The Meaning of Birds

Nominated for the Lambda Literary Award!

“An evocative story of the thrills of first love and the anguish of first loss. This will break you and heal you.” —Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’

Not to be missed by fans of Dustin Thao, Nina LaCour, and Becky Albertalli, this powerful novel from the acclaimed author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit paints a poignant portrait of love in the past, grief in the now, and the healing power of art.

Before: Jess has always struggled with the fire inside her. But when she meets Vivi, everything changes. As they fall for each other, Vivi helps Jess deal with her anger and pain and encourages her to embrace her artistic talent. And suddenly Jess’s future is a blank canvas, filled with possibilities.

After: When Vivi unexpectedly dies, Jess’s perfect world is erased. As she spirals out of control, Jess pushes away everyone around her and throws out her plans for art school. Because art is Vivi and Vivi is gone forever. Right when Jess feels at her lowest, she makes a surprising friend who just might be able to show her a new way to channel her rage, passion, and creativity. But will Jess ever be able to forge a new path for herself without Vivi?

A beautiful exploration of first love and first loss, this novel effortlessly weaves together past and present to tell a profound story about how you can become whole again when it seems like you’ve lost the most important part of yourself.

• A Coming of Age Story: Jess is struggling with the fire inside her, but meeting Vivi opens up a future full of artistic possibilities.
• An Emotional Lesbian Romance: Before Vivi, Jess felt lost. With her, she finds love, acceptance, and the courage to be the artist she was meant to be.
• Healing Through Art: After Vivi’s death, art is too painful to create. But a surprising new friendship might show Jess how to channel her passion onto the canvas again.
• Coping with Grief: This powerful novel captures the raw journey of losing your first love and learning how to piece your world back together after tragedy.