In a near future where entire species have gone extinct and the numbers of birds and fish are catastrophically low, Franny convinces a fishing boat captain to bring her aboard to follow the Arctic Tern (which she thinks will also follow the fish.) As the story goes on, more of her past is revealed. It sometimes feels like a story churning in its own destruction because obviously Fanny knows everything that has happened and the reader doesn't, but I liked the premise and the landscape. The crew is interesting as is the people they encounter, usually in cold and remote places, my favorite.

This book is beautiful but heartbreaking. It takes place in a world where climate change has wreaked havoc on the animal populations and most species have become extinct or are on the brink of extinction. As a huge animal lover, having to confront the idea that I always hate to think about - that this is the path the world is headed towards in reality - was really hard and sad. Also, the main character, Franny, has been through a lot of difficult events in her life so as the book progressively put the pieces of her past together, I just felt more and more sad for her. While difficult to read at times, I would highly recommend for everyone to read this book. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Migrations is a devastatingly beautiful book set in the near future when animal species are suffering from mass extinction. It follows Franny as she talks her way onto a fishing boat with the promise that if they track the last arctic terns, they will find fish. The book alternates between a harrowing present filled with the perils of the fishing life and glimpses of Franny's past, filled with loss. It is a melancholy book with all the loss, but also hopeful in the enduring human connections it portrays.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. This was such an affecting read, sad and compelling. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book broke my heart and totally mystified me. I loved the gorgeous prose and nonlinear plot. It has a kind of magic that is hard to capture in literature but manages to attain it quite flawlessly.

Franny, the protagonist, is seemingly lost in her world. Far from her home in Ireland, she’s attempting to follow the last migration of Arctic terns from the Arctic to the Antarctic to observe their challenges and determine why so few of them make the full journey. Along the way you come to learn that the migration is quite the metaphor for Franny’s dysfunctional life.

Humans have officially exterminated almost all of the animals on earth—land, sea, and air. Franny Stone is determined to track what will likely be the last migration of the world’s only remaining flock of Arctic terns. It’s a suicide mission, one that involves sailing to Antarctica through dangerous frozen waters. But Franny has managed to put trackers on three birds, and she’s convinced Captain Ennis Malone and his crew to carry her aboard their ship, with the promise that if they follow the birds, they may finally find fish to catch.

But as the crew makes their way south, they realize Franny is not who she says she is. Plagued by night terrors and a weird obsession with the birds, Franny is clearly troubled—and her story doesn’t quite add up. They don’t know whether to admire her grit and bravery… or fear her secrecy and recklessness. But they’re in too deep now. Franny’s past will reveal itself in time, but the crew needs her, and they must all work together to fight for their future on a decimated Earth.

MY THOUGHTS

So I haven’t full on, like, wept over a book in a long time, but I did at the end of Migrations. And it’s not because the book is super sad, although it is sad. It’s because the writing is gorgeous and Franny’s humanity—her loneliness, her heartbreak, her desire to wander coupled with her deep need to be grounded by something—is so perfectly rendered. I understood her. I empathized. I loved her toughness, and I felt her loss. She is a perfectly complex and lovable character.

Also, the story itself is fantastic. Migrations is solidly literary fiction, but there are subtle elements of dystopian fantasy and mystery. It’s the best of both worlds: the slow reveal of Franny’s life made me want to flip pages, but the writing convinced me to do it slowly, to savor and enjoy. I just loved it. Probably one of my favorite books of the year so far.

This book is a heartbreaking denouement of animal life on Earth, of what it could look like if we fail to change course and heal our planet. Charlotte McConaghy takes the reader to a place none of us dare to imagine, and it paints a bleak picture.

The intertwining of Franny's story -- her turbulent past with the tumultuous present -- are a fishhook. I found myself desperate to know what happened in Franny's past that sent her on this path, but I was equally driven to see if the Arctic terns would make it, if they could complete their journey, if they would survive.

Perhaps my favorite part of the story is how Franny's hopes are pinned to the survival of one small bird. When all else seems lost, she believes that this one great journey could reveal something, whether it is practical and scientific or a message with some deeper meaning about the state of the world. Migrations comes at a time when the world many ways is being forced to cling to the small victories, the little moments, the bright spots. In that way, I found comfort in the story, even if it was steeped in a feeling of desolation and ennui.

I also found the correlation between the death of the planet and the strain it put on human connection completely fascinating, as if the strength of human bonds were interdependent with the wellness of the Earth. When Franny meets the crew of the Saghani, the relationships between her and each crew member is wrought with mistrust, misunderstanding, and animosity. Only as they increasingly put their faith in nature did they grow together in any way.

