"Nora and Ben's younger sister Birdy loves to keep secrets ... One day Birdy watches her mother spit into a tube, ready to send it off to find out more about herself ... Birdy spits into a tube, too, when no one sees her. But when the test results come back, they are a surprise. Birdy is seemingly not related to Nora and Ben's parents. But if she is adopted, how could that have happened without the children knowing?"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

When they discover through a mail-order DNA test kit that their youngest sister was adopted, two siblings must figure out how to uncover this secret for the entire family. 50,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

Newbery Medal–winning author Patricia MacLachlan paints a moving portrait of what it means to be a family, the power of love, and the importance of bringing the truth out into the light, in this beautiful and profound story about adoption.

Nora and Ben’s younger sister Birdy loves to keep secrets. She surprises her family more than once: She hides a kitten in her room. She writes a beautiful poem. One day Birdy watches her mother spit into a tube, ready to send it off to find out more about herself and where her family came from. Birdy spits into a tube, too, when no one sees her.

But when the test results come back, they are a surprise. Birdy is seemingly not related to Nora and Ben’s parents. But if she is adopted, how could that have happened without the children knowing?

Nora and Ben must learn when to keep a secret, and who to go to for help—and eventually, how to solve this secret for the entire family.

Booklist Reviews

With simple, repetitive language, much of it offered as dialogue, MacLachlan's latest is perfect for readers just transitioning into chapter books with slightly more narrative depth. This story of a happy, artistic family centers around a secret seemingly at odds with the family's openness. Nora, twin sister to Ben, narrates. When her younger sister, Birdy, secretly sends in her DNA as part of an ancestry test, the results Nora and Ben intercept reveal that Birdy is not related to them. Suddenly her Scandinavian looks make sense, but they don't know what to make of the secret their parents (with Irish and Italian roots) aren't sharing. Their mother's visits to a local graveyard; a picture of their mom's best friend, Linnea, at their parents' wedding; and papers hidden in a locked cabinet all seem to point to information the twins think their parents' should share. Familial concern about honesty gives the twins' questions weight, and a resolution about adoption that ties up happily works well for the target audience. A sweet look at what really makes for a family. Grades 3-5. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.