A strong and moving story about a young woman who only seeks the freedom to decide her own destiny and who faces the challenges and obstacles that her own family puts in her path.
142 Ostriches is an extraordinary and unusual book, but one that also touches on common themes in a masterful and unique way.
Excellent plot that traps you in a circle of ostriches and doesn't let go until the end... And yet, it still keeps you trapped.
I thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

Just an absolutely beautiful coming of age story. The author did a wonderful job of transporting me to this time and place. I loved how the book unfolded and the characters were flawed the the best way. I look forward to reading more of this author!

Tallulah Jones hasn't had much stability in her young life, as a result of an irresponsible mother. However, when she was 13, her grandmother Helen, came to her rescue and live with her. Helen had an ostrich farm in the Mojave desert and, truth be told, she needed help so Tallulah filled that need. Now in her early 20s, Tallulah has decided she wants more out of life an has accepted a job in Montana which she is to begin in a few weeks. However, when her grandmother dies unexpectedly, Tallulah has the birds, a farm, and a house to deal with before she can just pack up and leave.

142 Ostriches was a unique coming of age story. It's a story steeped in family dysfunction and, it's also a story about ostriches - (I never realized the size and power this amazing creatures possess.) There are some sad and even violent moments in this story but, there are also moments of joy as well. I liked the protagonist and found her character well-developed. This was ultimately a different kind of coming of age story with a nice ending as well.

This story was so rich and beautifully told, it made a perfect escapist read during these crazy times, I can't wait to share it.

This turned out to be quite a nice novel of self discovery. Though I am reading some lighter reads, when I first started this I thought it might be too light. Yet, how many chances are there to read a book that contains 142 ostriches? Not many, or maybe none. it dies start rather slowly, but add a dysfunctional family, and the pace is sure to move right along.

Plus, I enjoyed the main character Tullulah, her searching for self and all the trials and tribulations she has to go through first. Loved the descriptions of the desert, as well. Just beautiful. Enjoyed seeing her growth as she confronts various issues and finds the understanding to move forward. One ostrich is an amusing character in her own right.

Love this cover, the cover definitely gets a five. It's simply gorgeous.

ARC from Netgalley.

When I first read the synopsis, I had a feeling that I would love 142 Ostriches. When I started reading it, I feel in love. 142 Ostriches is officially my favorite book of 2020 so far.

I grew up visiting a family ostrich ranch in Indiana, completely different than one in California, but there was something so familiar about hearing about the birds.

April Davila crafted an unforgettable heroine with some gritty family drama and an inherited family ranch. Combine family drama, issues over inheritance, and a twenty something woman wanting to leave home for a new beginning, you're bound of a masterpiece.

If I could have, I know I would've been able to read this in one sitting. Highly recommend, you won't be disappointed.

What a unique and unforgettable read!

As a bird nerd, 142 Ostriches was a book I was anticipating. I forgot to request it before it was released but a special shout out and thank you to Kensington Books for approving me a day or so after the release! None of us knew yet just where or world was headed with all the virus shutdowns but this one ended up being exactly what I needed right now and I would especially recommend it to anyone looking for a transportive and immersive novel to escape with for awhile. Going from cooped up inside to the small town ostrich ranch within the vast Mojave desert is an incredible reprieve.

The title of this book is based on the number of Ostriches on the Jones ranch. We dive in and meet mid-20s Talullah who lives and works on the ranch. Her grandmother has just died, and Tallulah wonders if it was intentional, a suicide, to guilt her into staying at the ranch. Tallulah has gotten a forestry job and was set to leave, something she and her grandmother had fought about.

We meet the entire Jones clan- Tallulah’s Aunt Christine, a woman with a strong religious faith, and a bunch of daughters with one more on the way. There’s also Uncle Scott, a meth addict whom Tallulah’s grandmother was never quite able to cut off. Then there’s Tallulah’s own mother, who had Tallulah at 16 and had fled from the ranch and continued to run from place to place. When Tallulah was 13, her grandmother appeared and took her from her mother to come live on the ranch. Tallulah’s mother never put up a fight and failed to really stay in touch, so Tallulah is torn on whether she even wants to see her or not.