This book comes at a particularly austere moment in global history, and in some ways it mirrored the grief and hardship we're experiencing. This book was entrancing, in some ways cathartic, and not a little bit unsettling.

My thanks go to Net Galley and Flatiron Books for the review copy. I alternated my digital copy with the audio version I found at Seattle Bibliocommons; the reader does a fine job, and so if you want this book, you can’t go wrong in terms of print versus sound.

This is either exactly the right time to read this book, or exactly the wrong time.

Franny Stone has never been happy staying in one place, and now, when the walls are about to close in on her, she decides that one final voyage is in order. The Artic terns are about to make one final migration, and she means to go with them. Posing as a marine biologist, she persuades a fishing crew to take her along; she has the data to follow the terns, and the terns are following the fish. It’s in everyone’s best interest to work together here, now that so many species are extinct and the fish are so scarce. Once in motion, however, few things go according to plan.

The setting is the future, at a time when humanity has depleted most of the world’s wildlife. It is bleak, bleak, bleak.

Much of the story revolves around Franny’s character, and since we know from the get-go that she doesn’t intend to return alive once this trip is done, there are two questions that keep me turning the pages. I want to know why she wants to die, and of course, whether she does. The reason for her morbid plans is spooled out to us in small bits; whether she dies at the end is something the reader must learn for herself.

As for me, I had huge expectations by the time I began reading, because this novel shot up to bestseller level almost overnight. Perhaps that’s why I felt a trifle let down when it was done. It’s a good story, but I wouldn’t call it one of the year’s finest. Certainly, there is moral gravitas behind it, and yet those most likely to read it are not climate change deniers. For me to have loved this story, I would have needed more hope and less utter despair. When a story starts sad and ends sad, the little places in which it is slightly less sad aren’t enough to bond me to the narrative.

On the other hand, I am just one reviewer. There are a whole lot of readers out there getting all the feels and loving them. I recommend this story to anyone looking for a catalyst for a good ugly cry.

Why did it take so long for Charlotte McConaghy to be published in the US?? She writes beautifully and expertly unfurled the mystery of Fanny Stone's private life via flashbacks as the main plot of the novel advanced. The way that the author peels back the layers on Fanny's past trauma is masterful. Both Fanny and another character, Ennis Malone, have to go through many struggles to find their purpose.
There are nay-sayers who state that this novel is too dark. It is dark, but no darker than the real world... by this I mean that it accurately presents human behavior (destruction and greed) and the consequences for the environment. I wouldn't say that the darkness is irredeemable as I actually found the ending to be hopeful. It is my opinion that these dark themes may actually make it the most important work of fiction that I have read all year as it may inspire readers to take better care of our planet and its resources, unless we want to experience the ecologic catastrophe presented within the novel.
I think there is some debate about how to best label this novel, in regard to genre. I consider it soft science-fiction and dystopian, as well as contemporary fiction. But don't let my labels scare you off- I am not much for sci-fi or dystopian fiction, but I LOVED Migrations. There is so much to discuss within this novel that it is ideal for book groups and a readers group guide is available at www.readinggroupgold.com
Thank you to Samantha Zuckergood and Flatiron Books, as well as NetGalley, for my e-galley and coloring sheet. Thank you to Flatiron Books Senior Editor Caroline Bleeke for grabbing this tale and bringing it to US readers. I hope that you will publish McConaghy's prior works eventually.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. Maybe due to the despair and more, technical stuff in the beginning but I really loved how the story unfolded and getting to know Franny. I do wish we got to learn more about the other individuals on the ship other than the little sneak peeks but it was a great book. It felt like it could fit into the world from The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde. Science and the environment and how it impacts certain fields and groups of people.

This is a really powerful but often difficult book to read as it details a harrowing journey at sea that had me gasping at times. Franny is on the run from her past but is determined to save the last of the migrating terns. Catching a ride aboard a salmon fishing vessel, she has no idea what perils lie in store; there are tiny living quarters, odd food, rough seas, and electrical problems with which to contend. But she is determined. As her past is slowly revealed through alternate chapters, we see just why she feels so tortured and why she seeks redemption. So although it was uncomfortable reading sometimes, this novel is totally worth it as she is a strong and worthy protagonist!

Intense and depressing but the mystery behind Franny's past kept me interested enough to continue. I might have given it 4 stars but the timeline was hard to follow at times and the epilogue bugged me--I think the person waiting for her should have been Lea!

