Looking for a quirky ghost story? Unlikely Animals might be the book for you! I loved Annie Hartnett’s last novel, Rabbit Cake, and was excited to dive into her newest.

Here’s what you need to know: Emma has dropped out of med school and returns home to New Hampshire to help take care of her ailing father. Her entire family is struggling – her brother is a recovering addict, her mother is overwhelmed with work and caring for her husband, and Emma herself is floundering because she has lost her “healing touch,” a magical power that she’s had since birth. Emma’s father’s illness makes him forgetful and causes him to see animals; he also becomes obsessed with finding a local woman who has gone missing. The novel also features a chorus of ghosts from the local cemetery, who share their insight into the lives of everyone in the town.

Unlikely Animals is a genre mashup and, while it won’t be for everyone, I quite enjoyed it. There is a lot going on in this story, but if you’re looking for something different – ghost story + mystery + coming-of-age tale with a dash of magic and a splash of humor, give this one a try!

Emma Starling grew up in small New Hampshire town. She was born with healing hands. People thought she had a magic cure. She grew up, left for school, dropped out of medical school and returned to her home town.. Her father is dying of some unknown cause and has been hallucinating small animals, seeing them everywhere. He also has a friend that he relies on that is a ghost. Emma finds that her father has been obsessed with finding her missing long time friend. She also has a recovering addict for a brother that is living at home. She somehow joins her father in this search and her brother seems to find his way.

The book is narrated by the ghosts in the town cemetery. I found this rather bazaar along with the fact that they seem to be interacting and directing Emma’s father. I did not find this humorous. I felt that Emma could have amounted to something but she chose not to. I just could not get into this book. I suppose it was just too unrealistic for me. I do thank Net Galley for giving me the chance to read this pre-release.

3.5 stars for this quirky, charming small town story that is heartwarming and fun but also uses too many literary devices and becomes disjointed. This is a very original book about a young woman named Emma who returns to her small New Hampshire town after deciding to not attend medical school. Emma was born with a midwife identified 'healing touch' and her father has a dementia type illness and needs her help. Only her gift has long disappeared and she feels like she is a failure as she returns to her father Clive, mother Ingrid and brother Auggie, a recovering drug addict. There is a mystery about a missing one time friend of Emma's named Crystal, chapters detailing real life stories from a naturalist named Baynes who kept fox and deer as pets, musings from the residents of a local graveyard who speak about and narrate the goings on in this town, a class of fifth graders and their issues and observations and a millionaire's private hunting sanctuary. If these seem like a lot of different things, they are and they do drag the story down quite a bit. On top of that, there are many, many characters and the author touches on subjects such as illness, infidelity, drug addiction, education and more.

For me, the best parts are charming Clive (the father of Emma) a one time professor who does crazy things and sees rabbits and rats that aren't there but who is overall a caring and interesting person. I liked Emma's story and how she found herself and found the courage to start an authentic life. I also adored the ending which made a lot of sense and was wonderfully drawn. What was. not successful was the diaries or journals of Harold and his wife which kind of took me out of the action and I felt the cemetery folk had little to offer in terms of adding to the story. And as a one time fifth grade teacher, I can assure you substitutes are not allowed to just let kids watch court TV all day or just hang out, Now days teachers are expected to follow precise lesson plans. Overall, I'm glad I read this because it was sweet and unusual. Thank You to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

What a charmingly weird book! I loved the quirky characters, the odd storyline, and the unlikely ending -- even more after I read the author's note and learned that Ernest Harold Baynes was a real person.

The characters, the book and the author don't take themselves very seriously, which makes this a fun read. There are lots of tongue-in-cheek details, many provided by the Greek chorus of graveyard residents who narrate the story. Yes, you read that right -- this book is narrated by an unnamed ghost, with others chiming in as needed. It allows for some necessary omniscience, and gives us a look at the characters from a completely disinterested but lovingly warm outside perspective. The aforementioned Mr. Baynes is also a ghost, which I found particularly adorable after learning that he really existed.

There's a lot going on in this story, and I'm not sure it all needs to be there. We have:

1. Prodigal daughter, who has been lying to her family about many things, returning to deal with family drama
2. Dying parent who cheated on other parent
3. Drug addict brother
4. Supernatural healing abilities
5. Ghosts
6. The opioid crisis in small-town America
7. A mysterious disappearance that may or may not involve drugs, kidnapping and murder
8. Charming high school teacher who becomes prodigal daughter's new boyfriend
9. High-profile trial of drug kingpin

I'm sure there's more but that's just off the top of my head. I have to admit I spent the first two-thirds of the book wondering how on earth all these loose threads were going to tie together, and there are still whole topics I think could have been left out and the story wouldn't be missing a thing. Most of it, surprisingly enough, works together really well, and ends up fitting together better than you think it will. But the plot feels a bit all over the place. And oddly enough, even with all this stuff going on, the book gets off to a VERY slow start. I was tempted to DNF before I reached the 40% mark.

This brings me to my two big problems with this book, and the reason I'm not giving it five stars. First, the characters are quirky and so very strange, and I suspect that I was meant to find them endearing. But I didn't. I mostly found them annoying. Toward the end, they shape up a bit and I started feeling some warmth toward them. But I spent most of the book shaking my head at how dumb they were, and wondering how they could possibly have any friends. Probably not what the author was going for.

Second, the opioid crisis plays a big role in this book, and it's wildly out of place. It's such a dark topic and it's ruined a lot of lives, but here it's sort of played for laughs. Not directly -- the author is never making fun of addicts or blaming them for their illness or anything like that. But this is, after all, a comedy, and the drug crisis plays a part in what ultimately is a happy ending. It's a very strange choice for a plot device, and I really wish the author had chosen something less serious to focus on.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to seeing what others think of it when it's released in April. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of the e-book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I found Unlikely Animals funny and heart-felt a the same time. A troubled daughter comes home to regroup, only to find herself the guardian of her dying father when her mother can no longer manage his hallucinations of animals everywhere. Throw in an adult brother also living at home while recovering from drug addiction, and you have a story with potential to become heavy and preachy, but it never does. There is a touch of the supernatural from the charming ghosts living in the town cemetery, and their running commentary on what goes on in the town will keep you smiling. This book is nothing like you have read before!

I changed my review as this book went on. It was a slow start for me however based on other reviews I knew to keep reading. Emma comes home in what appears to be a help to her dying father, but in reality she's coming with her tail tucked between her legs in shame for some personal failures. The back and forth story telling from the residents of the local cemetery kept the heaviness of the story line light and funny. It's a story of redemption and the reality of how much we can learn from each other - young and old. The fifth grade children taught the adults as much about living as anyone. And what a testament about the beauty of a community coming together for the overall good.

This was a wacky ride of a book, but very enjoyable overall. The main character living in the zoo was interesting, but it was the graveyard chorus of characters that helped moved the plot along. Their comments on what was happening in the store added an outside perspective to things, that you normally don't see in the usual novel. Great story about animals and family.

Wasn’t sure what to expect from this book when I read what it’s about. Weird dr Dolittle living in a mansion full of wild animals? But it’s a perfect combination of history of the place and the eccentric owner of the ‘zoo’ and modern story about a family who grew apart and needed a fox bought from Russia to piece them together again. Story about family, friendship and animals. Great job Ms Hartnett, portraying both historical and modern characters so beautifully.

I thought the synopsis of this book sounded interesting so I read it. Not my usual kind of book but I really enjoyed it. I loved the dad and how persistent he was in trying to locate his daughter's best friend. My favorite "characters" were the inhabitants of the graveyard. Realizing they were observing the town was when I got hooked on the book.

