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Summary
Summary
In her sixteen years of life, Starbird has never touched a dollar bill. She's never been in a car. She's never used a cell phone.
That's because Starbird has always lived on the Free Family Farm, a commune in the woods of Washington State.
But all that is about to change. When Starbird gets her Calling to be a waitress at the Free Family's restaurant in Seattle, she decides to leave behind the only home she's ever known.
Nothing could have prepared Starbird for the World Outside, or for what it would teach her about the Family-and herself.
From the author of The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door comes this hilarious and poignant story about finding your true calling in life.
Praise for The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door
'Hilarious, exciting, and as painful as anybody's teenage years. Read it, please.' Sherman Alexie, winner of the National Book Award, Young People's Literature, for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
'Celia Door is a heroine to laugh with, cry with, and cheer for.' Gayle Forman, bestselling author of If I Stay
'Celia is a quirky and unique character whose ourney - through friendship and secrets and chocolate - will stay with readers long after they close the book.' Ruta Sepetys, bestselling author of Between Shades of Gray
Author Notes
Karen Finneyfrock is a poet, novelist, and teaching artist. She is a writer-in-residence at Richard Hugo House in Seattle, Washington, and teaches for Seattle Arts and Lectures' Writers-in-the-Schools program. In 2010, Karen traveled to Nepal as a Cultural Envoy through the US Department of State to perform and teach poetry and in 2011, she did a reading tour in Germany sponsored by the US Embassy. She has published two books of poetry and one young adult novel, The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Sixteen-year-old Starbird has grown up on a farm commune, living among the Free Family, a peaceful, free-loving community whose absentee founder, a man named EARTH, "translates" messages from the Cosmic Imagination for his devoted flock. Each member receives a "Calling," and although Starbird doesn't initially think much of hers-waiting tables at the Free Family Cafe in Seattle-after a perceived romantic betrayal, she leaves behind everything she's known for the Outside World. Many unfamiliar experiences await her, including attending public high school, handling money, and finding romance with an "Outsider," even as complicated questions arise about EARTH and the Free Family, challenging its future and testing Starbird's faith. Finneyfrock's (The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door) background as a poet is evident, and she makes Starbird's perceptions come alive, whether it's the smells and sounds of the farm or the high school morning rush ("I felt like part of a strange school of fish, all darting into the massive building and down the halls in flashes of dazzling color"). Readers will feel like they're experiencing every step of Starbird's eye-opening journey firsthand. Ages 12-up. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
My breath caught in my throat. Io didn't believe in the Translations?" When Starbird leaves the Free Family Farm commune to work at the cult's cafe, she begins to uncover details about the life she shares with her Family that some members would rather remained hidden. An unwitting catalyst, Starbird's voice remains strong as her worldview begins to change. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Growing up in a farm commune, Starbird sleeps in a yurt, is an expert chicken keeper, has never touched money or other evils of the Outside World, and is certain of three things: EARTH, the leader of the Free Family, will return one day; she is a true believer awaiting her Calling; and she is in love with Indus Stone. Despite jealous feelings running counter to the Family's belief in free love, seeing Indus with another girl affirms her decision to accept a Calling as a waitress at a Family restaurant in Seattle. Starbird's math skills prove useful in the office, where she uncovers financial problems that are just the tip of the Family's iceberg. Starbird struggles to integrate what she knows in her heart with what she learns, and she finally comes to a place of peace in spite of the Family's growing tumult. While it might be easy for an author to lionize Starbird and display her great awakening while roundly scolding the Family as an exploitative cult, Finneyfrock takes a far more nuanced approach. The language manages to be simultaneously quiet and passionate, and the numerous characters all shine through with full backstories, creating a unique and fully immersive reading experience.--Booth, Heather Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Starbird grew up within the confines of her Family. To her, normalcy is not knowing who her father is, working for the greater good of those on the Free Family Farm, and waiting for elder and translator EARTH to make his way back from his mission. Starbird is a true believer, not like some of the other members of the Family who have drifted since EARTH's departure. She despairs about her own brother's disappearance, but finds comfort in the rituals of Family life: farming, communal cooking, story night, and her developing feelings for fellow family member Indus Stone. But when Starbird finds herself seemingly scorned by Indus, and she has an opportunity to work Outside in the Free Family Cafe, she leaves the Farm for the first time. After moving into a communal home in Seattle, Starbird registers for public school and begins her job at the cafe. She quickly realizes that life in the Free Family was not everything she thought it was. Just when Starbird is ready to ask some tough questions, charismatic EARTH comes back into the picture. This well-paced, character-rich story boasts a sense of foreboding that will be palpable even for those readers without much knowledge on American cultism. Finneyfrock deftly uses Starbird's new life in high school to weave in the history of American cults and communal living to place Starbird's story within a larger context. Readers from all walks of life will likely identify with this story's overarching themes of questioning faith and authority and the building of family.-Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
One teen's intriguing search for identity amid life in a religious cult.While others have found their Calling, 16-year-old Starbird Murphy has been content tending to the chickens on the Free Family Farm commune she calls home in rural Washington state. Free love, shared possessions, unusual names and dubious genealogy are all she's ever known. When she's needed to waitress at the Free Family Caf in Seattle, everyone except Starbird assumes it's her Calling. But when EARTH, their charismatic founder and leader, fails to return from his mission and she finds Indus, who recently resolved to love only one person, kissing another girl, Starbird doesn't hesitate to head to the big city. With a lesser author at the helm, this story would be marred by stereotypes. But as Starbird learns to navigate asphalt, high school, computers, talking to Outsiders and even handling money for the first time, she meets a range of individuals with varying degrees of faith. When the teen discovers odd deposits while helping sort through the cafe's mismanaged accounts and calls on Outsider Ben (also with religious issues) for help, there's no doubt that she will question her own faith (and romance). In the hands of poet Finneyfrock, Starbird gradually and realistically finds her inner voice emerging from a controlled mind.Both Starbird and readers will expand their worlds. (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