Then we have the ostriches. At the start of the story Tallulah is ambivalent. She doesn’t want to be an ostrich farmer and thinks she will sell the ranch. Yet, these ostriches have been in the family for 40 years. The Joneses sell their eggs to high end grocery stores and we learn a lot about ostrich breeding and nesting habits. They’re big dumb birds who love shiny objects, can easily injure or kill a human, but Tallulah’s grandmother had a deep fondness for them. She named them and was especially close to one obstinate bird named Lady Lil. Can you imagine a 6 foot tall bird free roaming your property, excitedly greeting you each morning when you step outside? That’s Lady Lil, and you will grow to love her like I did!

At its heart this is a novel about family. All the struggles and trials and ways that family makes us who we are. I especially loved the later parts of the story where Tallulah really grows as a character and starts to look at her family more closely and come to understand them, how they each ended up with the issues they have. There’s some really insightful commentary here and I thought it was something else, besides the birds and the incredible story telling, that made this such a unique and enthralling read.

We also see Tallulah find herself and in many ways, come to grips with the traumas of her life. There’s some heavy topics explored in this book- drug addiction, death and grieving, familial abandonment. Yet there’s a certain lightheartedness the ostriches afford the story as well. Will Tallulah choose to stay and run the ranch or will she sell?

Highly recommended. One of my favorites so far this year!

A book about a family story on an ostrich farm? Sign me the hell up.
I loved it so so much. I laughed and teared up a couple of times while reading. The author's writing is descriptive, atmospheric and fluent, the characters believable. I understood each character's motives and emotions and Tallulah grew on me.
I can't wait to see what else this author is going to put out. And can we please talk about the cover design?!
This might well be on my top 10 list for the year 2020.

Thank you so much Netgalley for this 💎 of a novel.

Have you ever been in love with an ostrich before? I never thought I would until I read this book. This debut novel by April Davila was so beautifully written about a family operating an ostrich farm in the California Mojave dessert. Davila's plot and characters are what made this book unforgettable and such an amazing read for me. Tallulah, our protagonist was such a well written character that was an inspiration and considerable my heroine in this story. Tallulah's character will be one of the few unforgettable characters I will ever read about. Davila wrote with amazing clarity and vividness in a truly uplifting story that I enjoyed thoroughly.

I highly recommend this book for a relatable and fast paced story that could be read in one sitting.

'At worst, you lived a life bent by compromise until you woke up one day worn-out and bitter because you let someone talk you into a life you never wanted in the first place.'

Grandma Helen just made a big exit from her life and now her granddaughter Tallulah Jones is responsible for running her Ostrich Ranch in the Mojave Desert. The problem is Tallulah has plans to work with the Forest Service and had just received an acceptance letter assigning her to a fire prevention handcrew in Montana before this disaster. Grandma Helen would have none of it and tried to convince Tallulah to stay. Unsurprisingly, her grandchild couldn’t be swayed, so she found a way to keep her tied in to the land. Grandma Helen up and died, mysteriously in an accident. Was it really an accident? Through the coming days, with the ranch as her inheritance, Tallulah is struggling to keep up with the endless, exhausting work. Collecting eggs, feeding the ostriches took long enough even with their old routine, but left to complete the tasks alone takes endless hours. One person is not made to maintain an ostrich ranch alone! The birds all all depressed without their beloved caregiver and there isn’t much she can do to fix that. It has to be sold!

