Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

Wild Bird is the second novel I have read from Wendelin Van Drannen (The Running Dream being the first) and both of them have left me in tears.  Happy tears, but tears none the less.  The novel is such an incredible story of self-discovery and even more importantly, self-acceptance.  It is a story about families and friendships and understanding what is real and what isn't.  And finally, Wild Bird is a story of hope for the future.

Wild Bird tells the story of Wren Clemmens, a 14 year old girl who has lost her way.  After moving to a new city, Wren finds it difficult to make new friends until she crosses paths with Meadow.  This new friend leads her down a path that includes drugs and shoplifting among other things.  Wren often lashes out at her family when all they want to do is help her.  Then one night she is yanked out of her bed by people she doesn't know.  She is quickly whisked away and put on a plane to Utah.  She discovers that she has been enrolled in a wilderness therapy camp where she must survive eight weeks in the desert.  And during this time she is forced to discover who she is and who she wants to be.  She has to figure out what family and friendship really mean.  Most importantly, she is faced with finding hope for a future she never really believed she could have.  

From Amazon:

From the award-winning author of The Running Dream and Flipped comes a remarkable portrait of a girl who has hit rock bottom but begins a climb back to herself at a wilderness survival camp.

3:47 a.m. That’s when they come for Wren Clemmens. She’s hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who’ve gone so far off the rails, their parents don’t know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right.

The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can’t put up a tent. And bitter won’t start a fire. Wren’s going to have to admit she needs help if she’s going to survive.