Birdland

Questions of identity and faith beset a New York City teen whose family has been shaken to its core by loss in this stirring, incisive novel from an author we all know and love.

Swirling riffs of language and a propulsive beat set this gritty, transcendent novel in motion. Amidst the sparkle and hum of a New York City winter, Jed and his best friend Flyer are filming a documentary of their neighborhood. All around them are images that Jed's older brother Zeke wrote about: drummers, drunks, dog walkers, and the beautiful water towers that dot the city's skyline. But what Jed is really in search of is Zeke, a poet who loved jazzman Charlie "Bird" Parker and who left behind his CDs, a notebook, and a lot of unanswered questions. When Jed encounters a mysterious homeless