I wanna start off by saying that this book was beautifully written but this book was way too slow for me and the characters were a little hard to connect with but I did finish it and I did end up liking it in the end

Everybody leaves. That is Wren’s biggest fear that prevents her from making new friends, from stepping out of her shell. Postcards for a Songbird is Wren’s story as she deals with her mother leaving, her sister following their mother’s footsteps, and learning to let go.

The writing was extremely lyrical and poetic, which I loved. The dialogues were beautiful too and it was an easy flowing read. Slow at times, though.

However, there were a lot of parts that confused me. Lizzie's character was one. I liked her bubbly nature but her motives were unclear. At the same time, I could not really understand Wilder's importance in the book. He was there at some scenes and then he was not. I'm still not sure whether he was real or just a figment of memory of Wren.

I absolutely loved Luca, though. He was one character that made the book fun and lively for me. His character arc was well done, and I loved his relationship with Wren. An adorable boy who would wait for Wren to feel at ease, help her, good I loved it! His loyalty and kindness won me over.

Wren, at times, felt annoying. I know she fears people leaving her and thought that her emotional thoughts were well portrayed. But her too much worrying somehow put me off.

The timeline confused me too. There was too much going back and forth, characters appearing and then disappearing. It took me some time to fully understand what was going on.

Despite these, I did enjoy the book. It's something different and unique, with hints of magical realism I believe. The book was confusing, a lot, but the beautiful narrative saved it for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book. All views expressed are fully mine.

Honestly, I am not quite sure how I feel about this book. On one hand it is beautifully written, on the other it just didn't hold my interest through the entire thing. I mean the premise is NOT at all horrible, it is quite unique. So I am not sure where the book folded in for me. Wren, our heroine is a very lonely girl. Her mother left when she was young and her sister essentially just disappeared into the night. Her father is a police Chief, who is always working.

When a boy moves next door to her, things begin changing. There are people trying to get close to her but she won't allow it. Then she receives an unmarked postcard and her life changes. She realizes that playing is not at all what she wants. Her character growth is large and one of things I liked best out this book.

Would I recommend it? Yes, I would. I am sure there will be appealing things to someone else, just not to me.

I will have to give this 3 stars because the book is beautifully written and premise is very unique.

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher and author for the ARC generously given.

Postcards for a Songbird is beautifully written. Poetically and vividly. Crane's writing style feels very elevated in this book, and it flows very well.
This book has an interesting premise, but I had some trouble connecting with the characters. I think it's because the plot moves a little too slow for my attention span.
I still recommend this book. The pacing is a personal preference, but that writing is definitely worth giving this book a read.

From the beginning of this novel I knew I was going to like it, it had a feel of pure magic and innocence that drew me from the first page. Wren's story is full of magical, slightly unreal descriptions that make the story feel very real at times but at the same time you're wondering what is real and what is not. The prose is beautiful, the characters feel vivid and with a personality so fleshed out that I could picture every scene in my head as it developed. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop and something, anything to happen to wreck my good image of this book, but I have to say nothing did, I enjoyed from the first sentence of this novel to the last.

Beauty in her words.
The innocence of the writing just overwhelms you from the very beginning of the book.
I cannot recommend this one enough.

i admit, this one was a bit of a bummer. i have enjoyed books by rebekah crane before so i requested this with no hesitation. unfortunately it just didn't work for me, couldn't connect to the characters or the storyline.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story is written using prose, which is usually either a big hit or a big miss. For me, this one was a miss. I've read Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series, which is written with both action-filled scenes and lyrical prose and I thoroughly enjoyed it so it's not to say I don't enjoy prose but it simply didn't work for this book.

In Tahereh Mafi's writing, the prose is written with compelling storylines, action-filled scenes, and characters with depth. I think the reason that the prose didn't work with this book is that the writing falls flat, and the plot leaves a lot to be desired. The characters are dull and one dimensional and aren't really developed.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a good read for me, but again, this is one of those books that people will either really like or really hate so maybe this will be your next favorite read, it just wasn't it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a welcome pleasant surprise! I thought the writing was beautiful, and the way the story unfolded was emotionally evoking. The combination of mysterious history of a broken family and coming of age made me fly through the pages, and I liked that the characters each had a role in contributing to the plot. Sometimes, I have to admit, the lines and twists were a little cheesy / lame but all in all, a solid book.

This author is great for teens who want a contemporary story that deals with some mental health issues. She always creates very unique and sometimes quirky characters. For me it was a pretty slow paced story with lots of great metaphors and imagery. I really like stories I dive right into and this was not one that appealed to me for that reason.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m sorry to say that this book was a miss for me. I found it difficult to stay motivated to read, because it was slow-moving, and I wasn’t able to connect to or care about Wren, Wilder, or any of the others.

This is a beautifully written book full of unusual descriptions. It's also one of those quiet books that takes some time to get into, but is well worth it once you do.

It's summer and Wren is trying to figure out how to live without her vibrant older sister who has just disappeared, Having been abandoned by their mother as young children, Lizzie and Wren have always been close. Their father is a cop who, after his wife left, disappeared into night shifts and safe routines.

Lizzie, as described by Wren, is vibrant and full of life, the kind of person who fills a room just by stepping into it. Wren has never needed to figure out her own personality because Lizzie's was big enough for both of them. But with Lizzie gone, Wren has to figure things out for herself and find her own way to live her life.