I read this for work and am marking it read here. "For fans of Flight Behavior and Station Eleven, a novel set on the brink of catastrophe, as a young woman chases the world’s last birds—and her own final chance for redemption."

Franny, the main character of Charlotte McConaghy’s “Migrations,” is often compared to that mythical Irish creature, the selkie, part human, part seal. Selkies are drawn to sea—she says her heart leads “not to true north but to true sea.” Franny more than once leaps without hesitation into icy water. She’s a wanderer, and warns her husband she needs to roam. She laments, “It isn’t fair to be the kind of creature who is able to love but unable to stay.” Theirs is a love story, almost perfect. The respected ecological scholar falls deeply in love with the bird-loving janitor at the university. He recognizes her need and trusts and encourages her to fulfill it. “Migrations” carries the reader around the world, a welcome travel excursion on the page for sheltering at home. The half-Irish, half-Australian Franny travels from Greenland to the Antarctic, following a small bird. “The Arctic tern has the longest migration of any animal. It flies from the Arctic all the way to the Antarctic, and then back again within a year. This is an extraordinarily long flight for a bird its size. And because the terns live to be thirty or so, the distance they will travel over the course of their lives is the equivalent of flying to the moon and back three times.”

In McConaghy’s novel, a bitter twist in ecology has occurred. These are the last terns in existence, on perhaps their last migration—most species of animal, except a few that humans eat, have gone extinct. Hitching a ride with a salmon boat, Franny promises that the terns will lead the fishermen to the few remaining fish, a heartbreaking deal for the animal lover. The fishermen are conflicted about this likely final trip, too, bearing the responsibility for putting themselves out of business with one large haul.

McConaghy’s descriptions of life on the boat are a book-lover’s dream—a rarified experience actualized on the page. The tiny quarters, the narrow hallways, the superstitions of the crew, obedience to the captain, the danger of the sea—all feel vividly and claustrophobically real. On the ship, Franny is unwelcome, despite having directions to the fish. They put her to work tying knots. Franny’s drive to follow these birds fits easily with her desire to be on the move, but her determination is more and more frantic. As an amateur ornithologist with more than a casual interest in birds, Franny is on a search for redemption from an unknown crime. As the author progressively reveals what moves Franny to relentlessly travel and what drives her obsession with the tern’s migration, her endless wanderings belie her desire for a sense of home and belonging.

Climate novels can be preachy—they have every right—but “Migrations” is hopeful. Like Lydia Millet’s “A Children’s Bible” or Jenny Offill’s “Weather,” our damaged planet fights for survival, providing, at least, the suggestion that Mother Earth will not lie down quietly. Despite being nearly empty of fish, the sea in McConaghy’s novel is fiercely alive, maintaining a healthy fear in the heart of a seasoned boat captain, and a continuing draw for Franny.

“Migrations”
By Charlotte McConaghy
Flat Iron Books, 272 pages

Migrations is a beautiful, heartbreaking, defiant literary fiction debut. While McConaghy has written SFF in the past, this work is something entirely new for her, and you could feel the passion and anger pouring off of every page. I’ve never read any of her SFF novels, but I might have to give them a go. Because the woman can really write.

This is the story of a dying world, a near future where almost every wild animal has become extinct due to climate change and human interference at a catastrophic level. Franny Stone is bound and determined to follow what she believes will be the last mass migration of Arctic terns, even if it kills her. As the story progresses, and we learn more and more about what is driving her, Franny becomes more and more fascinating and sympathetic. The character development here was very well done, both in Franny and in the supporting cast. There were mystery elements I found intriguing. The prose was lovely. While the story often came across as preachy, the timeliness of it justifies McConaghy’s stance and vehemence.

I picked up this book right before Hurricane Laura hit my home in Louisiana. The storm was the worst in this area since 1856. A tree fell on my grandparents’ house as we looked on helplessly, unable to get to them because of the winds and unable to call them because all cell towers were down. My parents’ house, the home they’ve been building since before I was born, the home I spent my entire childhood in from birth to marriage, had a giant tree fall through it while we were inside and is looking like it’s beyond saving. I’m incredibly thankful that every member of my family made it through not only alive but unharmed. However, our lives here are forever changed.

Reading a story in which environmental issues were so tightly wound proved to be too much for me at the time. I did eventually pick it back up and finish it, but it was the opposite of a comfort. However, that was the author’s point, I think. McConaghy wasn’t trying to comfort, but to slap awake and call to arms before it’s too late. If that was her intent, she succeeded.

