Author(s): Diane Connell

Staff Picks- Read our reviews

If you were charmed by The Curious Incident, laughed with Eleanor Oliphant and cried over A Man Called Ove, you will love Ricky Bird.

‘No one loved making forts more than Ricky. A fort was a place of safety and possibility. It shut out the world and enclosed her and Ollie within any story she wanted to tell …’

Ricky Bird loves making up stories for her little brother Ollie almost as much as she loves him. The imaginary worlds she creates are wild and whimsical places full of unlimited possibilities. Real life is another story. Ricky’s father has abandoned them and the family has moved to a bleak new neighbourhood. Worse still, her mother’s new boyfriend, Dan, has come with the furniture. But Ricky Bird is a force to be reckoned with.

As the mastermind of so many outlandish plots, imagination is her best weapon to restore her world to rights. As her father used to say, if you can spin a good yarn you can get on in life. Ricky knows that better than anyone but despite her best efforts everything in her world starts to spiral out of control. Until a gypsy prediction that someone will come along – a he or a she who is like a gift – comes true. But no one, not even Ricky, could imagine the consequences.

Beautifully written, heartbreakingly funny and deeply moving, this book has already been compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Lost and Found, Shuggie Bain, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and A Monster Calls. But Ricky’s story is all her own – and it will stay with you long after the last page.

‘A wise, tender but unflinching portrait of an ordinary family and the unordinary girl at its heart. Ricky – fragile, tough, endearing and funny – is a fabulous creation. She'll walk around in my world all year, and more.’ Kristina Olsson, award-winning author of Shell and Boy, Lost.  

The Improbable Life of Ricky Bird follows the events of twelve year-old Ricky Bird’s life just after she and her family move to a different suburb of London in order to restart after the divorce of her parents. It is written in a way that makes you feel so connected character, an imaginative, creative person, who is constantly using stories to cope with and distract herself from everything going on in her life.

Feeling completely isolated, and as if her life is falling apart, she doesn’t have anyone to turn to. Covering the struggles and fears of sickness as well as mental health, It felt so real with Ricky’s constant feelings of ultimately just being unlovable. there were definitely a lot of tear shed while reading this book. However, I completely devoured this book. I loved it so much and cannot recommend it enough. -Maggie