Tallulah has a plan, no way is she going to compromise in her life, “there was one more card I could play.” But the ostriches aren’t cooperating and have suddenly stopped laying eggs! She is going to sell this place off come hell or high water, if the family doesn’t like it, too bad. They had little interest in the place, all this time, no one more so than her absentee mother. Still, no one is going to make it easy. Her unpredictable Uncle Scott arrives with his sponsor Matt in tow (as a babysitter, he says), dangerous when high but not much better when sober. His anger flares with the news she is selling, and the blatantly unfair fact that his inheritance is nothing more than a measly watch does nothing but feed his fire. Things are about to blow. Aunt Christine has her hands full raising her 5 girls and pregnant again with another ‘blessing’. Sprouting scripture, will it do her any good when life tests her as well? Then there is Devon, who wants to know what’s going on in Tallulah’s head, not just set her body aflame. He longs for permanence and promises, expecting her job away to be a temporary escape. But to Tallulah, he is starting to feel like another anchor, holding her to this place that she wants nothing more than to abandon. Which brings to mind her own alcoholic restless mother. Addiction runs through the family, with her own mother’s love affair with the bottle, her uncle’s constant highs on drugs and her aunt’s unwavering love of religion. Her Grandma Helen wasn’t always so put together either.

Before she turned 13, Tallulah learned how to live a tumbleweed existence at her mother’s side. Ripped free from the roots of family, men coming and going, no clue as to who her father is, picking up and moving, the two of them blowing in the wind, never still for long. A life without routine or stability, living in cheap places among things salvaged for free, until one day Grandma Helen appears as sudden as a cloud, demanding her mother let her take her granddaughter under her wing. Her mother doesn’t put up much of a fight, despite the fact Grandma Helen is a stranger to Tallulah, and seems to turn her nose up at their meager lives. As if making a full circle in her mother’s place, she grows up with the ostriches from then on, in the very place her own mother escaped. It isn’t so bad being cared about, paid attention to nor getting to know her extended family. It’s soothing caring for the peculiar ostriches, working in the barn, being surrounded by animals. But the severing from her fickle mother is an ache. The distance and seeming indifference scars over her heart as the years collect, until the past arrives, begging for attention.

Life is moving on at a fast pace, everything is falling apart, the ostriches aren’t cooperating anymore than her family and it is detrimental to the sale that their failure to lay eggs remains unknown. But that is the least of her problems, worse is soon to befall them all and the biggest threat comes from her own blood. Does she care about the ostriches more than she thought? Are they more than just a means to an end? Her decisions could cost Tallulah her very life, not everyone is open to change, and does she even know her own mind, understand her choices? Why is settling down and committing to one man repellent? How can she betray her grandmother’s last wishes? As she fights to see her plans succeed, Tallulah learns the age old lesson of the best laid plans.

I learned a bit about ostriches, very cool and strange birds! Addiction wreaking havoc through generations is sadly all too common. This is become a sort of new normal, sadly, in our times. Too, the confusion of youth, not sure of your place in the world, whirling in many directions with past and present affecting your relationships, clouding your desires. This is an author worth watching.

Available Now

Published February 2020

Kensington Books

It was the title that got me on this book. And then it takes place in Imperial Valley, California - a very specific, familiar place in my life.

The Ostrich farm is plopped far out on the end of a road in hot, hot, hot Imperial Valley, and there are exactly 142 of these magnificent birds who call this farm home. Some like to trot alongside cars motoring up the drive, or hover-track the humans that tend them. They have mega-nests and mega-eggs (or did. . . .), names for each. It was fun to learn about the personalities of the ostriches - and I was hoping to learn more about them. But the pull of the story is Lula's family and all the characters they are, and her situation - what to do with her life. Everyone has plans for her and none of them jive with her plans for her. Meanwhile, each family member has their own set of tangled-messed-up-situation that seems to require some part of Lula to help with or participate in the management of. Grandma Helen is just trying to make the best of it, when Lula joins her. Readers are invited to trot alongside the ostriches, and stay up, please. . . .

It got a little long in the middle, and I was confused by the on-again-off-again love interest, but was mighty pleased with the ending.

I enjoyed it, and would like to read more from this author!

