Mirabella Crow Learns to Sing

A crow who wishes to sing, unwittingly violating the sacred laws of her kind. A twelve-year-old boy, crushed by life, his only escape - music.

Despite the prophecy beaked down from time immemorial that crows live solely to honor the Sacred Word, risking the gift of flight if they fail, Mirabella Crow dreams of learning to sing.

David Parker doesn't even dare dream. Fat, afraid of heights, bullied both at home and school, he lives for the ordinary magic of feeding crows and playing what he feels through the piano.

When Mirabella overhears David practicing after a brutal day at school, she is moved to investigate, in spite of stern warnings from the leader of her Clan that music is "Not the Crow Way."

Worlds cross as these two beings slowly understand, befriend, and teach one other. But will they learn what they need to survive before unseen forces set in motion by their friendship threaten everything they hold dear?

What readers are saying...

"This book is both heart-rending and uplifting. The pain of the boy's abuse at the hands of his parents and schoolmates is palpable. And so is the delight of the boy's bond with the crows. I love the author's creation of crow language, and the building of trust between crow and human. There are no wasted words in this book. It's a brilliant page-turner." - Azaima Anderson

"I love crows and was intrigued by the title of the book, so I decided to read it myself before giving it to my granddaughters who are 11 and 16. I think both would love it as much as I did, although I might wait to give it to the younger one. There are scenes of bullying, sexual harassment, and suicidal thoughts, but nothing too intense for a teen, or probably even a tween. You won't regret reading this page-turner even if you have no young people to give it to. It's a beautifully written book with excellent messages for everyone, but especially those who feel they don't fit in, who aren't good at math, who love music, or who've ever been bullied!" - DAC

"This young adult story of an outcast boy musician who befriends crows is a lovely and moving piece of work by a natural-born story teller. David is fat, his parents are cruel, he is bullied in school. The crows in turn have their own complex world and cast of characters, reminiscent of Raven's End. When human meets crows, they all find they have gifts to share with each other, including friendship. I look forward to more work from this promising and talented author." - Miep Rowan O'Brien

International Review: I very much enjoyed this book. Two outsiders, a bullied schoolboy, kindhearted and a crow, also different of her kind, meet and learn of each other. The author has an almost cinematographic usage of language, colours, smells, emotions, all so well evoked. I found myself brought back into my own childhood, the very narrow outer world, sometimes hostile, and the rich inner realm so full of fantasies.The plot is rousing, I've read it in almost one go as I used to read in younger years. Something reminded me of "Watership Down." I shall learn more about crows, and feed them with cheese and peanuts. - Florian Diaz Pesantes