The Language of Seabirds follows young Jeremy, who isn’t looking forward to spending his summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It’s the first summer after his parents’ divorce and Jeremy hasn’t exactly been looking forward to spending time with dad. But when Jeremy takes a walk on the beach and finds himself intrigued by a boy his age running by, his luck seems about to change. Evan and Jeremy hit it off immediately and what starts as a beautiful friendship blossoms into something even more magical that neither of them is expecting—yet is everything they were both hoping for.
There are stories in the world out there that are just so overwhelmingly wholesome that you kind of don’t want to talk about them for fear of them being compromised by the reality of the world we’re living in. The Language of Seabirds turned out to be one of those reads for me.
There is something so gentle in the way Taylor unravels the budding friendship and eventual first love between Jeremy and Evan. Here are two boys who are utterly supportive of each other, attentive and attuned to the other’s needs and it translates so beautifully onto the page. From their semi-successful runs on the beach together to the secret language of seabirds they come up with to tell each other how they feel when real words would be too real, every interaction between them carries an air of security and comfort with it that enchanted me.
And speaking of enchanting, there were so many elements in this novel that made it great. The beautiful setting of the Oregon coast that guided Jeremy and Evan’s interactions, the lyrical yet accessible writing Taylor offers when capturing the anxieties, vulnerabilities and utter elation of experiencing your first crush, and the brutally honest depiction of what it means to be a child of divorce.
The divorce of Jeremy’s parents plays a key role in the narrative and I loved the exploration of how Jeremy deals with this new role of basically sitting between the chairs. He’s torn on with whom he should live with once the summer is over and while his father used to be pretty laid-back, Jeremy is getting to know other sides of him during this time alone and not all of them are favourable. Meanwhile, Jeremy doesn’t want either of his parents to think he likes the other one better and I could so relate to that. Taylor captures perfectly how burdensome it can often feel when you’re young and need adults in your life to handle things even when they’re preoccupied with themselves. There is of course also the exploration of queer joy and how wanting to please your parents features into the whole mix in The Language of Seabirds but overall, this is such a pure story about discovering you’re queer which just has my whole heart.
I can’t really put into words how this book made me feel but safe to say that I’m beyond overjoyed that young children who might be afraid to show their true selves for fear of rejection or being denied community will have this book and Jeremy to tell them that they’re perfect just the way they are and that there’s nothing wrong with loving who you love.
A mesmerising, gentle story following two boys falling in love for the first time during a summer of emotional upheaval, The Language of Seabirds is an extraordinary novel filled with queer joy, perfect for fans of Ashley Herring Blake and Nicole Melleby.
The Language of Seabirds is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 19th 2022.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A sweet, tender middle-grade story of two boys finding first love with each other over a seaside summer.
Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It’s the first summer after his parents’ divorce, and he hasn’t exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn’t have a choice, though, so he goes… and on his first day takes a walk on the beach and finds himself intrigued by a boy his age running by. Eventually, he and Runner Boy (Evan) meet — and what starts out as friendship blooms into something neither boy is expecting… and also something both boys have been secretly hoping for.
