Blue Heron by Avi

Blue Heron Reviews

• 
  Cynthia Scott

  I have read this book about 4 times in my life, once when I was in about middle school, once in my twenties, and once in my thirties (there may have been another time that I am forgetting). Each time I read it I not only get a sense of peace, but I understand that message(s) behind the book:love without worry, believe in the magic even when you don't think you can, and trust outside of yourself.
  
  The big one believe in magic in the one that always gets me, but in the last three years, the love without worry,well, it makes more sense; and I do that without thought or expectation of return. It hasn't let me down.
  
  A beautiful story about growing up and learning to see the world outside of yourself.
• 
  Kimberly Ann

  
  
  Two young people the school outcast & a troubled young girl (who has lost her father) become friends when they find out they are both stalking a Great Blue Heron.
  
  The young boy stalks w/ bow & arrow. The young girl stalks w/ heart & patience.
  
  The book was sad, but not as sad as I had expected it to be...
  
  There is quite a bit of suspense as well.....
  
  Very well written and now I know why Avi was such a popular author
• 
  Kristen

  1.5 stars. Not much happens and it's boring. And I'm guessing Avi had never been around babies before writing this because they definitely react to being played with before 4.5 ish months.
• 
  Kathleen

  The Blue Heron was a Fictional Book Written by Avon Flare. The author of this book had many points throughout the book that applied to many people’s lives today. Some points the author could be trying to get across is the reality of family life, how people deal with their struggles, and the actions taken at home in the hard situations. He had many situations where different family members dealt with the loss of jobs, divorce, and what a kid’s perspective would be in divorce situations.
  
  In the beginning, the author portrays the story mostly from the kid’s perspective. A young girl 13 years old is traveling from her mother's house, across America, to stay at an old cabin by a pond for a month-long vacation. While on the vacation she finds a Blue Heron bird. Over time she begins to like the bird and think it magical. While staying at the vacation cabin, there is a notion that her father has this mystery illness which he will not talk about. The Blue Heron is a book full of wonder and mystery that has many new turns of events throughout the book.
  
  One Specific character from The Blue Heron is the stepmother Joanna. She is unknown in the beginning, but her characteristics come out towards the ending of the book. She is kind and wants to get to know her new husband’s child better. Throughout The Blue Heron, she has difficulties with her husband. There is always the uncertainty of holding their marriage. This character will come out saying something unexpected and change the direction of the story. I can relate this character to my aunts. Always quiet and charming, but will come out sometimes and say something unexpected.
  
  This book would be described as unique but with some usual things that authors put in books. Such as family tragedy and situations where characters think more than saying things. It was not the most interesting book I have ever read but had some good points that I could apply to in my own life. Most of The Blue Heron had the characters thinking of what to do or say. To me, it was boring and not so interactive. I disagree with most of the author's choices as to how he had each character respond to the difficulties happening within the family. At some points, Joanna would go to church. At one point in the book, she brought her stepdaughter. I did not agree when she said she chose to go to that specific church because of the looks instead of a church that believed what she did. At another point Joanna and her husband had become distanced from each other and Joanna is scared to talk to him. To have a good marriage relationship you need to communicate with your spouse and not keep secrets from them. If you distance yourself, distrust will begin to crumple your relationship and never talking about deeper meaning thoughts or situations can thin the relationship between the two. The author does change this so there will be a distance between the two to create another conflict, but in situations like those, no one should ever come to the point where they would be scared of their partner because of distrust.
  
  Because of the lengthy contemplations the characters had and the lack of events happening sooner throughout the book, The Blue Heron seemed to lack the potential to enforce emotions in me while I read it. To the people who need action-packed books to stay entertained while reading, I would not recommend it. Also, I would not recommend it to anyone because of the lack of emotion it enforces and because it is not engaging.
  
