The Thing With Feathers by McCall Hoyle

• Series: Blink
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Blink (September 5, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310758513
• ISBN-13: 978-0310758518

About the Book:

Emilie Day believes in playing it safe: she’s homeschooled, her best friend is her seizure dog, and she’s probably the only girl on the Outer Banks of North Carolina who can’t swim.

Then Emilie’s mom enrolls her in public school, and Emilie goes from studying at home in her pj’s to halls full of strangers. To make matters worse, Emilie is paired with starting point guard Chatham York for a major research project on Emily Dickinson. She should be ecstatic when Chatham shows interest, but she has a problem. She hasn’t told anyone about her epilepsy.

Emilie lives in fear her recently adjusted meds will fail and she’ll seize at school. Eventually, the worst happens, and she must decide whether to withdraw to safety or follow a dead poet’s advice and “dwell in possibility.”

From Golden Heart award-winning author McCall Hoyle comes The Thing with Feathers, a story of overcoming fears, forging new friendships, and finding a first love, perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven, Robyn Schneider, and Sharon M. Draper.

My Thoughts:

I don't like to do this normally, but when you've just finished one of the most gorgeous YA books of the year, it's impossible to remain silent until release day!  "The Thing With Feathers" by McCall Hoyle is a "can't miss book", and I so adore Emilie.

Being a teenager is painful without being different from everyone else.  Of course, as an adult, you realize we're all different in some way or another.  So I had no problem understanding why Emilie didn't want anyone to know her secret--that she had epilepsy.

For once in her life, she just wanted to be normal.  And at great risk to herself and her friends, Emilie was able to keep her secret far longer than I'd expected.  Fortunately, she learned--as every teen should learn--that we all have something we wish we could change about ourselves.  It's just easier for some of us to hide that one thing.

"The Thing With Feathers" most definitely gets my "Oh, The Feels!" vote of approval.  Seriously, this might be one of the best YA novels to hit the shelves this year!  I'm a lifelong fan of McCall Hoyle, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

My thanks to my friends at Zondervan Publishing for my advance copy via NetGalley with no services or obligations in return.  "The Thing With Feathers" releases September 2017, so get your pre-order in now. Oh, one last thought: when you discover the meaning of the title, prepare to swoon with literary delight! Until I finish the next book...

Mark Your Place,

Deena