I love the premise of this book, but maybe it's too soon for me personally. I founded myself getting alternatively bored and anxious by many of the stories.

Sometimes it feels like we all moved on a little too fast from the lockdown era, and this book made me sit with thsoe emotions from that time period. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this early!

Stars: 5 for being the kind of book that is a mirror and a sliding glass door.

My Thoughts:
This middle grade mixed voices, mixed form collection is definitely a mirror and a sliding glass door dedicated to the young people who had to shoulder the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in New York, but really across the United States. In my own little bubble in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it was easy to be in my own bubble, but I was also watching my own students on Zoom disappearing behind shut cameras, closed doors, muted mics because they were also in charge of their younger siblings, etc.

Although my husband and I had jobs, and mine was doable online and at home, our own adult children were having to make money delivering door dash and monitoring their own children's education at home. We were lucky that no one in our family got sick and/or died because my adult children have asthma or immuno-compromised diseases like lupus. Still this piece, taking place in a large, overcrowded city like New York where some young adults have lost both of their parents is chilling and heart breaking. This artwork of a novel brought all the feelings of helplessness and isolation back. This historical fiction book (yes, they are middle grades, this is already historical for them) will remind readers to hold on tight to their friends, to their freedom to wander, as well as their freedom to gather together. The prose is lyrical and heart breaking.

Pair this with other multi voiced middle grade books like the multi author anthology On the Block: Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh, and/or Recognize: An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life edited by Wayde and Cheryl Wilson.

From the Publisher:

Grief, pain, hope, and love collide in this short story collection.

In New York City, teens, their families, and their communities feel the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst the fear and loss, these teens and the adults around them persevere with love and hope while living in difficult circumstances:

Malachi writes an Armageddon short story inspired by his pandemic reality.
Tariq helps their ailing grandmother survive during quarantine.
Zamira struggles with depression and loneliness after losing her parents.
Mohamed tries to help keep his community spirit alive.
A social worker reflects on the ways the foster system fails their children.
From award-winning author Mahogany L. Browne comes a poignant collection of interconnected prose, poems, and lists about the humanity and resilience of New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Publication Information:
Author: Mahogany L. Browne

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers (March 11, 2025)

Print length: 153 pages

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me say that this book expressed a lot of the sentiments that I remember having during the pandemic. That time was so hard for a lot of people. This story being told through the voices of different people in a community is so representitive of what people were feeling and experiencing during that time. It was not only rough but a time of deep sadness for a lot of people. With so much loss during that time not only to death, but the loss of jobs, stability and community also put strain on so many folks and this books speaks to that. Great read.

As a fan of Mahogany L. Browne and a high school librarian, I knew I had to read this. Excellent decision!

There are very few books that hit so hard as soon as you read the last lines you have to start back at the beginning. This is one of those books. I am definitely not the intended audience. The pandemic is a tough topic. Mahogany L. Browne delivers a variety of voices that ring true and resonate. I look forward to getting this into students’ hands.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe is a deeply emotional and tragic mixed form collection of prose depicting the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in New York City. Told through mixed voices, this read tells the story of an interconnected community struggling through the terrifying and grief-ridden time that was the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

The writing is tragically beautiful and the reader is immediately returned to the uncertainty of 2020, combined with the necessary resilience, hope, and love that kept people moving forward during this terrible time. This is really a story of community and perseverance, but is by no means a light-hearted read; indeed, the story is downright depressing for the vast majority. But as many tragic stories are, it’s also a very important and crucial read for generations going forward.

Thank you to Mahogany L. Browne, Random House, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. Browne is a deeply emotional, interconnected collection of stories, poems, and vignettes that takes readers through the lived experiences of New Yorkers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Through diverse characters—teens, their families, and their communities—we see resilience, loss, grief, and hope unfold in the shadow of the pandemic.

One of the most striking aspects of this book is how Browne weaves the voices of different characters together, each with their own unique perspective, yet all connected in some way. I loved how characters reappeared in different stories, allowing readers to track their journeys and relationships. The book is deeply grounded in truth, with footnotes that show Browne’s commitment to authenticity and real-life sources.

