Fun Reads Friday: Make a Note of the Bird Face Series

8 Notes to a Nobody wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

At first, I was drawn in by the puzzle as I tried to figure out who was leaving the Post-it notes—signed by the misspelled frend—for Wendy Robichaud.

While there are secrets to uncover in Cynthia T. Toney’s novel, it turned out not to be a whodunit, but an exploration into emotional scars left by bullying, eating disorders, broken families and teen suicide. As Wendy observes, “Funny how you can live your days as a clueless little kid, believing you look just fine … until someone knocks you in the heart with it.”

And yet you can also discover that your own life has things going for it that you never realized.

The surprises kept coming even after I finished reading it.

Cynthia and I joined the same middle grades writer critique group seven years ago. One of the most awesome experiences of a critique group is getting to watch other authors’ stories develop, and even to help in that process.

When this book was first published in 2014, it was titled Bird Face. That’s the copy I own. A year later—surprise—the novel was republished as 8 Notes to a Nobody, Book One in the Bird Face Series. It was followed by 10 Steps to Girlfriend Status, 6 Dates to Disaster and 3 Things to Forget.

In Bird Face—I mean, 8 Notes to a Nobody—I cringed numerous times as the charming and witty Wendy struggled through her days of adjusting to a new school, a new life, and new friends.

As Wendy will tell you, there are the cliques such as the Sticks, the Suaves, and the Brainiacs. There’s the downright meanness of John-Monster, the haughtiness of Tookie Miller, and the maybe attentions of handsome and wonderful David—although it makes no sense to her why he’d actually look her way instead of at her much cuter and bubbly best friend… who might be drifting away.

On top of all that, Wendy wishes she could figure out why her dad left her mom, if he even thinks about his daughter anymore, and how God could possibly expect her to find joy in any of this swirling mess.

When I started, I thought I was reading a detective story, but the mystery here is about all the junk we keep locked inside ourselves. Layer by layer, secrets are revealed, and we learn that life isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence, and that God just might love us anyway.

I heartily recommend this book. Cynthia is a great storyteller, and I think more of us than care to admit will identify with Wendy’s awkwardness, fears, and hurts, and will smile at also recognizing what grit, determination, faith, and willingness to reach out to others will accomplish. The Bird Face Series is published by Write Integrity Press.