When a fire leaves twelve-year-old Scarlet in a different foster home
than her autistic little brother, she tracks a bird to find her way back
to him in this deeply moving illustrated novel from the author of Moon
Bear.
Twelve-year-old Scarlet doesn't have an easy life. She's never known her
dad, her mom suffers from depression, and her younger brother Red has
Asperger's and relies heavily on her to make the world a safe place for
him. Scarlet does this by indulging Red's passion for birds, telling him
stories about the day they'll go to Trinidad and see all the wonderful
birds there (especially his beloved Scarlet Ibis), saving her money to
take him to the zoo, helping him collect bird feathers, and even caring
for a baby pigeon who is nesting outside his window.
But things with her mom are getting harder, and after a dangerous
accident, Scarlet and Red are taken into foster care and separated. As
Scarlet struggles to cope with the sudden changes in her life and her
complex feelings towards her mom, the one thing she won't give up on is
finding Red. Nothing is going to get in her way--even if it might
destroy the new possibilities offered to her by her foster family.