Blackbird Fly

Future rock star or friendless misfit? That’s no choice at all. In this acclaimed novel by Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly, twelve-year-old Apple grapples with being different; with friends and backstabbers; and with following her dreams.

Publishers Weekly called Blackbird Fly “a true triumph,” and the Los Angeles Times Book Review said, “Apple soars like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song.”

Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. She and her mother moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, and her mother still cooks Filipino foods and chastises Apple for becoming “too American.” When Apple’s friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself. It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show her how special she really is.

Erin Entrada Kelly deftly brings Apple’s conflicted emotions to the page in her debut novel about family, friendship, popularity, and going your own way. “A must-read for those kids cringing at their own identities.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

What happens when the music you love becomes your only way out?

• Filipino American Protagonist: Twelve-year-old Apple loves The Beatles and her mom’s Filipino cooking, but feels caught between two worlds in her small Louisiana town.
• Navigating Middle School Bullying: When a cruel list circulates at school and her once-best friends turn on her, Apple has to find the courage to face the taunts alone.
• A Love Letter to The Beatles: Inspired by her hero, George Harrison, Apple believes that learning to play the guitar is the one thing that can save her and help her find her place.
• Finding True Friendship: A heartfelt look at the pain of losing friends and the joy of finding new ones who see you for who you really are.

Twelve-year-old Apple Yengko believes that there are at least three interesting facts about every person on Earth. Unfortunately, her three IFs make her an outcast in Chapel Spring Middle School in Chapel Spring, Louisiana:

• She has slanted eyes
• She has a weird Filipino nickname
• . . . and a weird mother

When Apple is voted the third-ugliest girl in school, her life quickly falls apart. The boys bark at her in the halls and a rumor spreads that she eats dogs for dinner. Music is her only escape. All she needs is enough money to buy a guitar, and then she'll be able to change herself and her life forever. So what if her mother doesn't understand and thinks she's becoming too American? So what if her supposed best friends turn the other way . . .

It might be the Beatles and their music who save Apple, or Mr. Z (Chapel Spring Middle's awesome music teacher)—or it could be two unexpected friends who show her that standing out in a crowd is better than getting lost in it.​

“Will resonate with any student in middle school who has felt different and ostracized. The author has skillfully captured the various characters that populate Apple’s . . . school.” - School Library Journal (starred review)

“A smart, sensitive, and resilient heroine who is authentic and relatable in her strengths and imperfections. This poignant novel would make for a particularly fine readaloud; expect visceral reactions . . . This is a must-read for those kids cringing at their own identities.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“[A] delightful debut . . . What sets Kelly’s book apart is the combination of a quirky narrator and details about living in a first-generation Filipino American household. . . . Through her love of music . . . Apple starts to soar like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song.” - Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Writing with acute sensitivity and sometimes painful realism, debut novelist Kelly skillfully captures the betrayals, tentative first crushes, and fluctuating emotions of middle school ... a true triumph.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Each character in Kelly’s debut novel . . . is portrayed with remarkable authenticity. The awkwardness and intense feelings inherent to middle school are palpable. Children’s literature has been waiting for Apple Yengko—a strong, Asian-American girl whose ethnic identity simultaneously complicates and enriches her life.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Kelly skillfully weaves together the story of misfit Apple, her love of music, and a budding romance with a new boy at school, while never losing focus on the central issue of what it is like to be the ‘other.’” - Booklist