Swordbird audiobook

It’s hard to believe but the author was only 12 years old when she wrote this thrilling, beautifully crafted fantasy about evil Lord Turnatt, a hawk who has enslaved birds to build a fortress and has set the cardinals and bluejays to fighting each other. She creates vivid characters with wonderful names (Flameback the cardinal, Dilby the loon) and other cool words like “nobird”, “somebird,” and “everybird.” There’s a hummingbird circus, birds dining on raspberry pie and fending off invaders with scalding bean soup. Best of all each chapter starts with a quotation from some book of bird lore, including the Book of Heresy which promises the terrible Turnatt eternal life - if he eats the egg of one woodbird every day. Nancy Yi Fan is a talent to watch! - Jean Westmoore, The Buffalo News

I stayed up late to finish reading this, very poignant and action packed. Swordbird is the other birds savior and they are trying to bring peace back and to free the slaves of the bad hawk. I liked the characters the best they were easy to like and I as the reader was able to understand the characters by what they said and did instead of being told by a narrator.

This book is like a cross of 'Redwall' and 'Guardians of Ga'Hoole', and it's just as good. I like the magic atmosphere it creates. Don't expect tangled and complex plot or morally grey characters - this book reads like a fairy tale above all things. Here we have cruel tyrant, brave heroes and dangerous quest - classic formula, but for me it still works. I'm especially impressed by the main heroes - blue jay Aska, who is always first volunteering to help her tribe, and robin Miltin, who was getting wound after wound on the quest but kept going. My only disappointment is that the final battle wasn't as epic as I expected. However, there were enough well-written battles earlier.

The blue jays and cardinals of stone run forest have turned agaisnt each other. According to legend, only Swordbird,son of the great spirit, has the power to conquer evil and restore peace to the land. But is he realor just myth? Can Swordbird arrive in time to save the forest or will it be to late? Twelve year old author Nancy Yi Fang has woven a captivating tale about the birds of stone run forest and the heroism,courage, and resourcefulness in thier quest for peace. I absolutley highley suggest this book it is amazing im really suprised it was written by a twelve year old!!!

This book was one of my favorites when I was younger. It was inspiring to me to see that a young girl could publish a fantasy book and get it on shelves in Barnes and Noble, where my mother worked full time (and where I spent my summer days off school full time.) The story is solid, creative, unique, and simple but still enjoyable. The concept was intriguing and similar to Redwall, which I also love. I could read this book over and over.

Very good story and characters and it did exactly what it was written for, which is portray the positive image of peace. Haven't read a book with pictures / sketches in it for a while but they worked, for sure. Blurb doesn't completely fit the book though (at least the version that's on the back cover).

At first it was slow, confusing, and it jumped around. But, action started happening and it got better and easier to imagine. I soon got invested in the story and it turned out with a good plot and story in the end and I am excited to read the prequel and sequel.

This book was amazing!

really good but confusing, might have to reread a few things

This is a very subjective 5 stars, entirely due to nostalgia, since this is what led my young self to actully writing. But yeah, I don't think I'd reccomend it

I read this as a kid and thought it was pretty good.

Thoughts: To be completely honest, I picked this book up primarily because it was written by a twelve-year-old. I was, admittedly, curious to see how well kids my age could write - I lacked any original interest in the story. This quickly changed. I was eager to review this book because many of the reviews I've read for it seem to show a heap of bias - either written by kids who are earnestly defending literature written by kids, or by adults, who either show powerful jealousy towards Nancy Yi Fan, the author (I've seen this displayed by some kids as well), or who didn't enjoy the book simply because they were reading a book that was targeted to people well below their age. There were also a lot of people who compared it to REDWALL and said the author just "copied" REDWALL, except with birds (I haven't read REDWALL yet).For me, although SWORDBIRD has its many flaws, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile read. It's the type of book I would've fawned over for months as a nine-year-old (Oscar has yet to read it, but I'm positive he would enjoy it as well). The story, although simple, is exciting and suspenseful, reminding me of Warriors. The characters were likable, admirable, and fairly well-rounded - however, it was, at times, difficult to pick out a main character, since so many were mentioned. Turnatt was a fantastic villain, even better, I think, than the heroines. A hawk who eats babies because he believes it will make him live eternally? This was pure genius. The writing, on the other hand, was pretty choppy. There would often be long paragraphs of description, with hardly any dialogue at all. Yi Fan also switched perspectives pretty rapidly - from Aska to Glenagh to Flame-Beak and then to Turnatt. This often became pretty tiresome, because I didn't know where to focus. This only slightly detracted from the story, but enough so where I had to dock a star. And again, the characters - there were just a few too many. The story was immensely simple, which is totally fine, but that means the characters have to be, too, at least in my book. Not simple as in not dimensional, but simple as in only one or two main characters with POVs, instead of ten. Thus, the story, although this seldom happened, became confusing or dull. Again, though, this was a solid high four. I enjoyed it to the fullest, the plot was, overall, pretty steady, the action was exciting and suspenseful, and the characters were likable. And although there were many flaws, I think I'll be revisiting this one again and recommending it to some of my younger friends. So, to answer my original question: how well could kids my age write a story? If Nancy Yi Fan's book is any indication, twelve-year-old kids can produce a satisfying story that is completely worthwhile.

One of the most stunning books I've read. Her mental imaging is captivatingly beautiful and the story line is extraordinary with a powerful message. A fantastic blend of fantasy and truth.

What a beautiful story! When I saw this book I knew I had to look at it, because I have a deep love for birds and fantasy - and this is a high fantasy book ABOUT birds!This book is very impressive being written by a twelve year old. I'll admit, I was not expecting the story to be as morbid as it is (LOL) because it was written by a child! There's lots of violence and blood, birds getting eaten apart and (view spoiler)[a major character actually DIES! WOAAAAH! (hide spoiler)] But I LOVED it all, this book was amazing! Tell your kids to read it! There's a great message to learn inside and a storyline to enjoy.