Murder most fowl? In this sardonic and campy YA thriller, an anxious, introverted nonbinary teen birder somehow finds themself investigating a murder with their neighbor/fellow anime lover, all while falling for a cute girl from their birding group...and trying not to get killed next.Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, likeFear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbors life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choicesuccumb to their long list of fears (including#3 Murderand#55 Breaking into a Dead Guys Apartment), or investigate what happened.Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Biancas crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13 Beautiful People,#11 Parents Discovering Theyre a Raging Lesbian), the trio uncover a conspiracy much largerand weirderthan imagined. And when the killer catches wind of the investigation, suddenly Biancas #1 fear of public speaking doesnt sound so bad compared to the threat of being silenced for good.In this absurdist, darkly comical YA thriller that is a deceptively deep exploration of anxiety and identity, perhaps the real murder investigation is the friends we make along the way.

 

 

This book is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed. This book was published in 2023 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company .