Official Review: Little Bird by Seth Chambers

[Supergirl1]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Little Bird" by Seth Chambers.]
[rbc=4]id270691-125[/rbc]Shia Song can literally be anything she wants to be. If she wants to be a cat, she morphs into one. When her father wanted a boy, she changed into one. However, after a bitter altercation with her beloved father, she leaves home never to return. Shia makes her way into the polymorph safe zone of Chicago where she enters a government protection program. One of the program’s rules involves secrecy. She is not allowed to reveal what she truly is to anyone. But then she meets and falls in love with Alex, an art enthusiast. Will the government stand in the way of her heart? Will Shia ever find what she desires, freedom?

Little Bird is a fantasy novel about love, control, and a phenomenon called polymorphism. Polymorphs are not considered human, given their ability to change form, sometimes even changing into animals. While the idea of having beings that are able to literally change their looks and form is at the same time creepy and fascinating, this is one of the cool books where the alien is not the bad guy trying to snatch earth from humans. One of the best skilled polymorphs around, Shia would easily be everyone’s favorite non-human if she were to actually exist today.

Amongst other things, this story deals with patriarchy. In many parts of Asia and the rest of the world, males are favored and some parents would rather have male children to carry on the family name. China’s one child policy makes this issue an even more severe one, giving rise to selective abortion and a resulting imbalance in the male to female population ratio. Shia had to deal with this issue on a personal level. How? Read this book to find out! This part of the story touched me, and I think everyone who also believes in self-actualization will feel as strongly as I did.

This story is one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in a long time. It has it all; great flow, suspense, romance, riveting plot twists, and a very intriguing storyline. I have no dislikes with this one. The secondary characters are relatable and most of the time the heroine gives off a pleasant-alien-in-a-human-society vibe. The beginning chapters alternated between the present and the past, with the whole story coming together towards the end of the book. It also ends on a pleasantly surprising note.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It had a few errors I am willing to overlook because I believe a story like this deserves nothing less than full points. I recommend this story to enthusiasts of the fantasy and science-fiction genre. And yes, I would love to read more from this author.

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Little Bird
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