An absolutely charming and life affirming book! It took me a few chapters to get into it, but after I did it was hard to put down. My favorite part became the inhabitants of the grave yard (similar to the chorus in a Greek drama) adding their comments ( either sarcastic or humorous) to different situations as they occurred. The author gave the graveyard resident's name , followed by their birth and death dates, whenever the resident was making a quip. This makes it much easier for the reader to know who is talking.
Without this aspect of the graceyard chorus, I feel the book would have been another above average novel about broken relationships, missed opportunities, a solved mystery, redemption, and even ghosts. The chorus was woven throughout the story, keeping the storylines tightly connected, with each comment making the reader more mindful of a particular situation. This book reminds me of a much lighter, with less damaged characters and with a much happier ending, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.

What a unique and charming book! It would be impossible to categorize this book, as it centers on a young woman who was marked for greatness by her family, and yet returns to her home town without pursuing the medical career she was expected to. The story examines her troubled family relationships, what it means to come home, and yet, there is so much more to this book. A mystery of a missing friend, her father's deteriorating mental condition, a Greek chorus of dead souls resting in the cemetery, a cast of animal characters and a classroom of fifth graders all have roles in this quirky novel.

Despite having so many disparate elements, the story is not disjointed at all, and switches easily between perspectives and voices. There is a lot of humor, and quite a bit of sadness, but overall, to me it was a powerful affirmation of the kindness of individuals and what constitutes a family. Very highly recommended.

Unlikely Animals- Annie Harnett

Emma Starling, a med-school dropout and former "natural healer," has returned home to New Hampshire to help care for her father Clive, who has been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder that has caused him to start hallucinating the presence of various animals. If that isn't an impressive concept for a story, I don't know what is.

This book is part mystery, focusing mainly on the disappearance of Emma's high school best friend Crystal. However, it is not your traditional mystery novel, focusing on the interpersonal relationships of the Starling family and how dynamics can change and grow and strengthen over time even through conflict. It is also a quirky and truly funny read, with the narrator being the numerous inhabitants of the town cemetery.

The story is beautifully written and the has a certain flow to is, though there are many detours that are tied up perfectly by the end of the novel. Truly one of the most interesting as well as light hearted reads, and one that does touch on very important topics such as the opioid crisis in America and coming to terms with death through the act of healing as a family.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett, is one of my favorite books this year and will likely remain in the top ten. The characters are quirky, with real-life issues and struggles. The story includes the dead residents keeping tabs on the living from the graveyard. There's a bit of magic involved, a pet fox, a pet bear, and a great dog. It's a captivating story that held my interest from the first page to the last. I look forward to more from this author.

A big-hearted, absolutely joyful (with so many dashes of dark humor!) novel. Already miss the world the author created. I love this book. Like, love love.

I knew something was wrong with this novel when I first started. The novel lacked a sense of place. It almost seemed impossible to me that someone could write a character as a UCLA dropout without talking about Westwood or the quips of tyring to survive LA, let alone leaving it. Even when Emma comes back home, there was a good sense of what New Hampshire is like, but LA is set as some fictional place that doesn't carry its own character. This is where I feel Hartnett fails in writing through honesty. The magic trick is undone and everything becomes less magical as you read.

At first, I found the magical elements charming, but they became too quirky for me to even enjoy or even want to believe. The whole novel feels like it would be a better Netflix mini series that you put on while doing laundry.

This book is meant for people who form book clubs from the Barnes and Nobles sale bin with discount wine from Target, or those who enjoy The Good Place or Pushing Up Daisies.

