I am a great admirer of Fran Hill’s writing and I was excited when Lucy in Legend Press sent me a copy of Fran’s new book Local bird. I am incredibly grateful to her.
You will find my Fran’s reviews Cuco in the nest here and from Miss, what does incomprehensible mean? here. I also interviewed Fran here.
Local bird It is published by Legend Press on March 20, 2025 and is available for purchase here.
Local bird
1979. Jackie Chadwick is 17 years old and lives in a support bed. He is still close to his adoptive parents and friends (also known as the unofficial of Manda for) Amanda, his irresponsible daughter, but is enjoying his independence, until a fire leaves her temporarily homeless. Jackie’s father, the widower and the alcoholic in Dave recovery, just be released from prison and sees this as their opportunity to make peace. He offers his free room, but can his relationship survive him by returning to the drink and the arrival of his friend of the Geneva and her wandering son? As things go worse, Jackie has to decide how many possibilities you give to someone who continues to disappoint.
Bittersweet and fun Local bird It is based on Fran Hill’s own experiences when I was a teenager in parenting care.
My Home Bird Review
Jackie Chadwick’s father, 17, is just out of prison.
Sometimes with a book review, I just want to say: ‘Buy this book’. Local bird It is one of those stories. It is wonderful. Having previously met the fabulous Jackie, Amanda et al Cuco in the nestI would urge readers to read that book before Local bird. Not because I need a previous knowledge of Jackie, since this story works without problems as an independent, but because, once you have read Local birdYou will feel devastated not to have met Jackie Sooner!
I am not very sure of how it does, but Fran Hill is so able to convey the equal meaning of what she No Write, as through the words she allows on the page. His prose is simply glorious. It is imbued with all conceivable emotions and impacts the reader in the heart, even when they laugh out loud of the ironic, self-conservative and black humor of Jackie. It is the direct discourse that transmits meaning and emotion so perfectly. But it is not just brevity and prose retraceded what is so effective. Part of the description of inanimate objects is so cunning that it takes away the reader’s breath. I found myself reading Local bird With admiration and envy of the author’s ship because he felt totally perfect.
On the surface, the narrative plot seems prosaic. A teenager sails through relationships with his father less than perfect, his previous reception family and his friends. They also do many other teenagers. But this apparent simplicity denies the impressive vision of human nature, the heartbreaking heart and the edifying moments that everyday life throws to Jackie and the true understanding of social care, its efforts and its deficiencies. Heather does everything possible for Jackie, like nurse B and her school’s teacher, Mrs. Collingworth, but Fran Hill exposes the challenges facing young people who experience social attention and does so with so much humanity that it is impossible not to feel moved to the soul by her writing. I couldn’t have loved Jackie more. He is the same age as me in 1979 and reading about his life made me want to go up to the book and become his closest friend. She is an exceptional character.
I found all the characters quite wonderful. Dave’s spiral back to the drink is as realistic as Gravita to Doreen, that Jackie is once again a ‘cuckoo in the nest’ in her own home. This gives an idea of the inevitability of life and a feeling of fatality even when there is a considerable humor in the narrative.
The 1979 representation in Local bird It is phenomenal. References to school, food, television, magazines and music create an authentic and nostalgic tapestry of the configuration and the time so that the reader is totally transported. This is a story written by someone who knows. Someone who understands. Someone who cares.
As a result, Local bird It is the brightest reading. He made me laugh aloud and made me cry. He consolidated that Fran Hill is an exceptional talent writer who completely understands human fragility and that he can transmit to his characters in an intense, but humorous and distilled way so that we understand its essence and break our hearts on the road. In case you have not noticed, I loved this local bird. Don’t miss it.
About Fran Hill
Fran Hill is a retired author and English teacher who lives in Warwickshire, England. Your long -term novel debut Cuco in the nestIt was published by Legend Press in April 2023. His follow -up Local bird will come out in March 2025. Franco-Memoir’s fun teacher Miss, what does incomprehensible mean? It was published in May 2020 by Spck Publishing.
Fran is a member of the Authors Society and the Association of Christian Writers and was selected for the prestigious emerging writers program administered by the writing of West Midlands in 2016-17.
For more information, visit Fran’s website, look for it on Facebook or follow Fran on Twitter @Franhill123 and Instagram.
