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WORK TITLE: THE LANGUAGE OF SEABIRDS
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WEBSITE: https://www.willtaylorbooks.com/
CITY: Seattle
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COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
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PERIODICALS
Booklist vol. 114 no. 12 Feb. 15, 2018, Donna Scanlon, “Maggie and Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort.”. p. 79.
School Library Journal vol. 63 no. 10 Oct., 2017. Phillipe, Kefira. , “Taylor, Will. Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort.”.
Publishers Weekly vol. 269 no. 49 Nov. 23, 2022, , “The Language of Seabirds.”. p. 56.
Kirkus Reviews May 15, 2022, , “Taylor, Will: THE LANGUAGE OF SEABIRDS.”. p. NA.
Will Taylor
USA flag
Will Taylor is a reader, writer, honey bee enthusiast, and former trapeze flailer. He lives in the heart of downtown Seattle surrounded by all the seagulls and nearly all the books.
Genres: Children's Fiction
Series
Maggie & Abby
1. Maggie & Abby's Neverending Pillow Fort (2018)
2. Maggie & Abby and the Shipwreck Treehouse (2019)
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Novels
Catch That Dog! (2022)
The Language of Seabirds (2022)
Will Taylor (he/they) is a reader, writer, and honeybee fan. He lives in the heart of downtown Seattle surrounded by all the seagulls and not quite too many teacups. When not writing he can be found searching for the perfect bakery, talking to trees in parks, and completely losing his cool when he meets longhaired dachshunds. His books include Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort; Maggie & Abby and the Shipwreck Treehouse; Slimed; Catch That Dog!; and The Language of Seabirds. (Photo credit Joshua Huston)
An old photo showing Will Taylor at age ten sitting inside a 7 foot by 7 foot pillow fort made of pillows, blankets, chairs, and tables. There is a lamp glowing inside the fort. There are houseplants placed on either side of the fort entrance. Tone is awkward and hopefully adorable.
Age ten, in the pillow fort that inspired my first series and launched my career.
EXTRAS
One of my life goals is to someday write a book as entertaining, effective, and satisfying as the Duck Tales theme song.
I’ve carried an old-timey antique key on my keychain since I was ten. I have no memory how I got it and no clue what it opens, but it’s traveled from Death Valley to Iceland with me and I never leave it behind. I’m convinced that someday, probably in the unlikeliest of places, I’ll find a waiting door.
I was in 4-H as a kid. We showed cats and chickens at the state fair. If you have never seen a 4-H costume cat show, you are missing out.
I got my college degree in sacred architecture (church and temple design). Someone once thought I said secret architecture, which would be so much fun–“I have designed a building. No, you may not see it”–but probably wouldn’t be super practical.
If I weren’t a kids’ book author, I would want to be a garden designer. I love plants and trees and gardens.
I did static trapeze for most of my twenties. I only got good enough to do local amateur performances, but somewhere out there is a video of me doing a merman routine to Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid in a blond wig and shiny green leggings.
FAQ
I’m sorry, what was your name again?
This is for reals my most frequently asked question. I have the hardest time saying my own first name, probably due to ten years of playing the French Horn and “tah-ing” all my Ls. Nine times out of ten baristas and deli clerks have to ask me to repeat myself, and then I get flustered and it comes out even worse and they end up raising their eyebrows and writing Wolth or Gill or Willon on my cup. Lately I’ve just picked a nice crunchy, spitable name like Zach or Patrick or Beatrice and called it good.
Why the bees?
I have a fair number of bee tattoos. I got them because to me bees are pure, ancient, lightning-grade magic. Right up there with books and stories.
Are you open to interviews or school visits?
Yes! I love talking about books and writing and pillow forts. Please see AUTHOR VISITS for school visit information, and CONTACT to reach out about interviews. (Professional matters, such as blurb requests, should be directed to my literary agent, Brent Taylor, also through the contact tab.)
In CATCH THAT DOG Joanie has one “sharp” eye and one “soft” eye. Your author’s note says you have the same thing. What’s it look like?
I do! The condition is called refractive amblyopia, and basically means my left eye never got all the way connected to my brain, so it can’t focus. Sometimes people with amblyopia can retrain their eyes, but mine is the kind where not even glasses or surgery can make a difference.
