摘要
Homeless Bird is a 2000 National Book Award novel for young adults by Gloria Whelan. By employing the fairy tale Cinderella as an archetype, Gloria Whelan successfully blends fantasy with realism, building an image of new Cinderella, who is independent, courageous, and full of rebelling spirits in a patriarchal society, thus presenting young readers a more familiar and more acceptable access to the harsh reality. With the theme of female initiation, Koly's initiation journey is allegorical which needs to be read as an extended metaphor to exhibit the power of courage and hope in people who determine to take the fate in their own hands.