Elizabeth Bryer

How to Turn Into a Bird Elizabeth Bryer

After years of hard work in a factory outside of Santiago, Chile, Ramón accepts a peculiar job: to look after a Coca-Cola billboard located by the highway. And it doesn't take long for Ramón to make an even more peculiar decision: to make the billboard his new home.

Eleven year-old Miguel is enchanted by his uncle's unusual living arrangement, but the neighborhood is buzzing with gossip, declaring Ramón a madman bringing shame to the community. As he visits his uncle above it all, Miguel comes to see a different perspective, and finds himself wondering what he believes--has his uncle lost his mind, as everyone says? Is madness--and the need for freedom--contagious? Or is Ramón the only one who can see things as they really are, finding a deeper meaning in a life they can't understand from the ground?

When a local boy disappears, tensions erupt and forgotten memories come to the surface. And Miguel, no longer perched in the billboard with his uncle, witnesses the reality on the ground: a society that, in the name of peace, is not afraid to use violence. With sharp humor and a deep understanding of a child's mind, How to Turn Into a Bird is a powerful tale of coming-of-age, loss of innocence, and shifting perspectives that asks us: how far outside of our lives must we go to really see things clearly?