"Pablo and Birdy," by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Ana Juan. (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 304 pages, $17.99.)
An orphan and a non-talking parrot are the unlikely pair at the center of Alison McGhee's new middle-grade novel "Pablo and Birdy."
As a baby, Pablo washed up on the beach of the small town of Isla during a record storm. He was adopted by an islander named Emmanuel and the two formed a family, running a small shop catering to tourists. But as Pablo's 10th birthday and another record storm approach, change is stirring on the island.
Twin Cities writer McGhee builds her story masterfully through a collage of voices, careful revelations about Pablo's background, and a search by islanders and outsiders for the mythic Seafaring Parrot, which is reputed to hear every sound ever made, every voice that ever spoke, at the same time.
She also finds humor in a quartet of busybody birds that use their repertoire of phrases to comment on the island's residents and barge into the action.
Isla is home to many refugees — those fleeing convention, such as the Canadian baker Pierre, as well as those leaving poverty or political conflict, such as Emmanuel, who is a Cuban refugee.
As Pablo begins to question the stories the adults have told to protect him, he bumps up against their histories and their losses, and a deeper understanding of the surge of migrants arriving on his island.
"You were a someone before you were set upon the waves," the town veterinarian and mother figure, Maria, tells Pablo. "You were a someone, and … someone wanted you to live."
At the end of the book, McGhee thanks the many immigrant students she has taught over the years. "Pablo and Birdy" takes a story old and urgent and weaves it into a resonant quest.