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thegeekybibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
A thousand dead starlings fell from the sky in Mt. Oanoke, Pennsylvania, but it wasn't long before an more disturbing event rocked the small town. Lucia, a high school student, claims to be having an affair with popular teacher/baseball coach Nate Winters, outraging the town. When she disappears, everyone suspects Nate except his colleague, Bridget Harris, who will stop at nothing to discover the truth.
Told from multiple points-of-view—Nate, his wife Alecia, Bridget, and Lucia—and in varying time periods (time being marked as before and after the birds fell), The Blackbird Season is a slow burning story that gradually reveals the truth of things. The circumstance of the dead birds quickly takes a backseat to the mystery of Lucia's disappearance and the question of whether or not she and Nate really had an affair—I tended to forget about the birds, actually, as I didn't care as much about that. The resolution of Lucia's disappearance was not at all what I expected, and I loved being surprised by what really happened.
This is the first book I've read by Moretti. I truly enjoyed her writing style, and found the overall story to be captivating. I'll definitely be reading more of her work in the future!
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Atria Books via Netgalley.
Told from multiple points-of-view—Nate, his wife Alecia, Bridget, and Lucia—and in varying time periods (time being marked as before and after the birds fell), The Blackbird Season is a slow burning story that gradually reveals the truth of things. The circumstance of the dead birds quickly takes a backseat to the mystery of Lucia's disappearance and the question of whether or not she and Nate really had an affair—I tended to forget about the birds, actually, as I didn't care as much about that. The resolution of Lucia's disappearance was not at all what I expected, and I loved being surprised by what really happened.
This is the first book I've read by Moretti. I truly enjoyed her writing style, and found the overall story to be captivating. I'll definitely be reading more of her work in the future!
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Atria Books via Netgalley.
sde's review against another edition
3.0
Great book to listen to on audio. Compelling story, and thought the author did a decent job of describing what ti can be like to parent an autistic child. (I am not one of these parents, but know enough of them who occasionally express frustrations similar to the parents in the book.) But I didn't give it four stars because there were some semi-big things that happen around the solving of the mystery that didn't seem realistic. Most of them involved the cop. Don't think he would be so personally involved nor allow Bridget to go wandering around potentially messing up the investigation. Also, the final solution of the crime wasn't that convincing. But the author did a good job of getting the reader to believe and doubt and then believe and doubt many of the characters.
renwar96's review against another edition
4.0
Really good who dunnit story. Full of twists and turns. I liked the characters and could picture this whole town.
asanford's review against another edition
3.0
It was good but not amazing. The story was well written and the characters were well defined and real. But I didn’t enjoy the language or some of the teenage storylines. When it ended last was just “eh - good it’s over.” But I do enjoy Kate Moretti’s style well enough to read more of her books.
mabelstulips's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
laceyslibrarybooksta's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Moretti, and Atria Books for allowing to read this before the publication date in exchange for an honest review.
I will be completely honest, I picked this book solely from the cover. The spooky and mysterious cover dragged me to it right away. I had a feeling that this would be a good one.
The beginning of this book will leave you with a sense of "what is going to happen next". From the last page of the prologue, I was hooked. There was something fishy going on, and there is a wonder of what will go on in the following chapters. Or will you have to wait until the end?
The characters were interesting to say the least. My favorite character had to be Alecia. My mother is a special education teacher so I see the struggles that an autistic child and their mother has to go through. I feel like the author did a phenomenal job with making both characters real and relatable. All of the characters really developed, especially Bridget. Bridget was another character that I really felt that connected well with the reader. There were times where I feel like I would have to go back and read because there are four different characters going on at the same time, but that's okay sometimes. Each character gave more to this story.
There was a lot of book that was answered, but there was a lot also left unanswered. There were interesting things about this because I liked the fact that I could think about what could've happened. This is where Kate Moretti did a great job making this not only a mystery, but a psychological thriller as well.