• 
  Amanda

  "How do you deal with someone who just does not care what they do?" (pg. 108) This seems to be the overarching theme of the book. Everyone seems to have a case of the don't cares.
  This was a hard book to rate. Probably closer to 2.5. It likely would have earned 3 stars, but the adults were so ridiculously dumb I couldn't give it that last .5.
  I appreciated the theme of Maggie beginning the tender process of figuring out who she is and I liked how Avi used the blue heron as a reflection of Maggie. All that was lovely. The nature scenes were beautifully written as well. I can't help but wonder if most young readers wouldn't just skip all the descriptive text, but I enjoyed it.
  The problems? The people surrounding Maggie were pretty terrible. The awkward relationship between Joanna and Maggie's Dad was uncomfortable from the start but as it continues it just becomes abusive. Not only is Maggie's Dad "a bully" as she calls him, but Joanna's treatment of Maggie borders on abusive as well. And the bully? Uggg. What a gross human. The end didn't put a salve on the gaslighting and neglect either. Tucker had some redeeming qualities, but his brokenness wasn't fully explored, just mentioned in a few scenes. Some character development there would have been nice. Even the nurse was a bad adult. Yuck!
  This might be the sort of read that requires a specific audience to truly appreciate it. I don't think I would encourage my students to read it. Lots of potential. Poor execution.
  Fun fact, Avi and I are birthday twins.
• 
  Art

  A good look at our environment from the point of view of a young girl coming of age and visiting w/Her father and new wife.
  I would put this book alongside "The Lorax" and Rachel Carson, "Silent Spring".
  Also "The Snow Falcon" and the one about the girl/boy w/lived and was helped by a Badger.
  I have seen Whooping Cranes in the ponds near my home hear in Kentucky and I remember the loons in Minnesota. A very lonely sound made by these creatures.
  Also the young lady and how she learned to cooperate w/her stepmother.
• 
  Cynthia Egbert

  I have mentioned before that Avi can be hit or miss with me and this one was primarily a miss. The characters were never developed and the protagonist is really the only one in the book who is not an idiot. That idea always bothers me. Even the characters who barely make an appearance are idiots. It is also dated which will frustrate some young readers. It would have earned only one star from me rather than two except for that gorgeous heron and the fact that the protagonist gains much from her time meditating around the bird. There are many better books that would help young people deal with the themes of divorce, illness, and stepparents and step-siblings.
  
  There was one quote worth noting!
  
  "Punning is a form of humor that requires a linguistic skill that few people have. Ergo, they belittle puns so as to hide their ignorance. In short, jealousy." (HA! I couldn't have said it better myself!)
• 
  Rose

  "Do you still like fantasy and magic as much as you used to?" her father asked.
  
  "I suppose," [Maggie] replied.
  
  "You're old enough to know it's just escapism."
  
  "What's that mean?"
  
  "It's kind of cheap, easy, and mostly on-the-sly religion."
  
  "I like magic."
  
  "Okay. Why?"
  
  Maggie had an image of herself flying into Providence wishing her father was the same as he had been. It had not worked, of course. Suddenly she knew she had misunderstood the purpose of magic.
  
  "Come on. Why do you like magic?" her father repeated.
  
  "You always told me to," she replied, stalling so as to think out her new thoughts.
  
  "That was then. You're older. What's in it for you now?"
  
  "I used to think magic could keep things -- you know -- so they wouldn't change."
  
  "And now?"
  
  Maggie, trying to catch up with her own ideas, considered for a moment. Then she said, "I guess it has nothing to do with changing. See, the marsh isn't magic. But -- if you *think* of it as magic, you see it ... differently." Even as she spoke, Maggie could see the heron. "Right. It's a different way of seeing."
  
  "Seeing what?"
  
  "What else there is."
• 
  Jan

  This has been on my list for a while.
  
  Gentle YA book - Maggie (13) is visiting her father who she has only seen occasionally since their divorce when she was 6 years old. Her father has remarried, and Maggie will stay with Joanna and their new baby at a log cabin on a lake. Maggie forges a relationship with Joanna, while realizing that her father is not well, and his relationship with Joanna is not good.
  
