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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
A disappearance and some violence connected to Gabriel's fate
Language
Some
Adult language in Whaley's sharp YA register
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal romantic content
Substance Use
Some
Teen substance use as part of the small-town summer atmosphere
Emotional Intensity
Some
The psychological complexity of grief and not-knowing — and the dark comedy of small-town absurdity — creates the novel's distinctive register
What this book is about
John Corey Whaley's Printz Award-winning YA novel follows seventeen-year-old Cullen in Lily, Arkansas, where a birder's claim to have spotted an extinct woodpecker brings national attention — and where Cullen's younger brother Gabriel vanishes. Whaley writes with dark wit and genuine emotional depth; the two parallel narratives (Cullen's and a Mormon missionary's) converge unexpectedly. Some mature content for the YA register.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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