Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd

Yesterday evening, I finished reading Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd. This magical realism novel is about Olive Miracle Martin, an eleven-year-old homeschooled girl who has brittle bone disease and uses a wheelchair to move around. After she convinces her parents through a sermon to let her go to Macklemore Middle School, she takes the opportunity to make friends (including a BFF) and try out for the school play about Emily Dickinson. When she learns of a legend about a magical hummingbird that grants wishes in her hometown of Wildwood, Tennessee, she decides it's the solution to her desire to have normal bones and teams up with her new BFF, Grace Alice Cho, to solve the mystery of the hummingbird. Soon, her new stepbrother, Hatch Malone, joins their search for the hummingbird because he has a deep wish of his own. As the May Day Festival and the blue moon approach, Olive must prove herself worthy of the true wish that lies in her heart.

Olive's story was just an absolute joy to read. I loved her confidence and upbeat attitude so much. Although she faces real challenges in this book, she never lets her disability get her down, not even when an accident happens toward the end of the book. I totally understood why she wouldn't want to be seen as fragile because I could see her inner strength throughout the whole story. I also really enjoyed the element of magic in this book, which took me completely by surprise. I was nervous that the hummingbird would turn out to just be a legend, but strange things kept happening in the book like feathers raining down from the sky. It really set an enchanting mood to the story, like it was a modern-day fairy tale. I never knew a town in small town in Tennessee could be so wondrous. I also thought Grace and Hatch were awesome. I'm really happy that Olive found such a great BFF in Grace and that Olive and Hatch could finally connect as stepsiblings. Not to mention, it was really cute that Olive developed a crush on Ransom McCallister, a Black boy in her class. He was very sweet and I was certain he liked her back. The end of the book was amazing and everything I hoped it could be. Hummingbird is perfect for anyone who enjoys fairy tales or realistic fiction with a magical touch.