4 out of 4 stars
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Freedom Is For The Birds by JM Sutherland plunges you right into the mindset of a mated pair of red-tailed hawks, K'Lar and D'Ree, who are heading for their nesting site. Upon their arrival at Chaparral Valley, they are devastated to see that humans have ruined the beautiful place in their memories. A pair of hawks can do nothing to restore the nesting site to its original state.
I realized immediately that I was not prepared for this. I was only on the first chapter and I was already attached to these characters. I was so relieved when K'Lar found a solution to their nesting site problem. The story then unfolded like a well-written drama series as Kmal and Kmin were added to the hawk family tree. At some point, I started imagining the story as an animated series, in the same style as Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. That's how detailed this story is.
The book does an excellent job of raising awareness about animal life and how humans endanger them. Some parts definitely call for suspension of disbelief, like when the elder red-tailed hawk called T'Nal poses for a picture when the human farmer Ernie asks for it. The story has its moments of humor too. Case in point, Kmin and Kmal once forgot to lock their talons before sleeping for the night. They ended up falling to the ground, much to the annoyance of their parents. I couldn't help but giggle. There are other light-hearted moments like these sprinkled in the book that serve as welcome breathers from the heavy drama.
Throughout the story, I got exposed to the closest thing to religion that the animals believed in: Mother Nature. Time and time again, the characters run into hardships, both big and small. It's cool how they believe wholeheartedly that Mother Nature will give them a way to overcome these hardships. It's even cooler how Mother Nature rewards that belief. She never lets them down.
I think this was professionally edited. If there were any typographical errors, I was too absorbed in the story to notice. I can't think of anything I disliked about this book. I cried. I laughed. I got tense and worried. I got invested in these characters, and I loved them all, even the dragonfly.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It would be incredible if this gets turned into an animated series. That way, I can show it to my nieces and nephews, who unfortunately haven't inherited my love for reading.
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Freedom Is For The Birds
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