A sincere thanks to April Davila, Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This debut novel from author April Davila is a beautifully written novel about a young woman Tallulah who has been living with her grandmother on her ostrich farm for the past 11 years. After being raised (or lack thereof) by a gypsy irresponsible mother, Tallulah's grandmother Helen, whom she had never met, came to their apartment in Oakland and took Tallulah back to live with her and learn how to help out on the farm. Just as Tallulah is gearing up to leave it all behind and take a new job in Montana, her grandmother dies leaving Tallulah the farm, the house, and of course, all 142 ostriches. This is where the train makes a stop in dysfunction junction as a variety of family members come out of the woodwork for either the funeral or just the opportunity to share their opinions about Tallulah selling the farm. To make matters worse, Tallulah has found herself at a crossroads regarding her relationship with her boyfriend Devon and just as she is trying to sell the farm, all of the ostriches stop laying eggs. 

Tallulah had a wonderfully colorful variety in her family. There was her always pregnant, super religious Aunt Christine who is 8 months pregnant with her sixth child. There was her sometimes clean, but mostly not drug-addicted Uncle Scott. Then there was her mother Laura, always with a glass of whiskey in her hand that suddenly reappeared in Tallulah's life after eleven years. For anyone familiar with craziness within your family - read this and I assure you that you will feel better about your situation. These people were exhausting! Actually, her Aunt Christine and all of her tons of nieces were o.k., but there was constant drama surrounding this family the entire time. Paired with running the ostrich farm, I felt tired for Tallulah the entire time. 

Speaking of ostriches - the best part of this novel - who knew running an ostrich farm was such backbreaking and dangerous work. Who knew how moody ostriches are? Also, who knew what creatures of habit they are and how meticulous they are about everything being on its normal routine? I am in love with these birds after reading this. I will never look at an ostrich the same after reading this and watching the author bring these animals to life. 

142 Ostriches contains some of the most beautiful and well-written words that I have read in quite some time. I was initially attracted by the cover and then I found the description unique, unlike anything I normally read. I cannot convey how happy I am that I decided to give this one a try. The imagery was remarkable and something I think most authors could spend their entire lives trying to achieve. Every single event and conversation held some sort of purpose and was never boring or repetitive. This novel evokes an enormous range of emotions so prepare yourself for laughter, anger, awe, and tears. Most importantly, it's just an amazing book that you need to read for yourself. Although I devoured this in e-book format, this is one that I absolutely plan to purchase in paperback so I can enjoy it and share it with others again and again. It's hard to believe that this is Davila's debut and I have no idea how she could ever surpass this one, but I will definitely keep an eye out for more from her in the future. 

*Many thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing this review copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

Thank you to Kensington Books for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....142 Ostriches by April Davila is available TODAY!

142 Ostriches takes place over the span of just a few days. Tallulah’s grandmother has died, and she finds herself running the ostrich farm alone - the one she started working on when her grandmother took her from her alcoholic mother’s custody when she was just 14. Tallulah finds herself wanting more from life than her drug-infested desert town has to offer, and decides to sell the ostrich farm and start a new life in Montana. But her grandmother’s funeral brings members of Tallulah’s family back into her life that have other plans, and something seems to be wrong with the 142 ostriches….they aren’t laying eggs…and a buyer won’t want an ostrich farm without eggs! Over a few days, Tallulah’s life is filled with extreme changes, revelations, and a lot of hard work as she decides what the farm, her family, and her grandmother's legacy mean to her.

This book was a complete roller coaster and I did not want it to end! I really thought I had predicted the whole story - tragic family death, property that’s been in the family for generations, only one way it could go, right?! Boy, was I wrong. Somehow April Davila has managed to keep her finger on the heartfelt, emotional pulse and deliver suspense that had me holding my breath for chapters! I really connected with Tallulah. I enjoyed her silent work ethic and understood her lack of patience for people that didn’t see her point of view. I also really enjoyed that this story took place over just a few days, because it felt like I was reading Tallulah’s life in real time - which made the sequence of events that much more insane.