In a near-future where most animals are extinct, a self-loathing, but passionate woman traces the path of the last Arctic terns. This book is beautifully written and compelling even though I spent as much time hating the protagonist as she spent hating herself.

Beautiful and moving story about the possible future due to changes in our environment and one woman’s personal quest to follow a dying bird population’s migration one last time. The novel was moving and kept my interest with the alternating back and forth between current time and the past. The main character is Franny and the events of her life that bring her to the book’s present time are unraveled gradually. Although the story can be bleak and depressing at times, the ending leaves the reader with hope that Franny will go on to help in preserving the wildlife of our planet and also find some contentment at long last in her own life.

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy is a deep and emotional tale. One that harbors on loss, grief, and abandonment. Fear escalates with every page. Franny has suffered from a young age and is still suffering. Her pain is felt on every page. The writer's words easily made me connect with the characters and feel what they're experiencing. This book made me think of Romeo and Juliet, The Fault in Our Stars, and many other books that were just as sad and epic as this one was. This story has a way of grabbing me and hooking me in tightly. It was an unforgettable tale. One that carried so much emotion that I could still reel it all inside of me. Overall, this was a powerful women's fiction novel. I look forward to reading more by this writer in the future.

I somehow won an egalley of this book in MAY, and I stupidly put off reading it until AUGUST. Those are months that went by during which I had no idea that Migrations would turn into one of my favorite books of 2020.

Beautifully written and wonderfully paced, Migrations follows Franny, a woman possessed by a dark past and a dangerous future. Set on a depressing horizon where the blight of humanity has destroyed almost all wildlife to extinction, Franny talks her way onto a struggling fishing vessel in order to follow the last remaining birds on their migration south, knowing that the treacherous journey may be her last. With the help of a seasoned sailor, his eccentric crew, and a whole lot of luck, Franny sets off. Migrations is something of an apology to Mother Earth and a cautionary tale to humankind that we may be on the brink of irreversibly harming the planet that sustains us.

I truly thought Migrations was going to be a love letter to environmentalism, a missive on reform. I was wrong. Charlotte McConaghy does not mince words while condemning us for plundering the earth for resources, for hunting from the seas to the skies for delicacies, for centering our species at the top of a crumbling food chain. Plainly put, humans are nothing but parasites sucking the life from the earth’s reserves and offering nothing in return. This isn’t a love letter, but a grand chastising, a reading of our sins.

Franny shoulders personal burdens, combats elusive ghosts, and evades the demons of her past on her sojourn south. She’s a woman in love, a daughter and a wife on a mission, a whole and complex character struggling to find singular and collective salvation. She is able to see the forest for the trees, able to concern herself with problems both big and small, able to acknowledge the selfishness of humanity and apologize for it while still remaining so flawed and human at her core. She’s who we all need to become if we want our children to see birds in our skies and fish in our seas.

Franny’s perpetual motion, her inability to stay put, is devastating. I come from a long line of mothers whose feet were made to wander, who cannot be made to sit still. McConaghy clearly knows what it’s like to love something (or someone) who is fleeting, to love something elusive, and how utterly hopeless the task is. There’s nothing so torturous as loving something so much that you must let it go, because going is in its nature. Leaving is in the nature of Franny, and destruction is in the nature of men. If I had to sum up this book in one word, it would be “nature” - the natural order of all things.

Migrations is a story about finding life, finding purpose and meaning, finding a home when none is afforded, and finding a path away from the selfish and destructive patterns that destroy us and everything we touch. Humans are solely responsible for how we leave the earth when we’re gone, and despite knowing that we’re spiraling toward the point of no return, we continue our disastrous behavior... because it’s in our nature. We continue to abuse one another, to look no further than ourselves, to miss the macro for the micro, to ignore what we know for what we want... because it’s in our nature. I’m not sure if Migrations alone can change our behavior, but Charlotte McConaghy certainly understands why it’s important that she try.

Wow!!! In all honesty, I only decided to read this because the author is Australian, and I’ve been on an Aussie kick during COVID. I never expected it to be as beautiful, heartbreaking and profound as it is. I absolutely related to Franny’s deep sadness and search for self.. The sense of place is also so palpable and visceral. I felt that cold water every time someone was in it; I saw the beauty of the birds in flight, and was completely in that world in a way that I rarely am. This book, and Franny’s journey will stay with me for a long time.