Bird by Rita Murphy.
Title: Bird.
Author: Rita Murphy.
Genre: Fiction, YA, children's book, fantasy, mystery.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: January 1st, 2008.
Summary: Miranda has no recollection of where she came from-only that years ago, a gust of wind deposited her outside Bourne Manor. The Manor’s sole inhabitant, Wysteria Barrows, took Miranda in and promptly outfitted her with special boots-boots weighted with steel bars to keep her anchored to the ground. But aside from shelter and clothing, Miranda receives little warmth from the aging widow. The Manor, too, is a cold place, full of drafts and locked doors. Full of menace. Full of secrets. Then one day a boy named Farley appears. Farley helps Miranda embrace her destiny with the wind and uncover the Manor’s hidden past.
My rating: 8/10
♥ "Does the Mouse speak?" he inquired. Why he addressed me by this strange name and spoke to me in such a disrespectful manner, I could not comprehend.
I looked up at him and the rest of the boys. They were, of course, taller than I, bigger in every way, and I could see now that my nickname was familiar to them, though my face was not. They were most likely the sons of local fishermen who lived on the pier. I surmised that, like me, they were outcasts in their own way. They had been teased and struck and hardened. I could see it in their eyes. They felt it their right to tease and strike in return anyone smaller than them, as if size were in itself a reason for punishment.
♥ "The paper!" Farley said suddenly. "The captain made his own paper, did he not?"
"Yes. But paper is of no great value."
Farley picked up one of the paper kites and held it in the sunlight, studying it closely. He smiled, then laughed and began dancing around with the kite in his hands.
"Farley? What is it?"
"Your captain was not only an excellent maker of kites, but a genius as well. Though perhaps a little eccentric, indeed."
"Farley!"
"This paper has always seemed familiar to me and yet strange. It is not what it seems."
"It is just paper."
"It is paper money, miss. Paper bills. These kites are made of hundreds or thousands of bills, perhaps some of large denominations, reconstituted and refined to make this exquisite paper. Here. See for yourself." I held the kite close and Farley pointed out to me the particular grain, the distinctive fibers, the now unmistakably green hue and the texture."
"The fortune is in the kites!" I exclaimed.
"Yes. It was a noble act. He knew a fortune would only bring further suffering upon his wife and friend, for the captain was a true friend."
"Unlike Dr.Mead, who searches for something that does not exist."
"It is only of value to you. It has fallen into the hands of the one person who truly knows how to use it."