Reading these stories was a powerful reminder of how privilege shaped people's experiences during the pandemic. My own experience was vastly different, living in a suburban area with more stability and privilege, while the characters in the book faced job insecurity, isolation, and systemic inequities. Browne beautifully captures the complexities of their lives, making the reader reflect on how the pandemic affected different communities in distinct ways.

This is a heavy read, filled with raw emotion, but it’s also one that feels important—especially for anyone who remembers 2020, or even for younger readers who may only have hazy recollections of that time. The interconnected stories give this collection a unique sense of community, while highlighting the loneliness and isolation that so many felt during the pandemic.

While the first story, which introduces an Armageddon-like narrative, was jarring and hard to follow at first, it eventually makes sense in the context of the book’s broader themes. However, I do think it’s a strange choice to begin the book with it.

Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe is a time capsule, capturing the heartache, resilience, and hope that defined the pandemic for so many. It’s not an easy read, but it’s a necessary one. While it may not be the type of book that teens naturally pick up, it would be an excellent choice for discussion and reflection, especially for those who want to better understand how the pandemic shaped people’s lives, particularly those from marginalized communities.

When I picked up this book, I thought that maybe 2020 was far enough in the past for me to read about it with some distance. But Mahogany L. Browne's writing pulled me right in, and I found myself having to read it in chunks to really process it. 'A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe' is incredibly intimate, feeling almost like it's speaking directly to you.

Browne beautifully captures the voices of a wide range of characters, immersing the reader in each vignette. Between these vignettes we hear from the "chorus” of two teens who know these characters and are following the stories with us. The stories are woven together in a kaleidoscopic way, highlighting the connections within the community – which makes the isolation and loneliness even more poignant.

This book threw me right back into 2020, but it also showed how privilege drastically shaped people's experiences of the pandemic. The footnotes with sources throughout demonstrate Browne's commitment to authenticity. This book feels deeply grounded in truth. It's a heavy read, and I think it’s a important one for anyone who remembers 2020 and for even younger middle grades/YA readers who might have a hazy recollection of that time. I think it will stand the test of time as a powerful time capsule.

A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. Browne is a powerful and evocative poetry collection that captures the beauty and struggle of navigating life’s challenges. Browne’s lyrical prose speaks to resilience, identity, and the fight for justice, making this a thought-provoking and deeply emotional read. A stirring collection that resonates with readers on a profound level.

While I'm rating this title five stars, it was an incredibly tough read, and anyone with wounds still raw from the Covid-19 pandemic should take caution and care of themselves while engaging with this book. Told through the perspective of multiple teens in New York City, and incorporating prose, verse, and epistolary writing, A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe was a beautiful, short examination into the heavy emotions and trauma experienced by teens during the 2020 pandemic. The stories were poignant and gorgeous, and I had to put the book down at multiple points to try to keep from crying. Tears did fall, though. I absolutely believe this has the potential to be a classroom's assigned reading in a few years, and encourage both teens and educators to give this title a chance, even if it may re-open wounds not yet healed.

A Bird in the air means we can still breathe is a beautifully written narrative told in poetry, prose and dialogue. Taking place in the heart of New York during the early days of the COVID pandemic. The teens, their families, and their neighborhoods face many challenges during the pandemic, they find optimism, strength, unity and hope. Difficulty with school, broken hearts, blended families and addiction are some of the problems that these people faced during the pandemic. Highly recommend for all readers.

Wow, what an amazing and timely narrative centered around the COVID 19 pandemic and its effect on the people of a section of NY. This is told through poetry (with multiple voices and a chorus), prose, and dialogue, as in a play. I loved the way the Island girls talked to one another in their dialect and how Pops rhythmically spins a tale while preparing people's orders. Recurring characters are mentioned again, first loves and broken hearts and school difficulty are all dealt with as well as addiction, blended families and prison time. This was beautifully written, and took me back to the early days of the pandemic and the concern over vaccines, as well as isolation and contamination. I think this has been the best description of life during the pandemic that I've read so far. I highly recommend for all YA and adult readers.

In the heart of New York City, the pandemic has cast a heavy shadow over teens, their families, and their neighborhoods. Yet, amid the uncertainty and hardship, these young individuals and their loved ones push forward with resilience and optimism, finding strength in their connections as they face adversity. This is a nice read for fans of short prose, although it may be hard for most to connect with the plot and the characters.