This is the story of Leigh Sanders. Her mother has died from suicide and now Leigh is lost. One day, she sees a bird, and she is sure it is her mother. Her father, unsure what to do now that his wife is gone and his daughter seems lost, takes Leigh to Taiwan to meet her grandparents for the first time. Leigh feels this will give her a chance to find her mother and speak to her grandmother. She discovers that her grandparents speak very little English, and that the relationship between her parents and them is strained.
This book was excellent. The story was well told, and the writing was beautiful. I was drawn to the characters and even though magical realism is usually not my favorite but this book blew me away. The author did a good job of mixing in Leigh's past and present and mixing in the magic elements with true to life problems that many people face when a loved one dies.