Here’s a pretty good idea of what the world looks like to me (and Joanie):
There are occasional downsides to refractive amblyopia, but I’ve never seen things any other way so for me it’s just normal. And there are secret benefits! I put my favorite ones right there on the page in CATCH THAT DOG.
A photograph of a beach. The sky is blue, there is a band of bright green seaweed, and a foreground of gray and brown driftwood. The right half of the image is crisp and sharp. The left half has been edited so it is extremely blurry and individual elements are hard to pick out.
Are you working on any new books?
Always! I’m usually working on at least two middle grade books, and I submit a couple picture books a year to publishers. (None have been accepted yet; picture books are hard.) I’m also trying my hand at YA these days. And I have whole notebooks of ideas waiting in the wings. Hopefully I’ll keep putting out new stories and adventures for a good long while! It’s my favorite thing to do!
Will Taylor is a reader, writer, bee fan, and former trapeze flailer. Maggie & Abby's Neverending Pillow Fort is his debut novel and is followed by Maggie & Abby and the Shipwreck Treehouse. He lives in the heart of downtown Seattle surrounded by all the seagulls and nearly all the books. When not writing, he can be found selling caramels for a local chocolate company or completely losing his cool when he meets longhaired dachshunds. You can visit him online at www.willtaylorbooks.com.
Q&A With Will Taylor, The Language of Seabirds
July 19, 2022 by JoAnn Yao
By Paola M.
Today we’re pleased to welcome Will Taylor to the WNDB blog to discuss middle grade novel The Language of Seabirds, out July 19, 2022! We previously revealed the cover for this book here.
Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It’s the first summer after his parents’ divorce, and he hasn’t exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn’t have a choice, though, so he goes… and on his first day takes a walk on the beach and finds himself intrigued by a boy his age running by. Eventually, he and Runner Boy (Evan) meet—and what starts out as friendship blooms into something neither boy is expecting… and also something both boys have been secretly hoping for.
the language of seabirds cover
For WNDB, you wrote “I was twelve when I first experienced romantic feelings for another boy, feelings that were instantly eclipsed by the terror that I would be caught and found out.” What was rewarding about writing Jeremy’s and Evan’s story?
My goal with Seabirds was to go back to that exact moment and explore what might have happened if I’d taken another path. I realized I was gay when I was twelve but didn’t tell anyone or act on it until I was twenty-three. There’s no right or wrong way to decide when or if to come out, of course, but as I grew into a queer adult, I often wondered how my life might have looked if twelve-year-old me had been in a position to choose differently.
It was certainly emotional to watch Jeremy doing what I didn’t, taking risks and pushing his own boundaries, following his heart and accepting that it was just going to be scary at first. Early on in the writing process I realized he was braver than me, so it was his story not mine, but it was incredibly rewarding to get to experience an alternate version of my own history through him.
You captured all the worried and vulnerable moments of early crushes and big feelings so well. What was it like to be back in that 12 year old mind, in Jeremy’s head?
Aw, thanks so much! I definitely enjoyed it, since I got to go into those dreamy, sweet, chest-filling feels again and revel in them this time around. I was an extravagantly romantic kid once: My favorite movies were Strictly Ballroom and Much Ado About Nothing, I never missed the call-in dedication show Lights Out on our local soft rock radio station, and I memorized a handful of Shakespeare’s sonnets just to have them on hand.
So it was bittersweet remembering how much I used to love the idea of love before I found a reason to be scared of it. I like to think I did a bit of reclaiming along the way, though.
Writing the book also gave me a reason to put together a super heart-achy early-90s playlist for inspiration, and now those songs remind me of the time I spent working on Seabirds as much as my childhood, so that’s another win.
What were some of the challenges that came with writing Jeremy’s complicated relationship with his dad?
I think the hardest part was keeping Jeremy’s understanding of his father front and center, not mine. I’m about the same age as his father would be, and I found myself relating to him, or at least empathizing with his position, more than a pre-teen likely would. My editor had to ask me to pull back in several places, separating myself from the grownup perspective. That was a challenge for sure.
It was also difficult to write some of the conflict scenes between them since I never wanted to put Jeremy though hard times. Of course I knew I had to; it was just that unstable parenting can feel such a specific kind of horrible (to write as well as read). But that was my story, and I knew Jeremy would end up happier than he was at the start, and the only way out was through.
