Catherine, also known as Birdy, is the daughter of a knight in medieval England. Her father is determined to marry her off to the highest bidder and she is determined to do everything in her power to scare her suitors off.
The story is set in medieval England in a small town that is run by her father. Her family lives in a small castle and most of the story takes place inside the castle or on the castle grounds. The setting is vividly described. Catherine describes her bedroom in great detail. �In the middle is the bed... large and high, with curtains all around and a trundle under... at the foot is a chest, carved and dark with age, that looks as if it should be full of treasure, but instead is stuffed with old clothes� (Cushman 39). The time period the story is set in is obvious from the way the characters talk, act and live. There is also an author's note at the end of the story that puts the year of the story as 1290. �The book is rich with information about the food, dress, religious beliefs, manners, health, medical practices, and sanitary habits (or lack thereof) of the people of her day... reveals fascinating facts about Birdy's time period� (School Library Journal 1994).
The main character is Catherine. She's believable and easy to identify with. She's a tomboy and hates sewing and doing chores, something that teens today will be able to identify with her about. She's appalled at being married off to some man she doesn't know who is older than her. She's outgoing and speaks her mind, even when she shouldn't. She behaves more like a boy than a girl, such as the way she curses. Her diary entries �reveal a girl likable for her stubborness, her fondness for a joke, and her mixture of wisdom and naivety� (Voice of Youth Advocates 1994). Despite the huge difference in her world from today's world, most teens, particularly girls, will identify with her. Most teens have been forced to do things by their parents that they didn't want to do. These things probably weren't as serious as marriage, but still readers will identify with her feelings. The other characters are believable as well. There's Catherine's father and brother, Robert, who act more like cavemen than civilized men. They are slovenly and rude and seem to always put themselves first, which is typical of how men in this time period would have acted. Growth is shown though. At the end, her father and Robert go to extra lengths to find a safe home for a bear that Catherine has rescued (Cushman 189). Catherine questions whether they have changed or her perception of them has changed, and the author never states which has actually occurred. Catherine certainly has grown by the end of the story. She's come to realize that no matter who she marries, she will accept it and learn to make the best of it and be happy.
The plot is interesting, full of action, and definitely realistic to the time period. There are all sorts of subplots, but the main conflict involves Catherine's attempts to avoid arranged marriages. The subplots are equally interesting. They involve such varied plots as her best friend being married off to a seven year old and her attempt to rescue an abused performing bear from a fair. There are more serious subplots too, such as her mother's miscarriages and illnesses. The sequence of events is definitely plausible and realistic to the time period. There are lots of humorous action scenes. One such example is when Catherine is trying to scare off another suitor by setting fire to the hay by the privy (outhouse) he is using. The privy accidentally catches on fire and he runs out without his pants on (Cushman 92). The climax occurs when Catherine runs away to her uncle George's to avoid her marriage. The resolution follows soon after when she decides to accept her fate and return home. When she gets there she finds out that her suitor has died and she will instead be married to his son, who is young and intelligent, and she is happy.
The theme is growing up and learning how to deal with situations in life that you cannot change. This applies to teens from any time or place. The theme emerges naturally as we see how Catherine grows and changes. She comes to accept that she must marry and decides that she will be able to make herself happy regardless of who she has to marry, because no matter what, she will always be true to herself.
The story is told in first person point of view in the form of Catherine's diary that she has been forced to keep by her mother and brother. The characters' speech and dialogue are suited to the time period. There are fake slang words that Catherine uses which not only add to the story's humor, but also help to characterize Catherine and show the author's unique style. For instance, Catherine says things like �corpus bones� and �God's thumbs� instead of saying �darn� when things aren't going her way. After Catherine is given a book about saints, each of her diary entires begins with the date, what saint's day it is and what that saint did. This adds something to the unique style and to the humor as many of these saints were made saints for odd reasons. For instance, April 2 is the feast day for Saint Mary of Egypt, �a female hermit who lived on berries and dates and was buried by a lion� (Cushman 130). Another important part of the style is the use of humor. Most of the story has a humorous mood, due to Catherine's quirky diary entires and all of the humorous events that take place. Many of the humorous events are due to Catherine's pranks. For instance, she takes the string from a lute and cuts it into pieces and drops it onto a serving tray that has fish on it. The heat from the fish makes the strings wiggle like they are worms which causes a huge scene as women at the table scream and faint (Cushman 56). Catherine's nickname is another interesting aspect of this story's style. She is called Birdy because she has lots of pet birds in cages in her room. They are basically used by the author as an analogy to Catherine's feelings. She feels as though she is caged and trapped by her gender and noble birth just as her birds are trapped in their cages. At the end of the story, she sets each of her birds free, which is appropriate because she has realized that she too is free because she will always be herself no matter who she is forced to marry. There is an author's note at the end that includes a bibliography for readers who want to learn more about the Middle Ages.
This is a funny story with great characters and a great theme. It is extremely popular among the junior high and high school students at the public library where I work. School Library Journal calls it �superb historical fiction� (1994).
School Library Journal. 1994. School Library Journal. In Books in Print [database online]. Available
from http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 10 November 2004.
Voice of Youth Advocates. 1994. Voice of Youth Advocates. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 15 November 2004.
