Time will do the talking, years will do the walking: THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIRDS.

The Language of the Birds: A Novel by K.A. Merson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is quite an intriguing book. It features a YA protagonist but it's a very "smart" story--filled with big words, big theories, and big problems.

Also, it feels as if there are a lot of books featuring codes and puzzles lately. I love National Treasure as much as the next person, but I will freely confess that I am not smart enough for all these clues and treasure hunts!

Seventeen-year-old Arizona's father dies in a motorcycle accident and her mother disappears while they are mourning him. She quickly learns her mom has been kidnapped and the only way to get her back is to solve a series of puzzles and codes. The kidnappers have ties to the old alchemists and the book features tons of puzzles and mentions of ancient texts (and lots of readings of poems). I won't lie--it's a lot.

The puzzling is fun, but my favorites were the more emotional sections with Arizona herself. She was clearly autistic, or something similar, and it was her father with whom she had identified more (he was also a puzzle guy). Arizona is crazy mature for a 17-year-old, driving the family truck and camper all around to solve these puzzles, and basically dealing with a death and disappearance without completely freaking out. She also has an adorable dog, Mojo.

This is definitely a different sort of book, but that's not a bad thing. The puzzles and ciphers and some of the odd plot choices were a bit too much for me, but I'm still glad I read it.

I received this book from Netgalley and Ballantine Books in return for an unbiased review.

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