The relationship between Jeremy and his dad is definitely the B-plot of this book, and I hope I gave it enough life and room on the page to feel real without encroaching on the giddy romance at the heart of the story. It was a tricky balance to attempt.
The Language of Seabirds author pull quote
Jeremy’s and Evan’s secret language is what connects them to the wider world. What do you think is the importance of queer people finding those code languages?
Coding is a way to build and create your own fold of reality, or to join one if you’re learning an existing system. It can offer a powerful way to stay safe, as well as a way to celebrate who you are amid a larger, fundamentally different social culture. My dad is British, and I grew up listening to an old BBC radio show that featured two comic gay characters who spoke in Polari, a code-language with an intricate past that became popular in queer British subcultures prior to the decriminalization of homosexuality. Even before I was old enough to know about myself, it made total sense to me that queer people would have literally queer words to express themselves. Code languages offer protection, community, celebration, defiance, and art.
If your 12 year-old self could see you now, what would he say?
Oof. I think he’d say “good job”? I hope so. It’s hard because he had so many romantic dreams, and after realizing I was gay I spent almost twelve years actively suppressing and fighting down those feelings. I got really good at it. Even though I stopped over a decade ago, those brain pathways and emotional habits are still taking a long time to heal over and rebuild. A lot of the work of my adult life so far has been trying to retrain myself to experience romance and attraction as good things, not threats. (I’ve talked about this with many queer friends from my generation, and almost every single one has related. We all learned some form of emotional self-harm as a tradeoff for safety, and we’re all trying to undo that work now.)
On the plus side, twelve-year-old me would think it’s great that I’m a professional children’s author. That would make him super happy. Pretty sure he’d also like my tattoos ☺
Do you have any advice for young, queer, and/or questioning kid readers?
This question breaks my heart given the hate being directed at those kids and the grownups trying to support them right now. This isn’t advice per se, but please know that there are so many people like you out there, and that we are so, so proud of you. Everything you are feeling is important, and precious, and we are working hard to try and make the world better so you can grow into the art and joy and happiness that are your birthright.
To borrow the last line from my own acknowledgements page: You are the seabird on the wind, kids. You are the dream and the reason.
******
Will Taylor headshot
Credit: Joshua Huston
Will Taylor is a reader, writer, and honeybee fan. He lives in the heart of downtown Seattle surrounded by all the seagulls and not quite too many teacups. When not writing he can be found searching for the perfect bakery, talking to trees in parks, and completely losing his cool when he meets longhaired dachshunds. His books include Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort; Maggie & Abby and the Shipwreck Treehouse; Slimed; Catch That Dog!; and The Language of Seabirds.
JULY 15, 2022 BY MICHELE KIRICHANSKAYA
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR WILL TAYLOR
Will Taylor (he/they) is a reader, writer, and honeybee fan. He lives in the heart of downtown Seattle surrounded by all the seagulls and not quite too many teacups. When not writing he can be found searching for the perfect bakery, talking to trees in parks, and completely losing his cool when he meets longhaired dachshunds. His books include Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort; Maggie & Abby and the Shipwreck Treehouse; and Slimed (as Liam Gray). Catch That Dog! and The Language of Seabirds coming 2022.
I had the opportunity to interview Will, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi hi! Feeling star-struck to get to be here! I’m Will (or Liam sometimes when I feel like living the other half of my name). I am gay, biromantic, gray ace, and enby, or, as a teacher friend once dubbed me, multidisciplinary queer. I’m a dual US/UK citizen, though I’ve lived around Seattle my whole life and don’t get to visit my family over there nearly enough.
I write mostly Middle Grade, but I’ve got several picture books doing the editor rounds and am piecing together a super gay murder-mystery-musical-romcom which I’m crossing all my fingers will turn into my first YA. (Let me tell you I am daunted, but if it comes together it’ll be so fun.)
How would you describe your upcoming book, The Language of Seabirds? Where did the inspiration for the story come from and where did you come up with the beautiful title?
The Language of Seabirds is the book of my heart, and also a real departure for me. My first four books are all silly, bouncy romps full of pillow forts and ghost mooses and evil slime and dogs who think they’re people. Seabirds is a contemporary romance about the first big feelings of love, and how the time and place where they arise (in this case summer on the Oregon coast) gets woven into our hearts. My own first big feelings happened in fifth grade and were immediately drowned out by shame and the fear that someone would be able to tell I liked a boy. I wanted Seabirds to be a book where the good feelings win, and where a kid who’s not super certain of anything yet gets to just feel and celebrate and be.
