The Star Side of Bird Hill
by Naomi Jackson
Release Date: 6/30/15
About the Book
Summer, 1989: Sixteen-year-old Dionne Braithwaite and her younger sister Phaedra have just arrived in Bird Hill in Barbados. Sent from Brooklyn by their mother after she can no longer care from them, the sisters move into the home of their grandmother, Hyacinth, who has “Why worry?” in blue script above the front steps. Together, in Naomi Jackson’s lyrical debut novel THE STAR SIDE OF BIRD HILL (Penguin Press; on sale June 30, 2015), these three characters form an unforgettable matriarchal family buoyed by love and community and tested by heartbreak and betrayal.
Dionne, “sixteen going on a bitter, if beautiful, forty-five” and exasperated with her new setting, spends the summer in search of love, defying her grandmother’s rules, and wanting to return to Brooklyn. Ten-year-old Phaedra, who observes far more than anyone realizes, adjusts more readily and explores Bird Hill, where the family has lived for generations. And Hyacinth, a woman more than capable of standing upright in the face of the most difficult things, cares for them with equal parts patience and tough love.
Phaedra accompanies Hyacinth on her jobs as a midwife and practitioner of the local spiritual practice of obeah and learns about the life her grandmother has built—and survived—over the decades. Though far away in Brooklyn, the girls’ mother remains a vivid presence on the island, and slowly Dionne and Phaedra uncover stories of her spirited, complicated life there and why she left, vowing to never return. Jackson’s tautly paced coming-of-age story builds to a crisis when the father they barely know comes to Bird Hill to reclaim his daughters, and both Phaedra and Dionne must choose between the Brooklyn they once knew and loved, or the Barbados of their family.
Jackson was born and raised in Brooklyn by West Indian parents and is the recipient of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop’s Maytag Fellowship for Excellence in Fiction. Growing up, she spent her summers in Barbados and Antigua, and her real-life experiences there imbue Bird Hill with a vibrancy that is completely transporting. Jackson’s love for her characters, too, radiates off the page, as she explores issues of family, adolescence, mental illness, sexual awakening, and straddling cultures. Dionne, Phaedra, and Hyacinth will stay in your heart and mind long after turning the final page.
To learn more about this book and see our review, go HERE.
About the Author
NAOMI JACKSON was born and raised in Brooklyn by West Indian parents. She studied fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was awarded the Maytag Fellowship for Excellence in Fiction to complete her first novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill. Jackson traveled to South Africa on a Fulbright scholarship, where she received an MA in creative writing from the University of Cape Town. Jackson is a graduate of Williams College, and her work has appeared in literary journals and magazines in the United States and abroad.
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Giveaway Details
5 winners will receive a copy of the finished book. US only.
Entering is simple, just fill out the entry form below. Winners will be announced on this site and in our monthly newsletter (sign up now!) within 30 days after the giveaway ends.
During each giveaway, we ask entrants a question pertaining to the book. Here is the question they’ll be answering in the comments below for extra entries: What do you think of the cover & synopsis?
i saw the front of this book and that alone made me want to read it! Looks AWESOME
Original eye-catching art.
interesting cover
The cover’s original and eye-catching, it remains me of abstract art. The synopsis sounds very interesting, a coming of age story with a very interesting plot which also explores a culture I’d love to learn more about. Can’t wait to read this!
This sounds like am interesting book to read. The cover looks different-which makes it eye catching. Good description on the synopis.
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