Migrations...I was unsure when starting to read this story how far it would take me. Most all wildlife, birds and fish are extinct in our world. The story jumps back and forth from present to past, building a story of love, extreme sadness and strength to carry on the mission of following migration of the Arctic Terns (one of the last birds on earth) along with her own life. The lives lost, the unlikely friends and enemies found and the never ending battle to live or die. As I continued reading, I grew to know Franny Stone began a little more and understand the why of this never ending drive, until the end, then I cried. Thank you Charlotte.

What a gorgeous piece of literary fiction!
•
Animals are extinct. The oceans have nearly been fished empty. The birds have all but disappeared but for the Arctic Terns which are approaching their final migration.
Franny, a fiercely determined woman, embarks upon a journey to follow the birds as they take flight. The supporting characters unfold gently as does the character of the ocean. At times it is calm while at others it is chaotic and deadly. Franny is unable to find her place, struggling to stay anchored even with her husband, a man she genuinely loves. Loss and sadness are revealed slowly as the narrative progresses, going back and forth between place and time.

Atmospheric with beautiful imagery. Amidst mass extinction one woman follows the migration of the last remaining Arctic terns on her own instinctual journey. As with the studies of species, her mysteries are revealed slowly.

Fanny Stone makes her appearance in Greenland to acquire work on the Saghani. Her motivations are to convince the ship’s captain to track the last of the terns and journey with them on their last Migration. More ways then one, these birds are a symbol of her life in many ways. At least that is what I came away with the story.

As the story unfolds, you begin to realize that Franny’s life is displaced, haunted and she must find the answers of her torment and come to grips with secrets bottled up so tightly, even she has forgotten them.

This story has ceased hold of my heart and it is one I think I will always come back to. While there is great sadness in this story, it is extraordinary and evoking with lyrically told sea life, characterization and captures your attention to wildlife that is threated to extinction.

I can’t remember the last time I have been transported and completely immersed in the characters’ lives. It’s as if the character’s hopes, dreams, longing, plight is your own.

Stephanie Hopkins

First, let me say that this is a well written book. However, it is also a very sad, heartbreaking and frightening book. It is not an easy book to read. However, it is also a book about conservation, mental disorders, survival and facing the facts. Franny Stone, the main character, is also flawed with a dark past so it might take awhile to understand or sympathize with her. I do recommend this book for the writing and the message. However, if you are someone who doesn't like sad stories or flawed characters than I would choose another book. However, I hope that you do try this book at least.

“If you or anyone you know wishes to visit the remaining forests of the world, you need to join the waiting lists immediately, for it is becoming more likely that the lists will outgrow the life spans of the forests.”

Migrations asks us to imagine a world where nearly all the creatures humans share the earth with are gone. But at its core, the book is about relationships and the lengths we will go to for them. When Franny sets out to follow the last migration of the Arctic terns, we learn she has secrets that make this journey about more than just the birds’ survival.

Bird lovers will feel a special connection to the soaring prose, but anyone who has wondered about the future of our planet and how we are all connected needs to read this devastatingly beautiful and timely novel.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the mystery of Franny's past and how it was revealed little by little. I liked reading about the birds and how climate change had affected the animals.

I really wanted to love this book. The description sounds like a book I would enjoy and I did enjoy parts of it. I loved the idea of a woman's quest to follow that last arctic terns on their migration and in the process discover more about herself. Unfortunately, I was not drawn in by the writing and I never liked Franny very much. Her character interested me, but I never felt very engaged with her. The back and forth in time I actually liked because I thought it made the story more mysterious and is probably the reason I finished it.

Migrations is one of the most captivatingly beautiful and haunting books I've read in recent memory. Charlotte McConaghy details a journey story - a migratory story - on multiple levels. It delves into the lives of characters who are grappling with their personal histories, as well as an ecological crisis.

It's a story that looks back as well as forward. It's a work of literary fiction that is rich with symbolism where readers will also deeply connect with the characters. All to say, I loved it and highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

This book was very unique and not the post-apocalyptic story I was expecting. The language was gorgeous, and the story takes you on a sea voyage from Greenland to Antarctica, following the migration of the last of the arctic terns. It is the narrator Franny's journey as well--her disturbed past is revealed slowly to the readers; at the same time, being on the ship helps Franny process the past and come to terms with it. Everything is woven together so beautifully, conveying a deep sense of loss and desperation throughout. I usually have no interest in sailing or sea stories, yet I ended up caring deeply for each of the characters on The Saghani.

Although we are cautioned about quoting from the uncorrected proof, I'd like to share this passage which to me summarizes it all (with the understanding that it may be edited in the final copy):

Because it seems to me, suddenly, that if it's the end, really and truly, if you're making the last migration not just of your life but of your entire species, you don't stop sooner. Even when you're tired and starved and hopeless. You go farther.

I really loved the book. If I were to change one thing, I might've prefer that the book ended after Chapter 29 and did not include the Epilogue.

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. Thank you to @flatiron_books via @netgalley for a copy of this book which will be out August 4, 2020. The big theme that is throughout this story is nature/saving our planet which I love reading about in books. But it also is about a woman named Franny and her life. The narrative goes from present day to the past in these chunks where we learn more about why Franny has ended up chasing these birds that may go extinct...the real reasons she is “running away.” I liked the pacing and enjoyed reading the story as it unfolded in the set up of changing times/locations. It also deals with grief and different relationships whether with a spouse, a parent, or friend for these characters. I hope we always have lots of birds, fish, trees, and wildlife as part of our daily lives. I truly cannot fathom if all of the beautiful nature in the world did exist. Posted on Instagram @carolinehoppereads and GoodReads

Franny Stone is searching. She is searching for her past and her place in the world. Franny is a wanderer and in touch with nature especially the sea. This book takes place in a time where climate change is evident and there are a lot of animals that are extinct due to man. She decides to follow the arctic tern on its migration, one of the few birds left not in captivity. On her quest she will discover herself.

