Q&A with Brooke Fast

 

 

 

Brooke Fast is the author of the new novel To Cage a Wild Bird. She lives in Maine.

 

Q: What inspired you to write To Cage a Wild Bird, and how did you create your character Raven?

 

A: I first wrote To Cage a Wild Bird as a short story in 2016 when I was a freshman in college. I’d just completed a paper on capital punishment for a composition course, and was reading The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (a great, YA dystopian series), and between those two things and the sleep deprivation that comes with college, the idea for To Cage a Wild Bird struck.

 

I set the story aside for seven years and honestly didn’t think I’d ever pick it up again. Then, in May of 2023, I was editing a different novel at a writing retreat with two of my close friends, and one of them revealed that, despite being obsessed with Divergent by Veronica Roth, they’d never seen the film adaptation.

 

So, of course, we promptly set our work to the side and curled up on the couch to watch it. I remember this feeling hitting me like a gut punch while we were watching it—how much the dystopian genre had shaped me as a reader, writer, and human during my formative years.

 

And suddenly, I wanted to write a story that would evoke the same feelings and questions in readers as I had when I first read books like Divergent, The Hunger Games, and Legend.

 

Raven was, like the story of To Cage a Wild Bird, born of the books that raised me—those depicting strong women who will do anything to protect the people they love, whether family, friends, or community.

 

She’s also deeply shaped by my personal experiences. I grew up very close to my brother, which influenced how I wrote Raven’s relationship with Jed. And, like Raven, I live with anxiety. I wanted to show her finding strength in the midst of her struggles with mental health.

 

Raven has done terrible things for what she thought were the right reasons, yet each of her choices contributed to the very system of oppression that she’s trapped within. I was drawn to the morality of her decisions and the reality that people can be both victims of injustice and participants in it.

 

When Raven is sent to Endlock, she’s forced to confront all of the pain she’s caused and decide who she wants to be if she makes it out of the prison alive.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: Let me tell you, the journey of deciding the title for To Cage a Wild Bird was a long one. I tried on multiple titles for size (the first being The Heart of the Hunted) but none of them felt right until I settled on To Cage a Wild Bird, thanks to a brainstorming session with two of my friends—the same ones from the aforementioned writing retreat, actually, I guess I have a lot of revelations when I’m sharing creative spaces with them.

 

For me, the title signifies what happens when you back someone up against a wall. When people are presented with death, they will inevitably fight back.

 

One of my favorite quotes from the book is when Vale, the love interest, says to Raven, “I suppose anyone foolish enough to cage a wild bird shouldn’t expect them to sing for their captor.” Essentially, a tyrant should never expect those they’re oppressing to comply with their fate.

 

Q: How did you create the world in which the novel is set?

 

A: As I mentioned, the first spark for To Cage a Wild Bird came after completing a paper on capital punishment. My research for that paper focused on the history of capital punishment and modern-day death row, and it left me with a lot of questions.

 

When I returned to the story, I was also wrestling with my thoughts about capitalism and consumerism and the commodification of…well…everything.

 

We live in a society where comfort, convenience, and experience are often prioritized over the harm that kind of consumption causes. I tried to envision the most horrific, in-your-face fictional reflection of that tendency.

 

In the world of To Cage a Wild Bird, for the hunters that visit Endlock, killing inmates is a right so long as they can afford to pay for the experience.

 

And just like in our own world, the city of Dividium adapts to meet the demand. Businesses spring up to profit from the popularity of the sport of hunting—vacation planners offer all-inclusive hunting trips with resort stays, while Endlock sells weapons upgrades and photo packages. Jewelers in the city turn the teeth pried from victims’ mouths into strings of pearls for keepsakes and displays of wealth.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: When I first started drafting To Cage a Wild Bird, I knew exactly how it would end. And I was VERY stubborn about the ending staying the same after working through several drafts with it in place. However, eventually, it did change. I won’t give any spoilers, but it’s for the better.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: The sequel to To Cage a Wild Bird! Which feels absolutely surreal. I’m thrilled for readers to spend more time with these characters I love.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb