc-ees), and senses a need for a change in her life. When her older sister explains to her the idea of zugunruhe, which is the German word for the way birds feel the need to migrate. Nina decides to give in to her own sense of zugunruhe (such a fun word and concept) and asks if she can spend the summer with her Aunt Audrey at a sleep-away camp in Bee Holler, Texas. At first she intends to stay only a few weeks, but soon she finds a reason to stay: the discovery of two endangered whooping cranes in a nearby marsh.

This book is an incredible coming-of-age story, with heart and excitement. The friendships and characters will make you want to settle in and stay at camp in Bee Holler along with Nina. Although I hadn't read the first of Lynne Kelly's books, Song For a Whale, my daughter had (and she highly recommended it, I just hadn't gotten around to reading it). Her love for Song For A Whale was what led me to this request book and I'm so grateful to have had the experience of reading this one along with her. When the main character of that book, Iris, made an appearance in The Secret Language of Birds, my daughter pulled the book off the shelf and reread it. These are the kinds of books I wish for her--ones that teach her something, make her think, and inspire her to be a better friend and human.

100% highly recommend!

Huge thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved Lynne Kelly’s book “Song for a Whale,” so I was excited to read her newest one! I really enjoyed reading from Nina’s perspective and how she navigating making friends.

Nina feels either invisible or so out of place that she wishes she was invisible. Her hobby of studying all things “bird” really sets her apart from others in her family and at school and she wonders if she’ll ever find a niche where she feels both comfortable and seen by those who understand and like her. Summer camp plans have always handled by her mom, but this year, with encouragement from her older sister, Nina asked to spend the summer with her Aunt Audrey, an outdoor enthusiast and camp owner/director, who is also seen as a bit different. Camp provides Nina with not only plenty of opportunities to enjoy nature but when she discovers a pair of nesting endangered whooping cranes who aren’t supposed to be in Texas, she discovers a sense of purpose and a group of girls who just might be that niche she’s been searching for. Readers from Texas will love all the references to places like Buc-ee’s and the best ice cream on the planet, Bluebell! Everyone will connect with Nina’s insecurities and hope for good friends. Great nature knowledge sprinkled liberally throughout a great story and fans of camera and phone tech will appreciate the inclusion of many tools used to identify individual cranes. Kelly’s descriptions of the marsh area and the nesting cranes are detailed and give ample material for ELA teachers. Excellent choice for grades 4-6. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and violence. Physical descriptions are limited as are any cultural references so race of characters is left to the imagination of the reader.

This is the story of a family which begins with a somewhat unfortunate event, but overall this is a story of their daughter Nina and her Aunt, and the Camp which her Aunt owns, and the summer that she decides to go to spend her summer at the camp. A summer that changes everything for her, and changes her, as well.

Nina is a bit of a loner, although she has tried to make friends at school, she seems to feel as though she doesn’t really fit in anywhere. She loves nature, especially birds. Her first few days and nights, she begins to get to know some of the girls at camp, but she still doesn’t feel comfortable with them - yet. A few of the older girls make fun of her for her knowledge of birds and label her with a new nickname - Wikipedia. After a while, a few of the girls she’s been getting to know convince her to go with them, a tradition that has been passed down, to go to ‘Josephine’s infirmary’ on the first full moon.

Once there, they check around the building, getting ready to add their names to the wall, when Nina’s flashlight landed on something tall and white outside, and Nina reacts by dropping the flashlight, which has all the girls gasping in reaction. When Nina picks up her flashlight pointing it in the same direction, whatever it was, it was still standing there, and a sharp screech pierced the night.

This is aimed at Middle School readers, but is an enjoyable read for all ages, and while I am not giving any clues as to what follows, the twist it takes is a sweet one, and it begins to give Nina an idea to follow, and so she does, and in many ways, it changes the way she views others, as well as herself.


Pub Date: 09 April 2024

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Children’s, Delacorte Press

A beautiful cover that goes perfectly with a beautiful novel.

Nina always feels like she is forgotten (sometimes literary) or ignored in her big family. The parents are busy juggling the younger twins, an older daughter who is getting ready to go to college soon and has an interest in boys, and a son who sounds like a fun troublemaker. Still, her mom is a helicopter mom.

In this family, Nina is very muted and barely dares to talk about her passion for birds with others. She is attracted to nature and birds and finds them easier to relate to and understand than people. It's a realistic story, she just has a large empathy with birds.

She takes the opportunity to help Aunt Audrey in her camp welcoming campers during the summer. This will bring a lot of growth to Nina as a person but also give her confidence.

Nina discovered birds that haven't been seen in a while around that area and she wants to help protect them and keep their nest safe. She doesn't do this alone, first, she finds new friends who are as odd as her (in their opinion). Nina understands that to make friendships is not just the others who are mistakes towards us and is willing to improve herself as well.

They laugh together, they positively challenge each other, and are brave. Nina is loyal to them and nature. They reach out to a proper service that will include them in protecting the birds, and their circle extends to other new friends. A community connected to the love of birding and protecting nature.

It's very educational when it comes to birds, birds facts, terms such as Zugunruhe and its meaning, and journaling versus using an app for classifying in location. But the author also shows the relevance of technology that can be useful in keeping track of the birds for the birds' safety and collecting data.

We learn about Florence Merriam who wrote the first birding guide.

I recommend this book to all educators and librarians. A great book to have around.

Thank you, publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc.

Read in a day! Lynne Kelly has such a way with words! Loved Song for a Whale and The Secret Language of Birds is now my new favorite! Can’t wait to share this with my middle grade readers. They’ll love Nina and her Oddball friends- love their believable, page turning adventures mixed with wholesome growing up lessons. And birds! Just a great, great read.

Such a beautiful and relatable story for anyone who has ever had trouble fitting in with their peers. Nina’s excitement about birds was contagious, and I think it will have many readers taking extra notice of the birds around them. The friendships made at camp were fun, and I love the work Nina put in to repair a relationship to begin a new friendship back home too. Great for fans of other animal/environmental stories like “Song for a Whale”, “Odder,” or “Hoot.” I will definitely be recommending this book to animal fans at my library.

Thank You NetGalley and Random House Children's for the e-ARC of The Secret Language of Birds. I loved this storyline and also loved that it connected with her previous book Song for a Whale in that it brought in Iris. A tale of "zugunruhe" and learning what it means when our brains decide we need to go. Nina learns this word from her sister Sage and it is this that sends her to camp with her Aunt Audrey. Moving past fear and awkwardness she finds her "flock" in the Oddballs. After a trip to the haunted infirmary leads to the discovery of whooping cranes (whooping cranes haven't been in this part of Texas for over 100 years). The Oddballs join forces to keep an eye on them and figure out who the female crane is (with the help of Iris). Nina learns more than just the usual camp activities, she learns what it means to be okay who you are and that she is stronger than she might have ever thought. She also learns what it means to be a friend and the impact we have on one another.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this long awaited second book by Lynne Kelly.

I loved Song for a Whale so much that I knew this one didn't really stand a chance of matching up. I wasn't as in love with it as I was SFAW, but I did really enjoy it. It's a sweet story of friendship and of a girl who finds herself at summer camp. It also has a great cautionary tale about social media woven in.