This book offers us a glimpse into our future if we cannot coincide with the natural world. The character of Franny is reminiscent of the marsh girl in "Where the Crawdads Sing". Both characters are highly tuned to nature. This is a wonderful book to read.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advance copy of Migrations to read and enjoy.

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy was my favorite read of 2020 so far. It was the kind of book that grabbed my imagination from the first page and wouldn't let go until the last word. I rarely read a book as quickly as I read Migrations and I was sad that I had finished it when it was done.

I don't want to give too much away in this review but I will say that the story weaves together the loss of many of the world's animal species with the loss of one woman's ability to deal with her life's hardships in a way that makes it impossible not to imagine what the world would be like without our animals, birds, insects, etc. The writing evokes a sadness in the reader, not only for people living in this future world, but for the entire dying planet at the heart of the story. It's quite a book, to say the least. I have recommended Migrations to all of my reader friends and feel very lucky to have been able to read an advance copy.

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy is an excellent, complex, and multi-layered fictional novel that pulls at emotions and heart-strings and grips a reader from beginning to end.

The reader is presented with seemingly two separate plots, one the mystery of Franny the main female character that has a complicated and harrowing past and second with the quest to find and follow the last group of Arctic terns. These two subjects actually have very much in common. The reader slowly is exposed and unraveled into Franny’s past, history, and path that led her to this journey. We see all that has been, what has been lost, and what sacrifices and changes have occurred secondary to these events. The same is the plot concerning extinction, habitat destruction , climate change, and permanent loss and alteration to the precious wildlife that has left us and what has remained. Both events moving simultaneously and helplessly forward. But yet, the author inserts a slim ray of hope, possibilities opening. Do we chose to alter our path and overcome obstacles, or do we sit back and let the darkness and damage overcome?

Very heavy stuff for such a slim book. The literary picture of the landscapes and emotions presented was beautiful, yet hard to read. The author had a mighty job presenting these concepts without overwhelming the reader, and I thought it was successful. (That is just my take on the story.)

I enjoyed this book and at the same time worry even more about how our species is permanently changing and destroying our world. It is a wake up call to those that think it can be set aside for future generations. The time to love ourselves, our families, each other, and our world is now.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Every animal in the world is accelerating towards extinction.
Fanny, from Galway, Ireland has had a very sad and lonely past. She is on a mission to track what is predicted to be the last migration of terns that is left. She finds a fishing ship and weasels her way onto it and becomes part of the crew and she convinced them that with the tracking devices that she put on three of the terns.. if they follow the birds on their migration, they will find fish.
This book goes back and forth from different places and circumstances her life, her childhood, her marriage..
It was beautiful and heartbreaking and really makes you think. It was quite a journey!

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC!

I had a very different reaction to this novel than my Goodreads’ friends. I wanted to put this novel down many times. I didn’t love the writing, and I didn’t care at all about Franny or her difficult past—she came through as so flat and unemotional to me. Yes, she has nightmares and terrible insomnia, but I simply didn’t care. I found this depressing and excruciating.

NetGalley sent an advanced copy of this book, which releases August 4, 2020.

The reviews and advance information piqued my interest. I love a story with multiple plot twists and turns. However, the sheer number of twists and turns as well as the back and forward in time made it really hard to follow. The twists were too sudden and unexpected; their abrupt nature was confusing.

I often found myself going backward to see if I could follow the trail. I came close several times to relegating it to the "couldn't finish" category.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42121525-

This was a very interesting read on a number of levels! The story appears to be, on the surface, about a woman’s (Franny Stone’s) obsession with following the migration of the last flock of arctic terms. It is set in the future, and all of the wild animals have due to of loss of food/habitat as a result of Global warming. But it is also a story about family, love, loss, shame, and sacrifice. The story hops back and forth in time, gradually filling in the blanks that make up the life of Franny Stone. She is a deeply flawed young woman with a lot of secrets, and these are revealed one by one throughout the book. I found myself really pulling for both her and the birds by end.

“A life’s impact can be measured by what it gives and what it leaves behind, but it can also be measured by what it steals from the world”

This was an introspective and engaging novel. The story starts with Franny Stone, our main character and narrator, who arrives on Greenland to find the last elusive flock of terns.

It takes place in an earth where most animals have become extinct due to climate changes, specifically global warming. As the novel progresses the story becomes increasingly dark and gradually chilling secrets are revealed.

The author did a great job with the imagery and description, I could clearly picture the setting and emotional state of the characters. At the same time, I felt the story was too gloomy for me, given the current pandemic circumstances and sad events around the globe, it was not easy for me to read.

Overall, the characters and the story were well developed and intriguing, I recommend it.

ARC provided by Netgalley

I really enjoyed this novel, mostly because Franny Stone was so wonderful. Such a great character - and the opening, how she meet Ennis, was just perfect. We follow Franny on her quest to track the migration of the last known Arctic Terns, the longest migration of any bird. Set in the not-too-distant future when species of animals are falling into extinction left and right, Franny has become obsessed with the terns and has basically linked her fate with theirs. As she travels south, we get her backstory (tragic, beautiful, Irish, Australian, romantic and full of wandering). So good.