A book about a seagull.

I had heard this title mentioned in some way or another in the past and knew nothing about it save that others held it in high esteem. One day a few weeks back I saw an old, recovered library copy sitting on the mini fridge in my apartment. A roommate had checked it out. I impulsively began reading it when I didn't have the time to finish it. a few weeks pass and on this past Sunday I noticed the book was still there. It seemed like a nice quick read (my kind of book usually) so I picked it up the second time. I read it out loud so my roommate could enjoy it as well. It was my first time reading it myself. I had to stifle tears more than a couple times. A very good little story.