"Birds of War is exquisite, gripping, tender, and cinematic. It is a novel about war and its costs, family love, loss, and grace. Abilee, the lionhearted heroine who comes of age in a world not made for brown skinned girls like her, is an unforgettable character. Her story will stick to your bones." —Imani Perry, National Book Award Winner, MacArthur Fellow, and author of South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

"It’s like reading a poem. The lyricism, the musicality of it, and the language choices are stunning. As you stay up all night finishing Birds Of War—yes, I promise that you, too, will be unable to put down this marvel of a book—you won’t have realized that amidst falling in love with its characters and its sentences that beg to be memorized for their beauty, you yourself will feel more liberated to live the way you want, to stop waiting for permission. That a novel can do so many things suggests that, aside from being one of our greatest living authors, Natashia Deón is also a magician." —Jennifer Pastiloff, NY Times best-selling author of Proof of Life and On Being Human

"Birds of War is a tableau of fine art wrapped up in a page-turning, impeccably researched historical tale of love and unforgiving war. Natashia Deon's words captured me from the first page and never let go. I'm still haunted by the bodies in this novel, in their beauty and in their pain. It is rare to find a voice that is at once vulnerable, visceral, and honest, and Deon nails it to perfection. I loved it!"—Elizabeth L. Silver, author of The Majority and The Execution of Noa P. Singleton

“Natashia Deón takes readers on a journey of life, love, and survival. Through Abilee's past and present, Deón shows us what war means in all its forms. There's the chaos of military war, both physical and mental, but also the oft-silenced war of oppressive society, the sacrificial war of familial need, and the reflective war with oneself. Rich in prose and steeped in research, Birds of War reminds readers how to endure, how to live, and to never forget the things in life that matter most.” —Milo Todd, author of The Lilac People

“Vivid storytelling that is at once startlingly intimate and historically revealing. Once again Natashia Deón reveals her capacity to depict the nuances of human vulnerability, fallibility, strength, and love.” —Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Good Dirt and Black Cake