The Girl Who Talked to Birds

Book excerpt: A young girl’s already isolated existence is worsened by the emergence of strange abilities. Twelve-year-old Kyra would rather be around animals than talk to the girls at her school. There aren’t many animals in the floating city, so she’s only seen llamas, jaguars, and horses in her books. But there are plenty of birds and she never feels lonely around them. One day she speaks to a bird—and it answers her! Now she can finally make friends who understand her. But when a huge flock of birds tries to follow her into school, everyone panics. Can Kyra figure out what’s going on and stop her new bird friends before someone gets hurt? The Girl Who Talked to Birds is a fairy tale-style story about a side character from the Divine Warriors, a steampunk fantasy series for teens. It takes place before the main books so it can be read as a standalone.