Review: Sparrow

ABL Review At-A-Glance

• Title:  Sparrow
• My Rating: 4.5
• Genre:  YA, Contemporary
• Author:  Mary Cecilia Jackson
• Format:  ARC*
• Publication Date: March 17, 2020

Synopsis

In the tradition of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, a devastating but hopeful YA debut about a ballerina who finds the courage to confront the abuse that haunts her past and threatens her future.

There are two kinds of people on the planet. Hunters and prey.

I thought I would be safe after my mother died. I thought I could stop searching for new places to hide. But you can’t escape what you are, what you’ve always been.

And I am still prey.

Though Savannah Rose―Sparrow to her friends and family―is a gifted ballerina, her real talent is keeping secrets. Schooled in silence by her long-dead mother, Sparrow has always believed that her lifelong creed―“I’m not the kind of girl who tells”―will make her just like everyone else: Normal. Happy. Safe. But in the aftermath of a brutal assault by her seemingly perfect boyfriend Tristan, Sparrow must finally find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past, or lose herself forever….

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My Thoughts…

I have to admit to initially falling in love with this cover. Besides giving off some serious Black Swan vibes, I am fascinated by ballet. Skill, athleticism, grace, determination, and strength all come together to form this beautiful dance that is both rigid and soft.

What I first thought was a typical YA about a troubled but beautiful girl turned into something way more intricate and beautiful. To say this is a coming of age story sells it completely short. This is a story of survival.

The most beautiful and engaging moments came when Mary Cecilia Jackson wrote about each characters emotions. In life, we often times disregard teenage feelings as overly dramatic caricatures of true adult feeling, but Sparrow serves as a sorrowful reminder that childhood emotion can be just as real, just as deep, and just as lasting.

It’s also a much needed reminder of the impact domestic abuse can have and the importance of taking mental health seriously. Domestic violence often has many victims beyond the person getting physically assaulted. The ripple effect of each blow, each insult, reverberates throughout someones life, touching everyone around them, and changing everyone’s lives forever.

Mary Cecilia Jackson chose to write in a beautiful style that I really appreciated, and let me explain why. The story is told from two different perspectives, but is not told truly chronologically. When we read from Sparrow’s POV, we see only parts of the story, but once the perspective shifts we get to see other events. In essence, instead of being an omnipotent reader, we experience the book as an onlooker would. We only see what’s available and sometimes find out too late the whole story.

If you’ve ever known someone in an abusive relationship or been in one yourself, many times even close friends and family didn’t know what was going on behind closed doors. By framing the book this way, Jackson gave us the ability to experience Sparrow’s story as each character did.

Needless to say, I loved the book. One of my fav YA books of the year for sure, but be prepared for some heavy emotions and violent imagery. Definite trigger warnings in this one.

Giveaway

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About the Author

Mary Cecilia Jackson has worked as a middle school teacher, an adjunct instructor of college freshmen, a technical writer and editor, a speechwriter, a museum docent, and a development officer for central Virginia’s PBS and NPR stations. Her first novel, Sparrow, was an honor recipient of the SCBWI Sue Alexander Award and a young-adult finalist in the Writers’ League of Texas manuscript contest. She lives with her architect husband, William, in Western North Carolina and Hawaii, where they have a farm and five ridiculously adorable goats.

*Special thanks to Mary Cecilia Jackson, FFBC, and TorTeen for a copy of Sparrow in exchange for an honest review.