I thought this was a wonderful book. Written for “middle grades” (think ages 8 to 13), it worked for me as an adult too, as a light, breezy read.

The main character is a plucky goldfinch, and Duet is written from her intelligent, chirpy, curious point of view. However, it is also about the history of the piano composer Chopin, and an eleven year old boy getting ready to play the piano in a competition.

The plot follows a fun story of discovery, preparation, friendship, and sharing, which surreptitiously includes all sorts of true information that keeps up the interest. This multigenerational story highlights caring and creative support of others. It models being willing to try hard to learn something difficult, and feeling satisfied with doing your best. There are hard choices to be made and no regrets when one follows one’s heart.

And the ingenuity of the bird! If you were a bird and needed to communicate with humans, how would you do it? And how would you call 911?

Heads up parents and grandparents, this novel would be a great gift for any middle grade reader, any piano student, or any lover of history. I listened to this sweet story on audio, and the narrator does a great job vocally switching between the bird’s stream of consciousness and the human dialogue.

Last night our book group unanimously loved this book, and we had the honor of meeting both the author and her editor (shown below), and hearing about their process.

I encourage you to give it a read or share it with someone you love. I give it 5 stars.