This novel follows Wren as she does just that, helped by the mysteriously shadowy boy next door, her sister's best friend who is also trying to find herself, a vehement whole-foods advocate and the boy with a skateboard who just might be the key to changing everything.

The characters in this book are interesting. The language is so beautiful, it's easy to imagine one or more characters are just figments of Wren's imagination - I think one is, but even now I'm not entirely sure, but I like that. It makes Wren that little bit more interesting and powerful. And as she begins to piece together the things that are important to her, the story slides into focus and brings us to a very satisfying conclusion.

I liked this one very much.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read it in advance.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this novel. Wren lives with her sister and their single father, and all three are struggling in the aftermath of abandonment from their mother/his wife. The conclusion is both sad and hopeful. The characters are believable and well-written. This novel will stay with me for some time.

a young adult book that is both a story of coming of age and is a story told, almost as poetry. wren who paints and sees auras is invisible has no color, and how she comes to color herself in and find love and answers in unexpected places

It is a truth universally known, that finding a good YA book these days is harder than finding a bra in your size during a sale. If you've enjoyed that sentence, you will probably enjoy this book - which is filled with potentially great quotes to put on a wall, but also makes you think 'wait, what did I just read? this doesn't make any sense.
Or at least, that was my experience with Postcards for a Songbird.
This just did not work for me at all. With a generic enough synopsis about a girl who is always left behind, I decided to just dive right in without reading any reviews - now I kind of wish I had. Postcards for a Songbird isn't a bad book. It just isn't a great one, either. If this was the earlier stage of YA, I'd say it is pretty average. The writing was a bit flat for my taste, but then again, so were the characters. Wren was so bland and generic, but still, I read on, wishing for other characters to be at least a bit more fleshed out. Which wasn't the case. With a bit of insta-love and a fuzzy plot that wasn't all worth that following, getting through this book was a struggle.
Still, people have praised Rebekah Crane a lot, so I might be inclined to pick up one of her other published works...as long as it has a more engaging cast of characters and stronger plot than this one did.

Unfortunately having strong lyrical prose does not make for a good story if the writing is flat, characters don't have any impactful meaning on the narrative, and the plot leaves much to be desired. Characters are written in dull, single dimensions apart from their emotionally-driven actions.

I almost felt as if I had stumbled upon a novelization of a Days of Our Lives episode.

Rebekah Crane is one of my most absolute favorite authors, The Upside of Falling Down is one of my all time favorite novels, but Postcards for a Songbird was overall pretty average. That being said, the writing was absolutely beautiful. It might have been a bit dramatic for some, but I love it. The way Wren was constantly categorizing herself and her father as inanimate objects such as gestures, punctuation marks, and vegetables was something that really got me thinking, "what would I be? What is my aura color??" Personally, I love when books introduce me to a new light of thinking and this book certainly did.
Although I really enjoyed Wren's character and her thought process, there were a few issues I had with this novel. For one, the description of the book implied that there was a love triangle between a boy who Wren felt understood her and another boy who reminded her of the sister who she loved deeply. Well, that was probably one of the weakest love triangles I have ever read about. Wilder was completely irrelevant to the story; the plot would have remained exactly the same without him. In the beginning, he and Wren could only text because he was too sick to go outside, so the readers only really knew him through his texts messages. Then, he finally goes outside and his sickness is never really addressed again...? Not to mention, he became creepily obsessed with Wren. Was I the only one freaked out when he randomly appeared at the bumper car track? Or when he let himself into her room?? Or when he told her she was broken and always would be??? Wren really never reflected on h ow toxic Wilder became. I think Wilder's character was confusing, and I would have rated higher if he was either more developed or just not included at all.
Lastly, Wren and Luca's relationship moved a bit too quickly for me. I only say that because it seemed like they were instantly obsessed with each other, and I swear they said "I love you" within a few weeks of knowing each other. Personally, it made me a little uncomfortable and mildly discredited their relationship for me.
Overall, I still enjoyed reading the book, and I still love Rebekah Crane, but this one just wasn't a favorite. I also wish we could have seen a little more growth from Chief's character. He stayed closed off and lonely throughout the entire book, and only showed a slight shift in the end, but even that was hardly noticeable. For a light and easy read, however, I would still recommend it.

* I was given an E-ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest reviews *

2 /5 stars

There aren’t many things I can say about this book. I couldn’t connect with the characters, the main character felt very bland. The plot just didn’t do it for me and I wasn’t a major fan of the writing. Unfortunately this was just not a good read for me.

Let me start by saying, I love Rebekah Crane so much and think her writing is beautiful. It's so clear as I read that she put so much time, effort, and care into telling this story.

Unfortunately, I just don't think this story was for me. At times, the plot became fuzzy due to the lyrical and poetic writing. I found the characters a challenge to connect with and at times the descriptions went on a bit too long. I had a hard time pushing through this book.

Even though the book wasn't for me, I'm sure that there are readers out there who will adore it.

I love Rebekah Crane's previous books but this one was just OK for me. I didn't love it as much as the past novels and I can't quite put my finger on why. The story was full of beautiful prose and literary devices, but I found it a little confusing . I hope that Crane continues to write and I will definitely check out her next book but this one just didn't connect with me the way I had hoped. Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.