|
Having been helped before in this thread, I thought I'd try again with another novel I've lost track of...
Plotline is a 'post nuclear apocalypse' one, written as if it were a diary by a teenage girl whose parents are now dead. The tale tells of her experiences as she seeks (and eventually finds) other survivors.
Can't remember the name of the girl, but she has a pet parrot - a Hyacinthine Macaw - that goes by the name of Terry Dactyl(?sp.), that she has owned since birth (of the girl or the bird, I'm not sure).
The girl/parrot relationship is so close that a mental bond has formed. When the bird is flying, the girl feels that she is swooping through the air, etc.
The girl is also expert in martial arts - an ability that saves her from danger more than once in the tale.
One of the people she meets up with is a 'rich kid' boy slightly younger than herself, who is some sort of engineering genius. He plays the most awful tricks with words ... rebuilding a car engine is 'mantling', for instance.
At the end of the story, the girl is somewhere in the middle of America in her travels. She looks up at the sky & sees the contrail of an airplane - this is one of the signs she has been seeking, that she is no longer alone.
Following the line of the contrail, she finally arrives in California and finds a group of survivors that she joins up with.
There are other 'bits' I can remember, but not too accurately & I don't want to make the picture too muddy.
Any help with locating this book would be greatly appreciated.
|