And hey, thanks for the kind words about the title! It came to me as I was lying on the couch eating mac and cheese and watching cooking shows on Netflix. (My natural habitat.) A Danish chef was saying something about “the alphabet of Nordic cuisine,” and all in a flash I saw a boy watching another boy running along a beach in my mind, with birds wheeling and crying overhead. The title showed up in the same moment, just there suddenly, and as I got into writing the book I discovered that the language of seabirds is actually a code the two boys come up with, a way to say what neither of them is quite ready to say out loud yet in the big noisy world. I feel like I can’t take any credit for the title; it definitely felt like a gift!
How did you get into writing, and what drew you to Middle Grade fiction specifically?
I was that kid who preferred the library to the playground, so the love of books and stories was always there. I started writing in seventh grade when a fabulous English teacher liked a poem I wrote and encouraged me to keep going, and I was lucky enough to get more fabulous English teachers in high school who pushed me to work hard at it and grow. I stepped away from writing for a decade or so after college as I bounced around trying to find my place in the world, but when nothing else seemed to fit I came back to it, found I still loved it, and got to work.
As for Middle Grade, oof, that’s a big answer. I guess at a core level my heart is still eleven years old, and the sheer magic and wonder I remember books giving me access to at that age has never gone away.
The field of LGBTQ+ Middle-Grade literature is slowly, but steadily growing. What are your thoughts on the medium as it stands, and can you name any titles that stand out to you?
I cannot express how excited I am to see this field finally expanding! I wrote Seabirds because it was the exact book I needed as a kid. Not to sound all own-horn-tooty, but speaking as someone who didn’t feel safe enough to come out until after college, I guarantee my life would have been different if I’d had access to this book in fifth grade. With every LGBTQ+ Middle Grade book added to the shelves another kid in our community gets a mirror to see themselves and feel good about who they are and who they’re on their way to becoming.
I’ll save my book recommendations for the question at the end, but I have to shout out absolute legend Kacen Callender here, who has 100% led the way with LGBTQ+ Middle Grade. Their work is extraordinary, and I’ll remember the first time I read Hurricane Child for the rest of my life.
How would you describe your writing process? What are some of your favorite things about writing?
Once my agent has approved one of the endless ideas I send him (*blows kisses to Brent Taylor at Triada US*) I usually spend a few weeks getting all the themes and arcs and characters in place. I’m definitely a plotter; I write best knowing where I’m going and trusting that I’ve already done the heavy lifting to make sure it will all work. After that I tend to set up a checklist system so I have a certain doable amount to get done every day, which builds into a positive sense of momentum—another thing that’s essential to me doing my best. Writing’s hard enough without feeling like I’m behind all the time!
I should say it’s taken several books to figure out how I like to write, and I’m sure it will change along with me in the future.
Favorite things about writing: I love the way scenes and pages stack together and accumulate. Putting words into a blank space is such an act of faith, and it’s always magical to see the threads you’ve laid down start to weave together, to see the characters learn and change, and to be able to channel your own emotions into something other people can experience.
Were there any stories or authors that inspired or touched you growing up?
Oh, so many. I think the ones that really stand out in my brain are the ones about strange, overlooked kids being summoned by mysterious forces to worlds where they are powerful and needed. (Strong resonances for LGBTQ+ kids in that archetype for sure!) Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising was huge for me, as was A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. So You Want to Be a Wizard, by Diane Duane; Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson; A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond; the Redwall series by Brian Jacques; everything by Rosemary Sutcliff, especially The Eagle of the Ninth and The Shining Company… so, so many.
Besides being a writer, what are some things you would like others to know about you?
Ha ha, oh nooo, this is like filling out a dating profile! I’m sorry but I’m honestly so boring! I spend the vast majority of my time reading kidlit, writing kidlit, comparing movies and TV shows to kidlit, talking about kidlit, or hanging out with kidlit friends. I like to bake, is that cool? I have a degree in sacred architecture… I’m blind in one eye… I collect teacups…
I guess it might be worth sharing that if I weren’t a writer I’d want to be a garden designer, and that I did static trapeze for a good chunk of my twenties. Somewhere there’s a video of me doing a solo performance as a merman to Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid in a blond wig and teal lycra. I’m sure it will resurface at some completely embarrassing time.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
Ooo, okay: What one person alive today would you want to have lunch with if you could?
