Sierra Simone warned us that Baby Bell would be dark, but I found Ry to be exactly the right amount of light to let Birdie shine.
What I loved most was the beautiful parallel between Birdie and Aiden. Their journeys mirrored each other in so many ways, even down to the drowning hills. They were both lost to life in their own way until they were saved by the person they’d least expect. That symmetry gave the story so much emotional weight.
The sunflower imagery was one of my favorite threads throughout the book. Just as sunflowers turn toward the sun, Birdie slowly turned toward Ry’s warmth, attention, and unwavering focus. Watching her grow because someone finally saw her was beautiful.
The light and dark imagery was woven through every page. The contrast between the devout and the profane, salvation and temptation, was mesmerizing. The crucifix scene was all-encompassing. Ry is Birdie’s savior and her devil, and somehow Sierra Simone makes those two truths exist in perfect harmony.
Then there were the lines that completely wrecked me:
“I didn’t mind making myself your worst thing. I never will. I only hoped I could slowly convince you that I could be your best thing too.”
“She is the beginning of everything good, the start, my genesis. My Eden.”
For someone everyone claimed didn’t have a heart, Baby Bell proved the exact opposite. His heart wasn’t missing. It was simply too big. Too fierce. Too willing to carry the weight of loving someone completely.
Dark, symbolic, emotional, and beautifully written, Devil was everything I hoped it would be.