Name of Book: Unlikely Animals
Author: Annie Hartnett
Genre: Magical Realism
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group ~ Ballantine
Pub Date: April 12, 2022
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

Emma Starling is born with the gift of healing and everyone has exciting plans for her future.
She does well in school and is accepted into the highly selective Pomona College ~ one of the Clermont Colleges in Southern California. When she graduates from Pomona she will be attending UCLA’s Medical School.
However, it appears she has lost her gift of healing and is not ready for Med School. She stays in California but returns to New Hampshire when her father has a serious brain disease and is hallucinating or ‘visions caused by brain disease’. At first there were rabbits and Ingrid pretended to shoo them out of the house. Next cats showed up in his college classroom; soon the ghost of Ernest Harold Baynes arrives. Baynes was a naturalist who had many wild animals in his home.
Hmmm If this isn’t all that interesting, you may find the other characters in this story interesting; such as those who live in the nearby cemetery, guarding the living and have taken a special interest in protecting Emma

This story was certainly a different read for me. Also found out that it was a different story for author, Annie Hartnett. In her ~ ‘Author’s Notes' regarding her research’ ( Which is a read in itself!)
She tells us about her inspiration in writing this story ~ short version as I know you will read it for yourself.
Her friends recently moved to Newport, New Hampshire and while out shopping saw an enormous yellow
mansion with a ‘No Trespassing’ sign.

So yes! I had to Google Newport, New Hampshire enormous yellow mansion.
If you Google the site, you will also discover that the owner of the mansion and the 26,000 acres was Austin Corbin who imported animals from all over the world.
Ms. Hartnell was totally impressed and said “Someone should write a book about this”.
As we know, that someone turned out to be her!

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group ~ Ballantine for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 12, 2022.

This novel starts off with creative force as the narrators, dead folks residing in a New Hampshire graveyard, introduce readers to their rather typical small town and the characters who will populate the story. Following the intriguing introduction, the plot becomes a bit more humdrum, but still a page-turner as readers seek to discover how the demented father, prodigal daughter, prissy mother, astray son, and their friends and neighbors will resolve the dilemmas of end-of-life care, drug addiction, crime, and romance. Though not great literature, this is a fun read with some unexpected, humorous, and heart-warming situations involving ghosts that make themselves at home in the present, animals from a big dog to a very pricey fox, a wily bunch of fifth-graders, and the usual nobody-really-normal inhabitants of a small town. Take this book on your next vacation and enjoy some time off anything very serious.

Coming home for the first time since moving to Berkley to attend college and medical school, an estranged daughter finds her parents and addict brother muddling through life trying to cope with the poet father's Alzheimer's-like brain disease. Lovely, quirky characters are fully-realized in an original and engaging plot with unexpected turns. Great character development, very distinct from one another. Seeking the comfort and solace they are all missing the story is thought provoking, but not heavy handed. The small town New Hampshire setting is lovingly depicted. Some very unique narrative techniques add to the overall enjoyment and entertainment value of this novel with a warm, but not saccharine, message. With a definite nod to Thornton Wilder, the narrator(s) are the residents of Maple Street cemetery speaking at times with a single voice. Laugh-out-loud. Some great lines/scenes. Would definitely look for future novels from this author.

A young woman loses her ability to heal illness. Her brother becomes a heroin addict after being prescribed opioids following a sports injury. Her parents’ marriage founders, her father develops a mysterious brain disorder and her best friend, also a heroin addict, disappears.

Against this morbid backdrop, a group of delightfully quirky characters, some living, some dead, tell this tale with charm and exquisite humanity. There are many happy endings in this book. I didn’t want it to end..

This is absolutely my favorite book of the year so far and it’s up there with my rare five star books. In it, Emma Starling returns to her native New Hampshire after “failing to thrive” in California for three years. She moves back in with her father Clive, a former poetry professor who has terminal brain disease; her librarian mother, who has lost all patience dealing with the ramifications of her husband’s disease; and her younger brother Auggie , who is a recovering drug addict who does nothing.. Emma’s best friend from high school had disappeared three months before and Clive was the only one still looking for her. Oh my, there are so many characters and antics that I can’t begin to summarize it! Here are some of the keywords: charismatic iamaton, dead people talking, Ernest Harold Baynes, Corbin Park, hallucinations, pet fox, heroin addiction, fifth grade teaching, infidelity., and ghosts. In addition it all takes place in an area of New Hampshire that I’m very familiar with. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for providing me with this wonderful advanced reader copy!!!!