Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

Her family is cursed.  They stay to themselves, mind their own business, and don't mention the other member of the family.  You see, the family curse gives the males wings...

Wendy Lamb Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published March 10th, so you can grab a copy then.

This is a fantasy that feels like it was written in an simpler time.  They live on an apple farm that the family has owned for years.  The mother is a wonderful baker and they sell her pies and jams.  They are pretty much self sufficient.

Twig doesn't even have friends in school.  She did for a while, then her mother found out they had her starring in the school play as the witch.  She jerks her out of the play and explains that's the witch that hexed her family.

When a family moves in the old abandoned house on the other side of the lake, she's excited to see there is a daughter her age.  Her mother tries to keep her from becoming friends with her (it's the witch's family, you see) but to no avail.

The crux of the matter is twofold:  Mr. Montgomery wants to cut down the trees in the forest and develop the land; and, people have seen a flying monster and fear it.  

There's a campaign to stop the deforestation by graffiti (never seen before in Sidwell).  An almost homeless professor is trying to prove the unusual owl found there is endangered and needs the trees.  And Twig and her Mom are trying to keep their secret and keep the older brother in the house.  He's old enough now, he's not content with that.  The neighbor girls have seen him fly.  And it's all starting to fall apart...

There are some very nice touches in this story.  I haven't read Ms. Hoffman's work before, but she makes her words dance.  This was a very good read and young ones should really enjoy it.  Older ones do, too.  After all, I liked it.