Reviews with content warning for Death - Other Birds

This may just be me, but I liked all of the characters except for Zoey - she felt a little too Mary Sueish for me and didn't have a very memorable personality. Also the plot was kind of basic. Good plot twists at the end though!

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raptorq's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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ariana3's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one was okay. I didn't really understand or know what the point of the book was for a lot of it.

A girl moves to this condo complex where her now dead mother used to live. She never fit in with her dad, stepmom, and step-siblings. Other residents are reclusive until the most annoying resident dies. The girl, Zoey, gets the residents to talk and be friends.

A story about the ghosts of our past impacting our present lives/futures and letting go of them. Meh

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sassacass11's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book took me by surprise and surpassed every expectation I had for it. It invited you in for tea and just when you settle in, fairy lights flickered on, and new part of the story appears to redirect the story. Exquisitely written!

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tsodeur's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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eliya's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I spent 9h 47m reading this book.

The whole time I was reading I was trying to figure out what this book was going to be. There was so much backstory and set up, it seemed, that I wasn’t sure when the book, or “real” story, would begin. It caught me off guard when I realized the point of the book, and it was kind of relaxing. This isn’t a particularly exciting book or anything, this is a very healing book.

I just lost my father about two months ago and it’s been hard to let go. I’m glad I read this book when I did.

Now, the actual book was weird. The point was lovely— there was a very odd antihomelessness theme throughout the book. The island that they live on has heavy patrols for people sleeping anywhere but inside a house & none of the characters bay an eye about it. The author tries to do this like “I remember poverty… it was rough” thing with a couple of the characters and it doesn’t land, it just reads as empty, really. I think she could have dived deeper and given detail instead of vague “what was probably abuse” description.

I feel bad for Lizbeth honestly. I think she and Lucy should have had a larger part of the story. You have Lizbeth and her diaries and we’re waiting for this big ball to drop (no pun intended) at the end when someone finally reads her diaries, but it, again, falls flat on delivery.

I’m glad the loose ends were tied up, but the package was a lot smaller than it made itself out to be.

Cute book, glad I read it, good for grief. Nice to fat people and not weird about weight lol.

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gem114's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. I read it for my book club, though, and the other reviews were mixed. If you’re a lover of magical realism, birds, and chosen family storylines, I think you should give this book a shot. I loved the whimsy of the dellawisps, the “ghost stories,” and the overall vibe of the setting as well. I also shed a few tears, and I love a book that can evoke that much emotion in me. The biggest criticism was that some of the “twists” were unnecessary or forced, and in hindsight I can see that view, but they weren’t egregious enough to distract from my enjoyment while reading.

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kelleykamanda's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I usually love her books but this one was simply okay. Still nice to listen to but I didn’t have as much of a desire to root for the characters as I did with other books. I liked listening to Zoe’s plot line.

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