Reviews

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

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erindoublee's review against another edition

5.0

The book meant many things, it spoke on several levels: 1. Abuse in childhood. 2. Abuse from the church 3. Running from yourself. 4. Finding yourself again.
Such a sweet and subtle magical realism book, it was charming, easy to read and believable type of book. It was a comment on life in general for me. We all have traumas, some of them inflicted by ourselves, some of them inflicted by others, but each character chose a different way to deal with those traumas, and none of it was overdone or overly unbelievable. I loved this story on a personal level, it spoke to me about abuse, forgiveness, motives, and realizing everyone is going through something and dealing with their own personal traumas.

For personal reasons, I gave this five stars because the story spoke to me.

tessga's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

cesmuur's review against another edition

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mysterious 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? No

5.0

saneyah's review against another edition

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2.0

REVIEW:

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I could describe Other Birds in a word, it would be warmth: this book brims with it, nestled in the wonderfully soft setting of Mallow Island, among the dellawisps and the spun-sugar air and the candy-colored buildings. The main character, Zoey, moves to her mother's condo in the Dellawisp the summer before college starts, where she meets a misfit cast of characters, each with their own eccentricities and tragic pasts. Other Birds soars in the atmosphere and the lightness it has even when discussing heavy topics, but it also falls startlingly flat in other, more essential aspects.

The main thing that drew me away from this book was the plot — or lack thereof. There is little driving the story forward, and the result is a narrative that meanders from character to character without truly committing to anything of substance. Seemingly unrelated issues are connected at the end, but with little satisfaction; the climax's grand villain is one we never met prior, the mysterious Roscoe Avanger's identity is revealed and then rushed past with no ramifications, Zoey's tumultuous relationship with her mother, despite being referenced so often, gets a few pages at the end for resolution and nothing else. The characters are given the same treatment: at first, charming, but often underdeveloped to the point of becoming dry. Even when given backstories of severe neglect or religious cults or angry, bitter families, the characters themselves aren't interesting enough to dwell on or flesh out. Even Zoey felt startlingly forgettable in her own story.

I think the premise of Other Birds is a good one, but the book fell short of what it promised not just in its summary, but throughout the developing story.

WRAP-UP:

+ Pros:

— atmospheric setting
— comforting writing

+ Cons:

— plot that quickly becomes boring
— dry/uninteresting characters

FINAL RATING: 2.5/5