THE STAR SIDE OF BIRD HILL by Naomi Jackson
Penguin Press, June 30, 2015
Long Listed for the John Leonard Prize
Nominated for a NAACP Image Award for Oustanding Literary Work by a Debut Author
Two sisters are suddenly sent from their home in Brooklyn to Barbados to live with their grandmother in this stunning debut novel.
“Holy cats, this novel is wonderful…Lyrical, a really stellar debut.”
—BookRiot
“The evocation of the island is romantic and alive…Jackson renders [the characters’] inner lives effectively.”
—The New Yorker
“Once in a while, you’ll stumble onto a book like this, one so poetic in its descriptions and so alive with lovable, frustrating, painfully real characters, that your emotional response to it becomes almost physical…[A] wrenching debut…The dual coming-of-age story alone could melt the sternest of hearts, but Jackson’s exquisite prose is a marvel too...A gem of a book. A”
—Entertainment Weekly
“[The Star Side of Bird Hill] belongs to Phaedra, an unforgettable character and the best thing about the novel. She's complex, smart and has a sense of introspection that her sister seems to lack…Jackson’s evocative, lyrical writing…makes Barbados come to life, and she’s comfortable with both humor and pathos…A lovely [book], and Jackson seems likely to have a distinguished career ahead of her.”
—NPR.org
“[A] keen-eyed debut…At the novel’s core is a tender coming-of-age story that explores the complications of Dionne's first affair with a young suitor (the title refers to her favorite churchyard getaway spot) and the realizations that Phaedra has about her family and her connection to them all, despite their flaws…A lush and sensitive read with a setting well matched for a sultry summer afternoon.”
—Oprah.com
