Hummingbird By: Natalie Lloyd

Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

Eleven year old Olive is a bright and creative girl who lives with her mother, stepfather and stepbrother.  Her dad, grandpa and uncle live nearby and they are a close family.  Olive has been home-schooled her entire life.  This is because she has osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease and has been considered too fragile to attend school.  Olive is tired of this.  She wants to go to school and make friends.  Olive gets her wish and although there is an adjustment period to school, Olive not only finds a friend, but is introduced to the story of a magical, wish-granting hummingbird that is about to return to her town.  Olive and her new friends begin a quest to find the hummingbird, so that one of them may have their wish granted.  This story is a realistic story about a young girl accepting herself and finding friendship.  There is, however, a dash of magic to this story.  I enjoyed this story of Olive growing and accepting herself.  I recommend this book to those who enjoy realistic fiction and those who enjoy fantasy.