I never thought I’d read a book about an ostrich farm, but I found myself doing some research to really picture the scorching heat and the corral of quirky birds. Davila does a great job describing, but when you read this book, definitely do a quick search - there’s a whole industry out there of ostrich farmers!

If you are a fan of generational family stories, such as The Lager Queen of Minnesota, or coming-of-age stories in a nature setting, like Where the Crawdads Sing, then you will eat this one up.

This is an absolutely wonderful read. Tallulah has been living and working on her grandmother's ostrich farm since her grandmother plucked her from her unsuitable mother when she was 13. It's not a bad life but Tallulah wants more- and she's gotten a job with the Forest Service. Except that her grandmother dies in a car accident leaving her the 142 ostriches. Tallulah decides to sell the farm, reopening the family rift with her uncle Scott, a meth addict and true true villain. She finds, however, that the sale won't be easy, especially given that the birds aren't laying eggs. No spoilers but there's a fair amount of tension here. Tallulah is terrific, her Aunt Christine (and her 5 little girls) is wonderful, and you will find yourself very much caring about Lil and the other birds. Much more of a page turner than the description leads you to believe due to Davila's storytelling. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An unusual read I highly recommend.

I was eager to read 142 Ostriches after reading about it. Ms. Davila certainly picked an unusual topic for her first novel. I am familiar with the area in which the main character, Talullah, lives. And, I really didn't know anything about life on an ostrich ranch. Ms. Davila weaves a very good story about a young girl who lives with her Grandmother on an ostrich farm, and the sequence of events that take place after the Grandmother is killed in a car accident and leaves her ranch to Talullah. It is a realistic story about a dysfunctional family that spirals out of control after a tragic event. I appreciated that the author didn't waste time on unnecessary details, and stuck to the meat of the story. She also wrapped it in a concise way so as not to belabor the story. I highly recommend this book, and wold like to thank #Netgalley and #Kensingtonbookspublishing for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for an honest review.

Davila lays out a setting in the Southern California desert on an ostrich ranch that is richly detailed and wonderfully easy to picture. Her descriptions of the birds and their personalities and habits were really fascinating.

This relatively short book explores Tallulah’s shift from resenting her future and her obligations to realizing and actively participating in making choices about her life and how she intends to live it.

I admit I was hoping for some more character development—for example, that each of the black sheep in the family (Scott, Mom) would show a little more depth or exhibit some characteristic besides their overreaching disappointing and sometimes aggressive failure at being reliable. Tallulah comes to some late and potentially illuminating conclusions about her grandmother’s parenting, motivations, and feelings (which do help create some measure of sympathy for Scott, who is otherwise difficult to empathize with despite his brokenness and desperation).

Tallulah ultimately realizes where she believes her fulfilled future path lies. And although I feel like readers will be mentally way ahead of her on this, I didn’t mind seeing where things were going—mainly because I spent so much of the book worried about her poor choices, lies (and lies of omission), logistical issues preventing necessary jobs from getting done, etc. etc. It was very stressful!

NetGalley and Kensington Books provided me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Tallulah was 13, her grandmother, whom she'd never met, showed up on her doorstep and took her back to live at the family ostrich farm. Since then, Tallulah has been helping Grandma Helen collect eggs every morning, feed and water the birds, and tend to any tasks around the farm. But now, more than a decade later, Tallulah is ready to move on and start her own life, beginning with a position with the Montana forest service.

But before she can move away, Grandma Helen dies in an accident that leaves Tallulah wondering if it was a final act of stubbornness to get Tallulah to stay. Now, Tallulah is the owner of a farmhouse, a barn, 142 ostriches, and a business selling ostrich eggs to high-end restaurants and specialty grocery stores. And even then, her plans of selling the farm to a competitor, Joe Jared, are suddenly upended when the ostriches mysteriously stop laying eggs. Her only hope to actually get out of there at the end of the month when her new position is set to being, is to get the ostriches to start laying eggs again before Joe Jared's inspector comes out to the farm before the sale goes through, and somehow, that feat continues to seem more and more impossible.