With absolutely zero hesitation, Kate Bush. I was introduced to her music at a very young age by my British family, and it’s irreversibly woven into my creative DNA and imagination. I don’t know of any other artist who describes so perfectly the world I’m always writing toward. If I could write a book that had one-tenth of the intimacy and grandeur of her songs I would be happy forever. It was Kate Bush who taught me that it’s possible to be both deeply romantic and fiercely independent, and I’d give a lot to eat tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with her.
What advice might you have to give to other aspiring writers?
Read! Read as much as you can, and as widely. The more you read the more your imagination has to work with. You’ll know what you like and don’t like, what works in story and what doesn’t, and what kinds of people and experiences you’re genuinely interested in exploring.
The second half of that, of course, is write! Write as much as you can. Above all, finish projects, even if they stay as rough drafts. Give yourself first-hand knowledge of what it feels like to go from a blank page to the words The End. Build those pathways in your brain, reinforcing that this is what you love and want to do, and with every piece or project you complete it will be that little bit easier to embark on the next one.
Are there other projects you are working on and at liberty to discuss?
Well, there’s that ridiculous YA idea I mentioned before, but at the moment I’m on the third draft of what I hope will be my next Middle Grade: a 12th-century historical escape adventure full of castles and frozen rivers and swords and stolen jewels.
I’ve also got another Scholastic book coming out the month before Seabirds, a silly, heart-achy, overlooked-girl-and-her-doggo-best-friend story called Catch That Dog! It’s based on the real-life dognapping scandal of Masterpiece, the toy poodle who helped set off the poodle craze of the 1950s. There’s no sweeping summer romance in this one, but there are a whole heap of feelings, well-earned comeuppance for nasty grownups, and hopefully plenty of laughs. Think Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie crossed with Christopher Guest’s movie Best in Show, all set in fabulous small-town New Jersey. I’m really proud of this book, actually. Preorders welcome! Comes out April 5!
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
Okay, seriously, I could do another three pages of answers here, so I’ll try to limit myself to my absolute top faves. Everything by Kacen Callender, obviously, also Alex Gino and Adib Khorram. I loved This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron, The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer, Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow, Thanks a Lot Universe by Chad Lucas, Between Perfect & Real by Ray Stoeve, Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff, You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson, Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian, The Remarkable Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake, Alan Cole is Not a Coward by Eric Bell, The Insiders by Mark Oshiro, Runebinder by Alex Kahler, Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, Camp by L.C. Rosen, and argh I’m going to have to make myself stop!
Oh! One big resource I want to recommend is LGBTQreads.com, run by the fabulous Dahlia Adler who also makes sure LGBTQ+ books get plenty of love on Buzzfeed. She’s curated a stunning and incredibly searchable list of books that encompass the whole spectrum of our community, and it’s always growing as our options on the shelf grow. Dahlia is a total champion, and so is her site. And of course so is Geeks Out! All the very biggest thanks for having me today! It’s been a dream!
Maggie and Abby's Neverending Pillow Fort.
By Will Taylor.
Apr. 2018. 304p. Harper, $16.99 (9780062644312); e-book, $16.99 (9780062644336). Gr. 4-7.
Maggie, 11, can't wait for best friend Abby to return from summer camp so they can resume their adventures, which are fueled by Maggie's powerful imagination. Abby, however, only wants to talk about camp, although Maggie's pillow fort inspires her to build her own. When Maggie finds that her fort is linked to Abby's, the girls make plans for more adventure. Then Maggie is summoned to the council overseeing all pillow forts in North America. The council members, all of them kids, are very rigid about their rules and inform her that she has three days to perform a good deed to their standards or her fort will be disconnected from the network. As Maggie and Abby struggle with the task and their friendship, Maggie discovers new strengths. The narrative is peppered with lively characters who advance the action and contribute to the plot. Taylor's debut is such a rollicking good time that readers will likely hope for more to come.--Donna Scanlon
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Scanlon, Donna. "Maggie and Abby's Neverending Pillow Fort." Booklist, vol. 114, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 79. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A531171650/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2b79e7b2. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.
