Other Birds: A Novel

This was fun to listen to and I quite enjoyed it. I wanted to see what would happen next and I had affection for each of the characters.

That said, there were many parts that felt stilted and contrived. I think this is what kept the book from being truly great.

Oh my. I love her stories so much!!! I'm a terrible reviewer and youll have to read the others for more eloquent insight, but rest assured this one will not let you down. ?

I enjoyed all the plot twists and turns! I loved the story so much that I was sad it has to end.

A little bit of magic and a whole lot of love is what made this book enjoyable for me. Liked most of the characters, and was not quite ready to have the story end.

Perfect book for a light read. Sad when it ended...

The author’s imaginative story- telling and sympathetic characters. I’ve read all her work and this one stands up to the rest.

I did not think I would love this book as much as I did! It really made me want to jump into the pages and join this found family! The characters all felt so real and I wish I could talk to them all!

A cute story with some unexpected turns. Could have made more out of the setting but good for a bit of mystery and some romantic charm.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and was so happy that the author has written another magical realism book.

This book doesn’t know what it’s about.

It reads as though the author had several ideas in her head but couldn’t flesh out any of them enough to write an entire book, so she threw them all together and came up with a (very) loose framework to connect them. Many plot points come and go that are either never developed, or add nothing to the story line. Often I was left thinking “What was the point of that?” On the other hand, some plot points come out of nowhere to make another plot point make sense, when in fact they both should’ve been left out entirely.

To that end, there’s just no cohesiveness to the plot, to the characters’ motivations, etc. I love a novel where multiple threads are carefully woven together into an amazing fabric. This is not the case with this book, which is more like a poorly sewn and misshapen crazy quilt.

The other thing I didn’t like about this book is that it feels like a brainless Lifetime movie. I don’t like Lifetime movies because they only work if you check at least 50 IQ points at the door. This book is no exception, and it just gets worse the closer you get to the end.

The book gets one star because the author is a good wordsmith. It gets a second star because it doesn’t have any gratuitous sex scenes. The three points I didn’t give it are for having a wildly and unnecessarily meandering plot line, erratic character and structural development, and because it wasted my time.

The was a charming story of life and the lives of people looking for the love family can bring, whether blood or chosen. I have often heard ‘your friends are the family you choose’. It is deftly illustrated in this story.

Very good narration, always clear who was saying what, and also a good story

A cozy, feel-good story. If you're looking for a hopeful, atmospheric book, this is it. A few of the author's observations were so well-worded and profound that they really stuck with me. For example, (probably paraphrased due to the limitations of my memory) "Stories aren't fiction. Stories are fabric. We drape them over our ghosts so we can see them." But overall, this isn't a book that is trying to be profound. Rather, it is a comfort to read.

Such a lovely story... Our past, our fears, our dreams... maybe we all want to be another birds instead of a ordinary one's

Not worth the listen. Poor character development and story telling. This could have been a good story if it was crafted better.

Not my usual genre but this book was beautifully written.

This book was like a warm hug full of live, forgiveness, and hope.

It's been so long since I fell in love with a story like I did this one. Beautiful.

I have been a fan of Sarah Addison Allen ever since I picked up her first book. She fills her stories with magical settings, fantastical food, quirky characters that are searching for meaning and plots that are enticing and whimsical. In Other Birds she introduces us to an apartment building full of such characters, as well as a few ghosts with stories to reveal.

The main character, Zoey, with her invisible pet pigeon, moves into the Dellawisp Apartments on Mallow Island, just off the Southern Carolina coast. Sh meets and interacts with her neighbours that include a young lady trying to escape her past, a grieving chef who makes delicious food, two battling sisters and three ghosts. Each character has their own story and of course, romance is definitely inluded.

Other Birds was a nice, light escape with touches of magical realism. With a theme of dealing with grief and recovery through the joy of found family, it also comforts and when finished one feels like they have been given a warm hug.

The city of Charleston is known for its ghost stories. So, it’s no surprise that an island not too far away has residents talking about their very own tales of magic and spirits from the beyond. This place is called Mallow Island where an unusual species of birds known as dellawisps can be found.

Zoey’s mother sadly passed away 12 years ago and left her daughter the deed to her condo on the island. Zoey decided to stay there for the summer before attending the College of Charleston in the fall. She couldn’t wait to move out from her home in Tulsa. Apparently, her father and stepmother were happy to say goodbye as well.

She was greeted by Frasier, an elderly Black man, managing the care of five condos. She followed him inside her new place carrying her luggage and a birdcage with her invisible friend, Pigeon. Over the next few weeks of time, she met the other home owners who all had an interesting past along with the resident birds that didn’t seem to fit in. Frasier said, “I’d much rather be an other bird than just the same old thing.”

It's the characters that make this book come alive – quirky and fun in their own way with stories from each home owner and ghosts still around. Those that were once outsiders came together when Zoey entered the circle. This group of five gradually started to belong which brought in a greater sense of happiness and love. Everyone wants to belong in some way. This story is beautifully written with a satisfying ending.

My thanks to Sarah Addison Allen, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of August 30, 2022.

