Blackbird - Sarah moon

Smart, quiet and lonely - will Merel ever be able to fly? Merel is plucked from the roof of her school. Why was she there? Did she want to jump? Merel refuses to talk about it... Her life was fine - if a little lonely. She loved sitting at home with her mother, reading, watching the birds and dreaming of flying. And school was doable: she got good grades and didn't have to associate with anyone as long as she could spend her lunch breaks with Mrs. Wexley, the school librarian. But then Mrs. Wexley dies. Slowly but surely Merel discovers that there is another way to connect with people... and still be herself. A swinging way. Every quiet teenager - and everyone who has been a quiet teenager - will recognize themselves in Merel, hoping with her that she will find her wings and cheering when she flies.