  Throughout it all, Maggie is fascinated by the great blue heron that she sees each day on the lake. She sees the bird as magic, and works to save it from a local boy intent on harming it. While trying to save the bird, will Maggie magically save her family?
• 
  phoebe

  The concept, the characters, the setting, all fantastic! The writing was just too simple for my liking. I know it’s middle grade, but I’ve read lots of MG that have been very lyrics and poetic and descriptive. That’s the kind of writing I really dig. If this could have been a bit more like that, I would have really enjoyed a bit more!
• 
  Kira

  I read this as a child and it was one of those impactful books I thought about my whole life. So I finally bought it to reread it as an adult. Sometimes books don’t hold up to the magic they had as a child, but this one did. It doesn’t get neatly tied up at the end, but I think that’s part of the point of the whole thing. Acceptance and nature and life.
• 
  Lindsay

  I had to read it in 7th grade for a project and my god was it so boring and it may have been because at that age I was reading at a highschool level and was used to romance in novels but wtf I read the whole book for her to caress his face? It wasn't worth it but at least she got to see her fucking heron
• 
  Michelle

  I read this when it was published and I was 10, and I loved it. Rereading it now in my mid-30s, I don't know what I liked about it. Whether it doesn't stand the test of time or I'm just not the right demographic for it anymore, I can't say. But I don't think I'll ever read this one again.
• 
  Rod Innis

  i enjoyed this book.
• 
  Hendrix Eva

  What a book to read over father's day weekend.
  #relateable
  
  Maggie and the heron are loveable. Almost 4 stars.
• 
  Cheryl

  This was written for middle school age kids, but I found it quite nicely done. I like how the heron is the star of the book (for me!).
• 
  Hilaree

  2.5. Well written, but nothing significant really happens.
• 
  Gale

  TOUCHING THE MAGIC
  
  Although this book seems thick compared with other YA novels, these 186 pages read easily, thanks to extensive dialogue. Soon-to-be 13 Maggie feels like a "summer hostage" while visiting her father--a court-ordered social ritual which produces recurring mental anguish ever since her parents divorced when she was six. Clinging to her childhood memories of a game of Magic shared by her dad, Maggie dreads this visit to a rented cabin on a remote lake in Connecticut. There she will have to face a young step-mother and baby half-sister. Her stay will trigger explosive events which impact several lives and redefine already painful relationships.
  
  Seeking escape from the emotional turmoil in the cabin, Maggie is gradually captivated by the grace and quiet dignity of a blue heron, who rules the neighboring marsh. Soon she is obsessed by the giant bird--considering him an Omen, but for Life or for Death? Determined to win his trust, she daily observes him at dawn, discovering that he too has reason for private agitation. Maggie's investigations on his behalf demonstrate her budding moral courage, yet she also feels overwhlemed that they all seem to be asking for her help: the heron, her step-mother and even her belligerent father. Is this too great a burden for a young teen?
  
  There is no romance for Maggie on this vacation, but realization of her complex, extended-family roles. During most of the book she speaks to adults in unrevealing monosyllables; her vocabulary only comes alive when she interacts with kids. This book presents a gripping psycho-drama, as an ordinary girl suddenly comes of age. Perhaps Avi deliberately included a plea for wildlife conservation. BLUE HERON is probably of greater appeal to high school girls (who try to hide their true feelings from adults), despite the lack of love interest. THis story provides thoughtful insight into blended family dynamics.
  
  (January 29, 2003. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
  
• 
  Katie

  This book was about a young girl who has divorced parents. Her mother sent her to visit her father for a month to enjoy a vacation with her new step mother and brand new half sister. The story is about Maggie who is enchanted by magic. She is always looking for ways that her life can be magical especially to stop change from happening. While on this vacation she is enchanted by a blue heron feels that it has a special kind of magic. This kind of magic she wants to learn especially as she is continually discovering her life is changing rapidly in ways she can't control. It is only with the blue heron that she feels secure.
  I found this book very interesting as i realized that there are many children who unfortunately feel the effects of parents who undergo divorce. This story did a good job showing Maggy's struggles accepting her new step mother and her new half sister. I can only imagine how hard it could be but through the trials of the story Maggie had to grow up. People depended on her and she needed to stand up for things that she knew was right. It's hard as a teenager to have to do the right thing and this book portrayed well the complex feelings of wanting to keep a good relationship and having to say the right thing. I love that within herself she found out what true magic is and how she can use it.
  content warning:
  - some swearing
• 
  Emily Kestrel

  This novel focuses on the summer that Maggie spends with her father, stepmother Joanna, and their new baby at a cabin by a lake in Rhode Island. Maggie is an imaginative girl who wishes she could use magic to make everything stay the same. Instead, she walks into a tense situation--her father is not taking his heart medication and quarreling with everyone, and Joanna is stressed out about her marriage and new motherhood and appealing to Maggie for help.
  
