The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-Mi Hwang Review

This is the story of a hen named Sprout. No longer content to lay eggs on command only to have them carted off to the market, she glimpses her future every morning through the barn doors, where the other animals roam free, and comes up with a plan to escape into the wild—and to hatch an egg of her own.

This book which has been adapted into a film, comic strips and translated into 27 languages was nothing I've read in a very long time. Being a stand alone books means you can pick this up at any point and read away, personally it took me less than 24 hours. This book is about an egg laying hen who doesn't like being in a coop and wants to explore, fly and hatch her own egg. This is about motherhood, standing up for what you believe in and taking chances. I tend to avoid general fiction but this was worth the read.
I haven't picked a favourite character because every one has certain qualities that are brilliant. However I really liked Sprout the main hen in this story, she had a strong personality and apart from the fact she's a chicken she is someone I would love to grow up to be. The Hen who Dreamed was written very well, in a way that made every character feel real and like I was witnessing the story as it took place. It also had fantastic twists and didn't shy away from the theme of losing friends/family, I read somewhere this book was classed as a fairy tale however I wouldn't put it in that genre, there wasn't magic or communication between little mice and princesses it felt very much like a real story that was taking place. (So don't pick this up if you are expecting something Cinderella.)
My favourite chapter was chapter 5, "A farewell and a greeting". This chapter I found stirred up my emotions the most making me feel like crying followed by me smiling like an idiot. That chapter along with all the others kept me reading almost none stop, and constantly excited for what would happen next to Sprout.
My copy is a paperback and consists of some of the most beautiful artwork at the beginning of each chapter, it set the scene for each chapter and made me look forward to what was ahead.. (See image below, sorry about the quality)

Although I thoroughly enjoyed almost every aspect of this book, I have a certain love for stories involving crime, thrills and mystery - this story had none of those. And although I wouldn't lower any rating a make because it isn't the genre I normally read, I'm not 100% sure how to rate or judge this book. I'm used to thinking about the crime and the conclusion, neither of which I can really look at in this book.
 As an 18 year old I enjoyed this book, I would also recommend this to my 13 year old sister along with my aunt and my mother. I think I covers a lot of themes that are rarely covered in books for younger reader as they can be considered slightly taboo. These themes are lose, unconditional love and perhaps discrimination, but since the entire book is from Sprout's point of view, and looks at the relationship between the chickens and the ducks young people could very well understand the messages it could be trying to put across.
I would recommend this to a friend or family member.
4/5 simply because it didn't have the thrill of the chase that crime books often do.

A post shared by |wonderland| (@book.monkey) on Nov 4, 2017 at 9:44am PDT

Book Published 2000