Description

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Twelve-year-old Clara Dooley has spent her whole life in the crumbling Glendoveer mansion, home to a magician's widow, a cage full of exotic birds, and a decades-old mystery. Clara loves old Mrs. Glendoveer, but the birds in the aviary frighten her—they always seem to screech and squall whenever she's near. And then one day, the mynah bird speaks, and a mystery starts to unravel.

Clara discovers dark secrets about the family, and about her own past. Somehow the birds in the aviary seem to be at the center of it all, and Clara can't shake the feeling that they are trying to tell her something. . . .

About the Author

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KATHLEEN O'DELL was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start Author for her much-praised debut novel, Agnes Parker . . . Girl in Progress. She's also the author of YA novel Bad Tickets on the Knopf list. She lives with her husband and sons in Glendale, California.

Praise For…

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Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2011:
"An absorbing mix of talking birds, ghostly messages, kidnapped children, magic spells & tragic family secrets."

School Library Journal. November 1, 2011:
“O’Dell weaves a tapestry of hauntingly gorgeous imagery with this atmospheric tale of suspense, magic, and adventure. Readers will be captivated from the first page on.”

Booklist, October 1, 2011:
"O’Dell has crafted a terrific story with just the right degree of horror."