Review: The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson

Mar 31, 2010 by shanyn

Title: The Key to the Golden Firebird
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: June 1, 2004

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Book Summary:
When Mike Gold has a heart attack and dies in his 1967 Firebird, the car sits in the family garage untouched for a year. May, Brooks, and Palmer Gold–all teenage girls in what May calls the “Tall, Blond, and Wonderful Family”–suffer from neglect as well when their mother goes to work overtime at the hospital to pay the bills. The three girls deal with their father’s death in different ways: Brooks quits softball and starts drinking, Palmer ferociously focuses on pitching and TV, hiding her panic attacks from everyone, and May tries to keep the family together. As the family unravels, the Firebird endures.

(There is more summary on Goodreads but it ruins a lot of events in the book so I am only posting part of it)

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Review:
The Key to the Golden Firebird ended up being a lot more serious than I was expecting (Maureen has been talking a lot about glass jars on her Twitter lately, not exactly a serious topic, unless you’re a glass jar). When I say it was more serious, that does not in any way mean not good. I can explain.

May, Palmer, and Brooks are trying to get over the death of their dad. They are all sisters, and obviously have different ways of dealing with losing a parent. Most of the book is told from May’s perspective, but we do get glimpses from both Palmer and Brooks. Each character is given a depth that I originally assumed would be only witty banter. Dealing with a death is not easy, and this story proves it – but not in the every day way you would expect. This is what I enjoyed most about this book. The plot can be based on someone you love passing away, but it is not necessary to keep repeating this exact fact – it is much more eloquent (and realistic) to relate to that event through the actions and words of day to day life.

I feel very satisfied after finishing this book. I spent a good amount of time with the characters, feeling their emotions, and felt okay with letting them go – I like books that can tell me a complete story and be so real. I have a few other Maureen Johnson books to read – they are moving high on my list. If the character development in her other books is anything near this one, I am in for a treat.

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