Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Ericka Waller

352 pages; Published by Doubleday 18th April, 2024; Dimensions: 14.4 x 3.2 x 22.2 cm

Tear-jerker, I loved it 5*.

There is so much to love in Goodbye Birdie Greenwing. This is a five star rating for me. I had a lump in my throat when I realised what the narrative was as I am eight months into processing the loss of my dear Papa to cancer.

I held it together to read this wonderfully captivating and moving story. I love all the characters especially the neurodivergent character, I wasn’t expecting that as you just don’t and that was a real bonus.

I found the whole book to be very well written and easy to follow and easy to read. There is a warmth and it certainly isn’t all doom and gloom given the difficult subjects covered.

There is humour at appropriate times and I did find myself laughing out loud. I did identify, and I did weep. I was emotionally engaged with the characters throughout. I found this beautiful book to be a very heart-warming and life affirming story.

The cover is just wonderful with the very iconic trio of Beswick flying ducks. The ducks along with the wallpaper give off this mid century, middle class suburbia vibes.

The colours of the ducks along with the turquoise wallpaper on the cover along with the yellow title works very well for me. I will always remember this book from the cover.

The cover is smooth and holds well to the book. The ducks and title are embossed so a touchy feely bit there. Under the jacket is a yellow hardcover with beautiful turquoise foil title and authors name down the spine.

The print is easy to read and spaced out which is what I get on best with.