For the Forest of a Bird

A novel about love and the things you can and can't change, from the winner of the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for young adult fiction. Nella closed her hand in the pocket of her dress, and she felt the feather against her fingers. 'I want to tell you something,' she said, and it did not matter that there was no reply. 'I want to tell you that he's coming home. . . and it's going to be like it was before he went away, before everything broke apart.' Nella waits for the swallows by the creek each spring. It's a secret vigil she's followed ever since her father left. This year she's going to take him with her . . . but can we ever return to the way things were?