Overall, this book was very good. Kate Moretti's writing style is absolutely something I can get into with other stories of hers. I think I will take the time to pick another one of hers up!
I will be completely honest, I picked this book solely from the cover. The spooky and mysterious cover dragged me to it right away. I had a feeling that this would be a good one.
The beginning of this book will leave you with a sense of "what is going to happen next". From the last page of the prologue, I was hooked. There was something fishy going on, and there is a wonder of what will go on in the following chapters. Or will you have to wait until the end?
The characters were interesting to say the least. My favorite character had to be Alecia. My mother is a special education teacher so I see the struggles that an autistic child and their mother has to go through. I feel like the author did a phenomenal job with making both characters real and relatable. All of the characters really developed, especially Bridget. Bridget was another character that I really felt that connected well with the reader. There were times where I feel like I would have to go back and read because there are four different characters going on at the same time, but that's okay sometimes. Each character gave more to this story.
There was a lot of book that was answered, but there was a lot also left unanswered. There were interesting things about this because I liked the fact that I could think about what could've happened. This is where Kate Moretti did a great job making this not only a mystery, but a psychological thriller as well.
Overall, this book was very good. Kate Moretti's writing style is absolutely something I can get into with other stories of hers. I think I will take the time to pick another one of hers up!
natliiex's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gareindeedreads's review against another edition
4.0
Kate Moretti is an author who's novel THE VANISHING YEAR I had really enjoyed and my mind was blown away with how different and intricate this plot sounded. I loved the supernatural...possibility of the plot and it sounded like something right up my alley to read for my very first book club on Instagram!
The storyline to this one was really well-written. I thoroughly enjoyed the different character perspectives and the small glances at what life is like for the teenager that goes missing in this novel. One thing I loved about this was how Moretti threw in this sort of subplot with the birds. Small town with high drama and a missing teenager? I'm already intrigued! But, then to add this mystery of these birds all falling from the sky at once really bumped up the creep factor for me. Not only that, but I could feel this small town in the palm of my hands. I could smell what they were smelling, feel the weather, and hear those birds falling on the field.
The characters to this one were all very fun and interesting to read. They are the type that you don't just read to get their thoughts on this missing girl, but you read to invest yourself into their lives and you enjoy every minute of it. These characters are so complex and unique that in my opinion, each one of them was a strong enough character to be the centralized character in their own novel. I especially liked getting to know the missing girl as a one-on-one versus just hearing the different things people said about her and relying on our key central characters to get a feel as to who this character was. I especially liked the way that Moretti played around with the dates leading up to the disappearance of Lucia and the falling of the birds.
Overall, I cannot say much more without risking spoilers. This read is fast-paced, excellently thought out, and deliciously creepy. I've been a fan of Moretti thus far and I don't see myself going anywhere.
The storyline to this one was really well-written. I thoroughly enjoyed the different character perspectives and the small glances at what life is like for the teenager that goes missing in this novel. One thing I loved about this was how Moretti threw in this sort of subplot with the birds. Small town with high drama and a missing teenager? I'm already intrigued! But, then to add this mystery of these birds all falling from the sky at once really bumped up the creep factor for me. Not only that, but I could feel this small town in the palm of my hands. I could smell what they were smelling, feel the weather, and hear those birds falling on the field.
The characters to this one were all very fun and interesting to read. They are the type that you don't just read to get their thoughts on this missing girl, but you read to invest yourself into their lives and you enjoy every minute of it. These characters are so complex and unique that in my opinion, each one of them was a strong enough character to be the centralized character in their own novel. I especially liked getting to know the missing girl as a one-on-one versus just hearing the different things people said about her and relying on our key central characters to get a feel as to who this character was. I especially liked the way that Moretti played around with the dates leading up to the disappearance of Lucia and the falling of the birds.
Overall, I cannot say much more without risking spoilers. This read is fast-paced, excellently thought out, and deliciously creepy. I've been a fan of Moretti thus far and I don't see myself going anywhere.