Review by Kelly Jarvis: Nightbird by Alice Hoffman
Although Nightbird is classified as a young adult novel due to its twelve year old protagonist, a young girl who must navigate the secrets of her family and her small town, this spellbinding story will delight adults and fans of fairy tale magic. Written in Alice Hoffman’s beautiful style, Nightbird is a book that will lead you back to a time in your life when friendships, first love, and finding your true self all lead to enchantment.
The novel takes place in the town of Sidwell, Massachusetts in the Berkshires. Teresa Jane Fowler (known as Twig) must keep her family’s secret, the results of an ancient curse cast by a witch over two-hundred years ago. Twig’s family owns an apple orchard which grows fruit from the seeds of Johnny Appleseed himself, and when new neighbors move into the witch’s abandoned cottage down the street, Twig’s growing friendship with a girl named Julia makes her secret harder and harder to keep. Together, the girls must investigate the local legend of a “flying monster” who steals things from residents, save the woods, which house a unique species of owl, from being bulldozed and developed, facilitate their older siblings’ star-crossed romance, and break the ancient curse upon the Fowler family.
Nightbird is an easy read for adults, but there is much complexity in the writing which lingers long after the book has been put away. It is the kind of book I would teach in my Children’s or Young Adult Literature college classes to demonstrate the possibilities of the genre in the hands of a true artist. Hoffman shines when she speaks of the depths of love and friendship, and her narrative is filled with natural imagery about the world that will change the ordinary into something special. The book encourages readers to see what is in front of them from a new point of view, and it is the perfect story to share with a middle grade reader or to enjoy with the full force of adult nostalgia. If you loved Hoffman’s Practical Magic series, you will enjoy Nightbird which sparkles with magic, innocence, and love. You can purchase the book here.
Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/