Looking back after finishing, I can say two things that stood out to me that I loved about this debut novel: first, the meditation on womanhood and motherhood, and second, the beautiful writing. Starting with the latter, it wasn't even something that I particularly noticed as I was reading. It never felt superfluous or wordy or over-the-top. But when I went back through my highlighted quotes, they are just gorgeous, particularly the descriptions of the desert setting, but also some of the characters, often making connections between the two. Near the beginning, she's describing Tallulah's Aunt Christine, saying: 

"Eight months pregnant, she slid down from the driver's seat the way honey falls from a spoon."

How perfect is that image? I was 8 months pregnant about 8 months ago, and I can tell you, it felt very much like that. And then describing Grandma Helen: 

"She was as reliable and distant as the desert sun, my grandma."

And also:

"When pressed, she would say that the desert was her church, the perfect rhythms of nature her hymns, the elegant wisdom of the ecosystem her Bible."

So many little delectable bites made up this narrative! The second piece I loved is the distinct female focus. Tallulah is floundering in young adulthood, trying to figure out what she wants for her life, what it means to be a woman, an adult, a human in the world. Her examples are extremely varied, including her mother, aunt, and grandmother, all of whom represent a very different style of being a mother. While Dávila clearly portrays some styles as healthier than others, it doesn't come off as judgmental. We see their complexities, their struggles, and they feel authentic. Tallulah is influenced by all of them, and we see that play out in her decisions.

My only complaints I had about the novel were the resolution and the pacing at times. I predicted how Tallulah's story would end by the end of the first chapter, although there were plenty of twists along the way. I also felt the pace drag a bit in the middle, as she goes round and round with what she's going to do to get things back on track.

Overall, you can tell this was Dávila's debut novel, and I mean that in the best way: it's her heart novel, the one that took her whole life to write, and it shows. The care and love that went into it are felt on every page.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me an arc of this book for my honest opinion!

I absolutely loved watching this incredible young woman trying to navigate her way in life while trying to take care of 142 ostriches. It had a dynamic cast of characters that were very relatable-Tallulah, our main character, who's inner strength and resilience helped her find her confidence, her heart-broken and lonely grandmother Helen, her drug-addicted uncle Scott whose past regrets led him to make impossible choices, and her Aunt Christine, the center of the whole family with a big brood of her own. Any one or all of these people could be part of your own family, and watching Tallulah find her footing was just as satisfying as watching one of your own family members succeed. I absolutely loved the ostriches. Their personalities made me smile and sometimes made me misty eyed. (I really loved the last chapter of the book, when Tallulah and the ostriches grieve together. It was beautiful.) I'm really looking forward to this book hitting shelves-I plan to buy it so I can reread it and pass it around to all of my friends and family! I can see this being one of the most enjoyable reads of this year and I hope many others will love this too.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC!

April Davila crafts a unique tale in "142 Ostriches." Reluctant rancher Tallulah Jones inherits an ostrich farm upon the loss of her grandmother, but she also inherits the problems of toxic family: a legacy of poverty, addiction, criminality, and abandonment. Trying to find herself and make her own life means letting that ranch go, but chaos ensues just as she tries to escape. Readers will cheer for the tough, plucky young woman dealing with her grief and animal lovers will enjoy spending time with her ostriches. Davila never veers from the energy of the story but she inserts beautiful imagery of the desert (which Tallulah initially feels herself scratching in like an ostrich) which comes as a surprise and points to her skill as a writer.

This is a heavy story, about loss and grief, and about family relationships. The setting is an ostrich farm in the desert, which put a unique spin on the themes of obligation and self doubt.

This is our protagonist Tallulah's story of coming into her own as a young adult. Of finally being able to make decisions for herself. It's also about her family. She must come to terms with who they are and the decisions they make.

The writing is atmospheric. I could feel the heat of the desert and smell the dust. The ostriches are significant characters, and I appreciated what I learned about them.

I recommend this one for readers of literary fiction, though there is a little bit of mystery and suspense as well.