The Language of Seabirds

Spending two weeks with his dad during the summer at Rosemont, Oregon wasn't how Jeremy thought his summer would be. Envisaging long lonely walks, reading and time alone, a chance meeting with confident and charming Evan changes the course of his summer. As the days pass and Evan and Jeremy spend more time together, going on runs, exploring beaches and coves, and making up their own language involving bird names, Jeremy starts to wonder if this could be more than just friendship? And when the tide turns quickly one evening, leaving them both stranded on a cliff ledge above the booming Pacific Ocean, Jeremy will find out the answer to his question.

What an amazing and beautiful novel, I really enjoyed losing myself in The Language of Seabirds. Author David Levithan said "This is the book your heart needs" and I cannot agree more! It’s a story above love, discovery and family. Will Taylor has captured the essence, the excitement, nervousness, butterflies and pining of first love between teenagers Jeremy and Evan. There relationship is so tenderly written and I felt their longing to simply be together, the awkwardness of Jeremy's first text to Evan and the pain of separation.

Basing the story in and around the coastal town of Rosemont for me added a certain charm even romance to the story. The descriptions of the coastal landscape are eloquent and sweeping, which allowed me to envisage it in my mind as if I were there. There are other themes in the story as Jeremy's dad is trying to come to terms with his recent separation and the need to work out a new relationship with his son, though this doesn't always seem turn out for the best; his behaviour starts to concern Jeremy. It was interesting to watch this father/son dynamic develop and readers may identify with the situation.

I was rather taken by the bird name code that Jeremy and Evan created (which did feel like such a teenager thing to do), adding a touching dynamic to the story and this was effectively used. For example, Cormorant means beautiful, Curlew means goodbye - there is a glossary of these in the book too! Perhaps my favourite section of this story was when Evan and Jeremy end up stranded on a ledge of a cliff after being caught out my a fast rising tide. It was such an intense moment, from the reason they got caught out by the tide, to their revelations to each other huddled together trying not to end up in the Pacific Ocean. The atmosphere was palpable, my heart pounded like Jeremy's, and I felt the tenderness of their hands touching. And then the tide turned.

I'll not go on any more about how brilliant and enjoyable this book is except to say I've not read a book that captures those moments of first love so accurately and beautifully. This is a book I could have done with as a teenager and I highly recommend it. While it's Curlew from me, I'll leave the last words to Evan's gran, Gloria, who tells the boys "Never heritage on love, my darlings".

256 pages / Reviewed by Stephen Leitch, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 11+