Other Birds - Sarah Addison Allen

 

5 STARS!

ABOUT THE BOOK -

Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It’s called The Dellawisp and it is named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.

When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she is thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.

Delightful and atmospheric, Other Birds is filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go. Sarah Addison Allen shows us that between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.

About the Author

SARAH ADDISON ALLEN is the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, Lost Lake, First Frost and Other Birds. She was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina.

MY THOUGHTS -

Do you know the kind of book that when you finish reading you just sit there holding the book in your lap for a while because you just need to think about it a little more? That’s what kind of book this was for me.

If you have never read a Sarah Addison Allen book before and this is the first one you are picking up… You are probably finding it kind of strange. Because it is! Lol But that’s what I love about her! I, on the other hand have read, almost everything she has written so this book for me… was very comforting. It has been a long time since I’ve read one of her books, and I was very excited to see this one come out (I am borrowing this from my daughter, it was one of her BOTM books)  I am very glad to say that it is in the same exact quirky, magical fashion as all of her other ones.

So what makes her books so good? 

The characters! Absolutely, 100%, the characters.

Her books are probably more character driven than almost any others I have ever read.

Oh my gosh, this book is full of great quotes and paragraphs. I didn’t highlight them because the book isn’t mine. LOL I don’t think my daughter would’ve been happy with me if I had highlighted her borrowed hardcover book!

"There are birds, and then there are other birds. Maybe they don't sing. Maybe they don't fly. Maybe they don't fit in. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be an other bird than just the same old thing."

"Maybe some stories aren't meant to be told," Charlotte said.

... But Zoey was uneasy with the thought of untold stories. what happens to them? where do they go? If you never share your stories with at least one other person, does that mean that they weren't real, that they never really existed?"

"... mothering was in the details you never saw. And the lack of it was the things you always noticed."

That, right there, is why I love this author so much. This book is full of little nuggets that you pick up throughout the book, like picking up dropped breadcrumbs taking you to the end.

This book is about fate. And, everything happens for a reason. And, it all comes together in the end. - I loved it!

I received a copy of this book from my daughter to read and review. :-)