TAYLOR, Will. Maggie & Abby's Neverending Pillow Fort. 304p. HarperCollins/Harper. Apr. 2018. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780062644312.
Gr 3-6--Maggie has spent the last six weeks lonely and bored, waiting for her best friend and across-the-street neighbor, Abby, to return from Camp Cantaloupe. Maggie assumes that everything will be the same as before, but when Abby returns, she only talks about camp and doesn't want to play their old games. The exception is the pillow fort that Maggie built in her living room. Abby builds one of her own and the girls discover that the pillow forts magically connect through a mysterious link. The next day they find another link, to Maggie's Uncle Joe who is doing whale research in Alaska. That night Maggie is taken to visit the council of the North American Founding and Allied Forts Alliance (NAFAFA). She discovers that not only are there connected pillow forts all over North America, but also to keep the portals open and be able to build more, she and Abby must to do a good deed in the next three days. NAFAFA council politics complicate their attempts and when their parents find out about the pillow forts, it looks like the links may be closed forever. A mysterious key found in the Le Petit Salon in Versailles may have the answer to all their problems and sets up the cliffhanger ending, which clearly marks this as the first in a series. This is not without appeal. Unfortunately, the playfulness of the premise is marred by the convoluted explanations of the magical world-building, and the author's attempts at exploring changing friendships feels oversimplified. VERDICT An intriguing premise is made confusing by clunky plotting and character development. An additional purchase.--Kefira Phillipe, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, IL
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Phillipe, Kefira. "Taylor, Will. Maggie & Abby's Neverending Pillow Fort." School Library Journal, vol. 63, no. 10, Oct. 2017, pp. 96+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A507950780/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=31581371. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.
The Language of Seabirds
Will Taylor. Scholastic Press, $17.99 (256p) ISBN 978-1-338-75373-8
In an earnestly told novel that traces two liminal weeks in the wake of a parental divorce, gay 12-year-old Jeremy Ryden grapples with learning "environmental adaptability" and speaking his truth. While his can-do mother moves out of their family home, Jeremy spends 14 summer days with his father and uncle at a rental property on Oregon's Pacific coast. It's a moment "in between the family before and the family after," between school years, and between land and sea, and Jeremy hopes to make the most of it, even if he hasn't been able to come out to his parents. After the tween sees a beautiful boy his age, Evan Sandford, running on the beach, then encounters him in town, the two grow closer, creating a coded language using the names of local birds. While developing feelings for Evan, Jeremy also notices changes in his suddenly testy father's behavior, including a significant uptick in drinking. Via a leisurely third-person narration that effectively conjures the agony of first texts and the emotional awkwardness of adolescence, Taylor (Maggie & Abby's Neverending Pillow Fort) writes with vulnerability the conflict of being in-between. Jeremy is of Irish descent; protagonists are white. Ages 8-12.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"The Language of Seabirds." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 49, 23 Nov. 2022, p. 56. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A728493841/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2035d520. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.
Taylor, Will THE LANGUAGE OF SEABIRDS Scholastic (Children's None) $17.99 7, 19 ISBN: 978-1-338-75373-8
Jeremy and Evan, 12-year-old boys, find each other during a summer vacation in a tourist town in Oregon.
Irish American Jeremy is gearing up to come out to his parents, but he just can't do it. With his parents separating, he now has to spend two weeks in a rental house with his dad while his mom moves out. His dad was always the easygoing parent, but he suddenly has picky new rules and a short temper and is drinking more than usual. Luckily Jeremy finds an escape in his new friendship with Evan, a beautiful boy cued as White who runs on the beach. Together they explore the beach and make up their own secret code using the names of seabirds as they develop feelings for each other. Taylor beautifully evokes the strange, liminal feelings of an early summer vacation that lasts forever and is over too quickly, parents in the process of going from marriage to divorce, and the confusing time between childhood and adolescence, when boys might want to play with toy dinosaurs one moment and hold hands the next. Jeremy and Evan's developing relationship is heartwarming and innocently romantic. The author also captures the difficulty and fear of dealing with a parent whose high-functioning alcoholism is deteriorating. Jeremy's entry into adolescence is warm and triumphant without offering pat solutions or platitudes.
A wonderful, tender story about changing relationships. (glossary, note about birds, author's note) (Fiction. 8-13)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Taylor, Will: THE LANGUAGE OF SEABIRDS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A703413866/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aecd5125. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.