45 pages • 1 hour read
Natalie LloydHummingbird
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Fragility, Vulnerability, and Strength
Fragility is a motif in Hummingbird that pushes Olive to seek stronger bones—however, through developing characters like Hatch, Natalie Lloyd suggests fragility is more than just physical vulnerability. The novel’s exploration of this topic posits that resilience can be both physical and emotional, and that, ultimately, fragility allows for strength. Proving she’s more than her osteogenesis imperfecta (OI or “brittle bone disease”) motivates Olive. Chapter 1 establishes fragility as a source of conflict when a churchgoer calls her as “fragile as a falling star” (10). Olive resents that others perceive her this way, wishing to be seen for her “whole constellation of wonder and weirdness and hope” (11). This reflection highlights her emotional resilience in contrast to her physical fragility: Despite others’ perceptions, she maintains a strong belief in herself. However, being “fragile” seems inescapable: At Macklemore Middle School, others avoid Olive because they have been told she is fragile, and it causes adults like Mrs. Matheson to exclude her. This pushes her to wish she was different for the first time—to pursue the hummingbird’s wish.
Lloyd uses characters like Hatch to balance Olive’s physical fragility with hidden fragility. Although Olive initially assumes her stepbrother is a “perfect” student, his body language and habits suggest he’s hiding a deeper insecurity: “The sleeves of Hatch’s blue hoodie are frayed because he’s constantly rubbing the edges […] But what if he doesn’t just do that out of habit? What if he’s nervous about something? Or anxious about something?” (237). While Olive’s physical fragility belies her emotional strength, Hatch’s poise masks loneliness. Olive gradually learns everyone is vulnerable. The hummingbird reinforces this theme, with Olive, Grace, and Hatch’s search for it illustrating that vulnerability can lead to beauty and connection. The hummingbird’s riddle suggests vulnerability is a gateway to magic, as one will only find the bird in the place “where fear and wonder both collide” (84). In other words, Olive, Grace, and Hatch have to enter vulnerable places to earn their respective wishes—to access new strengths. When Hatch opens up to Olive about Biscuit in Chapter 27, it allows a bond to grow between them. Olive herself confronts her limitations in Chapter 32, when she performs as Emily Dickinson. This ultimately leads her to discover the deeper truth that “My bones are fragile, but I am not” (337). Overall, the hummingbird facilitates inner strength by accepting fragility and vulnerability.
Existing with Limitations
Lloyd explores what it means to exist with limitations through Olive’s barriers at Macklemore. The novel concludes that while her OI limits her in some ways, it ultimately does not prevent her from achieving her dreams. By realistically depicting barriers to accessibility and inclusivity, Lloyd crafts a meaningful exploration of life with disability and its impact on self-image. She even uses free verse to craft a more intimate exploration of Olive’s attitude toward OI. The novel does not shy away from depicting the harsh realities of OI, especially in chapters like Chapter 29, but overall, Olive’s attitude is complex. Olive’s attitude evolves throughout the novel, beginning from a place of neutrality, to incorporating insecurity fueled by experiences at school, to concluding with empowerment.
In Chapter 2, Olive describes her wheelchair as “a skateboard with a seat” (15), reflecting a neutral view of her limitations. However, in the verse section that follows in Chapter 3, she describes her condition as “a curse [...] the curse of bones that break easy” (19-20). Upon entering Macklemore, the novel’s verse sections offer Olive a space to process heavier emotions. For example, in comparing her body to other girls, she worries hers will prevent her from finding love in the future: “What if I’m not the kind of girl who falls in love or does amazing things or gets to have a monstrously big life?” (147). This is the first time she perceives her condition as limiting, creating a shift in tone. In other words, Lloyd uses Olive’s changing perspective on her disability to highlight limits in the external world, while verse sections highlight her internal world.
Olive’s growth arises from her acceptance of her limits and belief in her ability to live with them. Her conversation with Grandpa Goad in Chapter 31 is instrumental to this revelation: He reminds her that “There’s way more that you can do than you can’t do” (326), helping her recover from despair over her thigh bone break in Chapter 29. Olive is later pushed to perform as Emily Dickinson in Chapter 32, leading to her encounter with the hummingbird. She ultimately accepts her deeper truth of “My bones are fragile, but I am not” (337), indicating acceptance of her limits while understanding they do not define her. Overall, this theme is reinforced by other characters like Grace, who ultimately does not seek the hummingbird because she can pursue business on her own (343)—limits and all.
Friends and Family as the Most Important Magic
Olive’s relationships are an important part of her life. In the beginning of the novel, her closeness with her family is evident, while her longing for friendship motivates her to attend Macklemore. In this pursuit, familial support helps her through triumphs and trials. Overall, the novel posits the importance of bonds in uplifting individuals. Olive’s family and friends make her feel accepted and capable; Mama and Jupiter are especially instrumental in this. Olive’s relationship with Grace is also instrumental in supporting Olive’s growth. Olive’s first objective in the novel, before her quest even kicks off, is to find her future BFF; after finding that in Grace, Grace’s loyalty and support of Olive continually help Olive grow. For example, Grace pushes Olive to audition for Emily in Chapter 23, looking out for her best interests and pushing her to be her best; after Olive feels that she’s bombed her audition, Grace quietly comforts her with her presence, and “just knowing she was there helped [Olive] feel a little better about it all” (249). Instances like these demonstrate that Olive’s family and friends are an important part of helping her move into the larger world and discover her happiness and potential.
The text places an emphasis on friendships and other relationships via the modeling that previous wish-makers of the hummingbird provide—each of their wishes pays off in different ways than they expected, but nearly all of them have something to do with valuing relationships. The Everly sisters wish for wings that will take them to a family that loves them (Chapter 9); Luther and Marvin Frye wish for a special treehouse that becomes a symbol and sanctuary for their brother relationship (Chapter 20); and Grandpa Goad, despite initially thinking he wanted fame from the hummingbird, realizes that what he needed all along was the friendship of the girl looking for the hummingbird alongside him, who eventually becomes Olive’s grandmother (Chapter 31). That all the previous wish-makers’ wishes center friendships and familial relationships demonstrate that these relationships are vital parts of an individual’s life, essential to creating long-term happiness and connection among people.
Just as Olive’s friends and family help her find her place of belonging in the world, friendship and familial bonds also support Olive through pain. Chapter 29 is the most significant example of this and represents the novel’s conclusion on this theme. When Olive breaks her leg in the theater auditorium, she’s in a world of pain; with Grace leading the way, her theater troupe joins Olive in her “roaring,” symbolically demonstrating their desire to help Olive bear her pain. Olive “[takes] [her] friends’ roar and ma[kes] it [hers],” accepting their support and allowing it to buoy her through the pain. She concludes, “Here’s how we survive: together, we roar” (310), suggesting that we need social support to make it through life’s hardships. The role of Olive’s friends and community in helping her build resilience through times of pain emphasizes how vital their relationships are to her. The emphasis placed on friends and family relationships throughout the novel, and social support is what helps Olive get through pain, points to the novel’s conclusion of the importance of friendship and familial bonds to build confidence in oneself and confront life’s challenges.
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