I'm not sure how this book ended up on my list of books to read. I knew nothing about it as I started it but the writing style hooked me immediately.

The story unfolds to an unlikely group of strangers who suddenly find they have things in common and begin relying on each other, allowing the release of ghosts from the past.

It was rather lovely, and only a bit ethereal.

Zoey, starting college in the fall, is finally able to leave her father and stepmother’s home and all the unhappiness she has felt there. Her mother owned a condo in Mallow Island, and left it to Zoey years ago upon her untimely death. There are five condos in Dellawisp, inhibited by some quirky and unusual people. And some ghosts who have not yet crossed over. Their journey will only be over when the humans connected to them can finally let go. Zoey will fit right in with this group. She will become the magnet that brings them together and the glue that holds them fast. The story is quite well written. Little by little, as readers learn about the characters, they will be enlightened to the past that brought these people to where they are now. The ghosts are very informative: they tend to tell the secrets that the humans tend to hide. The author does a wonderful job of showing that if you aren’t pleased with the family you are born into, you can make a new family with the people around you. Sweet, touching, heartwarming, and hopeful are adjectives that describe this tale. You don’t want to miss reading this uplifting and magical story.

Upon relocating to her late mother's former residence on Mallow Island, South Carolina, nineteen-year-old Zoey is met with an overwhelming sense of loss and solitude that has been a constant presence in her life since her mother's passing during her childhood. The apartment, called Dellawisp after the enigmatic turquoise birds that inhabit the area, becomes the setting for Zoey's unexpected connection with her fellow tenants, each carrying their own burdens of sorrow and heartache.

The enchanting element of magic woven into the narrative of this tale introduces a captivating layer of complexity that captivates the reader from the very first page to the last. As a fervent admirer of stories centered around the concept of found family, I found "Other Birds" to be an incredibly fulfilling and satisfying exploration of this theme.

Plus 3 more *** if I could. I always so enjoy anything written by Sara Addison Allen and this book was absolutely lovely to read. She writes with such flare and detail I can see in my mind these little birds flitting everywhere in their home at the Dellawhisp. I read her books with such joy but so sad its done until the next!

Another great work of magical realism from Allen that explores families of all varieties, including those no longer living.

On a small island in South Carolina, buried behind the highly tourist-focused main street is a building made up of five condos. When Zoey Hennessy moves into her deceased mother's old condo, she has hopes of both connecting with the mother she barely knew and making some new friends. What she doesn't expect is that the death of one of the other tenants in the condo building will unravel the secrets of several of her new neighbours.

This was a really charming piece of magical realism with a strong theme of found family. All of the characters Allen crafts are deeply sympathetic and there are several reveals that occur over the course of the book that surprised me (although several I saw coming). If you're looking for a soothing read, that provides similar vibes to sinking into a warm bath, this might just be the read for you.

Zoey moves from Tulsa to a South Caroline coastal island, Mallow Island, where her late mother kept a small apartment for her. She moves in with Pigeon, her imaginary bird friend, who is the spirit of her late mother, Paloma. She meets the other residents of the small apartment complex and finds friends, surrogate fathers, and a love interest.

Beautiful, enchanting, and engrossing - this sweet book of neighbors, ghosts, and fresh starts was perfect to get me in the mood for Halloween. Slightly paranormal but mostly human drama, Other Birds details the people tied to The Dellawisp, a fun and funky set of townhomes set on Mallow Island. When eighteen year old, Zoey moves into her apartment she immediately sets about getting to know her neighbors. Zoey is looking for a fresh start and the only thing of real value she brought with her is her invisible bird named Pigeon. The living inhabitants of The Dellawisp are Charlotte - a young woman in her twenties who does Henna and seems to be hiding from the world, Lizabeth - a loud angry woman doesn't want anyone or anything making any noise on the property, Lucy - the reclusive older sister of Lizabeth who no one ever sees, Mac - the red headed chef who is nice to look at, and Frasier - the property manager. Each resident has their own ghosts (whether they realize it or not) but the closer they get to each other the less they need their ghosts. A fun and unique story.

This long-awaited book by Ms. Allen is finally here and I am so happy! As always such a treasure to read a mesmerizing story that expresses loss and healing.

I struggled getting through this book, with the second half especially challenging. The characters were never developed, never left me feeling they could be real people. Instead, they existed in this story to have a problem that could be resolved thanks to the other characters. The curious names and nicknames - Garland, Pepper, Macboy, Lizbeth Lime - always slowed me down, as though readers are being tossed a bit of quirkiness that's supposed to be fun, but instead it's annoying and cute. There were long scenes (everything with Garland) that were irrelevant to the book, and many moments that should have been much longer. The first half of the story is a bit drawn out and never really takes us anywhere, seeming to promise something extraordinary in the end. But it's the end that's the quickest, and too tidy, and throughly unsatisfying. I found it annoying that the author chooses to quote a "book" from within the story - ie herself - at the beginning, making me believe she's a bit too charmed by her own words. Often, I saw this as a would-be Alice Hoffman tale, but it never acheived Hoffman's lyrical writing or ability to take the reader to a world filled with enchantment yet undeniably real.