-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Wendelin Van Draanen
In her most incisive and insightful book yet, Wendelin Van Draanen, award-winning author of The Running Dream and Flipped, offers a remarkable portrait of a girl who has hit rock bottom, but begins a climb back to herself at a wilderness survival camp in the desert.
3:47 a.m. That's when they come for Wren Clemmens. She's hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who've gone so far off the rails, their parents don't know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right.
The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can't put up a tent. And bitter won't start a fire. Wren's going to have to admit she needs help if she's going to survive.
"Featuring evocative descriptions of landscape and psychological insight into a troubled teen, Van Draanen's story is engrossing and inspiring. " - Publishers Weekly
"A hopeful novel that demonstrates that people can change. Give to readers who enjoy survivalist tales." - School Library Journal
"A memorable book about family, friendship, forgiveness, and second chances." - Kirkus Reviews
"I read Wild Bird in one long mesmerized gulp. Wren will break your heart—and then mend it." - Nancy Werlin, National Book Award finalist for The Rules of Survival
"An exhilarating story of survival and second chances." - Dana Reinhardt, author of Tell Us Something True
"Wild Bird grabbed me by the wrist on page one—it's riveting." - Jenny Hubbard, author of And We Stay, a Printz Honor Book
This information about Wild Bird was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Wendelin Van Draanen is the author of many beloved and award-winning books. For middle graders, she's written The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones, Swear to Howdy, and the Sammy Keyes mystery series. For teens and tweens, there's Flipped, The Running Dream, Confessions of a Serial Kisser, and Runaway. And for younger readers, check out the Shredderman quartet and the Gecko and Sticky series. Wendelin Van Draanen lives in central California with her husband and two sons. Find her on the Web at WendelinVanDraanen.com
If you liked Wild Bird, try these:
by Quiara Alegría. Hudes
Published 2025
The story of a runaway mother's ten days of freedom—and the pain, desire, longing, and wonder we find on the messy road to enlightenment—from Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes.
by Shelley Read
Published 2023
Set amid Colorado's wild beauty, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss, family and survival—and hope.
by Susan Mihalic
Published 2021
A darkly gripping debut novel about a teenage girl's fierce struggle to reclaim her life from her abusive father.
We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
