Usually prodigy novels don't do much for me, even if kids like them (read: Eragon), but this book, Swordbird, does sound interesting. Here's some background information on Nancy Yi Fan and the inspiration for her novel:
- "Born in Beijing in 1993, Fan lived in New York with her parents from the age of seven, graduating 'with excellence' from an elementary school there in 2004. When she was in sixth grade, at the age of 11, she was taught about terrorism and the events of 9/11. That night, she explains, she had a startling dream all about birds at war and the next day she started writing Swordbird in her bedroom as a way of trying to convey her worries about violence in the world. "
The book concerns warring factions of birds in the "once-peaceful Stone-Run Forest."
The book will also be published in China by Chinese People's Literature Publishing House.