  Maggie finds some escape by watching a great blue heron in the marsh, but is worried that a boy from the neighborhood is planning to kill it. She tracks him down, and finds that Tucker is not the evil bully she had imagined. This summer, Maggie is learning that everything is more complicated than she expected.
  
  The story has a lot of potential, and there were some elements that I really enjoyed, but like some other young adult titles I've read recently, I found the tone overly didactic and the writing rather wooden. I really need to give these books to a kid when I'm done with them, so we can compare reactions. It's not a bad story, and I noticed some other reviewers had fond memories of this title, so it might be a good choice for a young reader.
• 
  Caryn Lesuma

  Twelve year-old Maggie is uncertain what the future will hold as she arrives in New England for another August with her father, stepmother, and new half-sister Linda. Worries that her baby sister will replace her dissolve quickly, however, as Maggie discovers that her father is hiding health issues and his relationship with Joanna, her stepmother, has grown strained. Maggie's only peace comes early in the morning as she walks to the edge of the lake near their summer rental and watches a great blue heron hunt each dawn. She soon finds that even the heron is in danger, and desperately tries to save it along with her family. This quiet, melancholy book is as slow-moving and careful in its pacing as the heron that Maggie watches with such admiration. It works well in this context, as Maggie herself is a contemplative and serious girl who is careful before she speaks or acts. I enjoyed Avi's exploration of relationships within nontraditional families--who would have thought that stepmothers aren't always evil?--and though the ending left much to be desired in terms of resolutions for Maggie's family situation, it is nonetheless highly satisfying.
• 
  Julie Barrett

  Blue Heron by Avi
  Have read other author's works and have enjoyed them all. This one is about Maggie and they are spending time at the shore and she has a new sister.
  Magic and her father, she believes in all. Her mother gave her a crystal that is pure magic in her pocket. She travels to visit her father and step mother from Seattle all the way to MA. The shore will have much magic.
  Very familiar to the area as we live nearby. It's interesting how the descriptions are so detailed-we tend to take things like the countryside for granted at times.
  The heron has a magic all it's own and she wants to save her father....he spends much time on the phone doing work. She entertains herself as the stepmother is always busy with the new baby.
  She studies the heron and discovers lots of things about how the bird lives and survives in the marsh.
  She discovers many treasures and she also finds out her ailing father has not been taking his medicines! Someone has also been shooting arrows at the heron! Magic happens!
  I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
  
  
• 
  Athena

  I had a difficult time trying to connect with any of the characters because they were under-developed. I especially foundd Joanna to be very annoying with her neediness, dumping her emotional baggage on Maggie, and even sticking Maggie in the middle of her relationship with Maggie's father.
  
  So many relationships bloomed in this short book: Maggie and Joanna and then Tucker. I didn't really see the point of Tucker, except to pose a threat to the heron that Maggie adored, only to meet her once and decide not to kill the heron. Her father wanted to enjoy his time with Maggie but the fear of his health got the better of him and he had some frightening outbursts. Maggie's father made it perfectly clear on more than one occassion that he was not impressed with the baby, or his wife.
  So Maggie goes to New England to visit her father and Joanna and finds the heron as a sign, whether it's good or bad is up to Maggie to decide.
• 
  Kathie Jackson

  Once again, Avi blows me away. He's written like, what? 300 books? And each is exquisitely written and stands on its own, and is just as enjoyable for adults as it is for younger readers. In Blue Heron, Avi utterly captures a 13-year old girl's inner voice. This slim volume packs in a ton of character development, realistic dialog and situations, and family drama. As in life, no one is all bad or all good and you'll be torn about who to root for throughout. I also really enjoyed the aspects of nature Avi captures as his protagonist stalks a Blue Heron to escape her family upheaval. Highly recommended.