Emma Starling is coming home after several years away at college and med school. Well, not really at med school, but her family thinks that is where she has been. Born with a healing touch, Emma’s mother assumed she would be a doctor and everything seemed to be going that way, except no one asked Emma.

Now she’s home because her father, Clive, is dying and hallucinating that he sees cats and rats and Harold, the famed local naturalist. He’s been forcibly retired and is spending more time talking to Harold than to his family. Emma needs to forgive her father for cheating on her mother. She also should improve her relationship with her brother Augie who has fought his way to sobriety after opioid addiction, a problem plaguing the town. As she nears her home she sees missing person posters and the person missing is her best friend from high school. Why didn’t anyone tell her?



I loved Unlikely Animals. I love the narration by the ghosts in the town cemetery. I love the quirkiness of the town, and the weirdest elements are reality-based I love how big things happen in small ways. Emma gets a job offer and perhaps finds a life purpose. Clive orders something on the internet and fails to cancel the order. Chaos happens again and again but there is real love animating the conflicts and the chaos.

I cried a lot during this book. I also laughed a lot. For such a small story, it has big ideas about love lasting even when it’s hard.

I received an e-galley of Unlikely Animals for review from the publisher through NetGalley

Unlikely Animals at Penguin Random House
Annie Hartnett

Do you hand out second chances to authors very easily?

I must confess, that if I read one book I don’t like, it’s possible I won’t seek out anything from that author again. I wasn’t a huge fan of Rabbit Cake, however, Unlikely Animals — by Annie Hartnett — sounded so promising in its summary that I just had to take a chance on it. I am so glad I did, y’all. This was the sweetest, snarkiest, most charming yet real tale of friendship, family, love, loss, aging, moving forward, and making peace.

Much thanks to @NetGalley and @randomhouse /Ballantine Books for an early copy for review.

#unlikelyanimals #anniehartnett #rabbitcake
#NetGalley #RandomHouse #BallantineBooks
#operationTBR #readmyowndamnbooks

#TBCreads #pathologicallyliterate

#bookstagram #books #bookish #bookpics #booklist #booknerd #bookworm #booklover #librarylover #readingtime #alwaysreading #getlit #happyreading #readersofinstagram #weneeddiversebooks #wndb

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett.

What is it about a "girl returns to her small town home after ___ years?" They just hit the spot! Especially when what she has in store is just so heartwarmingly juicy.

First off, I LOVED the narration, which was essentially done by the folks in the graveyard who have already met their end. So quirky and creative. It was also interwoven with pieces of this New Hampshire town history, in particular with one of it's eccentric robber baron.

But the real story was with Emma, who was once known to have a magical touch that could help heal a person. Feeling destined, she leaves her town for medical school, but drops out feeling like she has completely lost her touch. Now she is staying with her family, a brother that is a recovering addict, a dad with a terminal disease, and a mother who remains angry for all of the past injustices she's endured. On top of everything, her best friend is missing and has yet to be found, a friend that Emma fell out with years ago.

And that's what it is, just a lovely, kitschy, funny, sad story. It was so unique and enjoyable. I liked it even more reading the author's notes at the end, helping me to understand the actual history of this town as well as the heroine epidemic it endured. All of the peripheral elements of the story really helped to make this such a rich and well rounded read.

When I started reading “Unlikely Animals” I thought Annie Hartnett was channeling Fannie Flagg. It all sounded sort of familiar and took me back to Elwood Springs, Missouri and “The Whole World’s Talking”. Hartnett like Flagg also infused portions of the books with that down home charm and “aw shucks” kind of feeling. Flagg and Hartnett use the residents of their respective cemeteries to give us insight into the behavior of the local residents and goings on which may not be known to most. The conversations of the omniscient members of the Maple Street Cemetery in Everton, NH is a clever and useful device which lightens a somber story.

In “Unlikely Animals” the use of humor helps to lighten the sorry story of Professor Clive Starling who has stated seeing small animals in his classroom. It is a distraction and while entertaining it leads to his forced retirement. This is where the story picks up steam and falls apart but in a funny, sad, cruel, introspective way. It is a tribute to Hartnett that she is able to infuse humor, love and forgiveness while exploring a serious disease, imminent death and loss.

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this sad, charming, humorous story.

The main character Emma has been having a hard time of it. She keeps failing med school. Her father has brain cancer and finds himself talking to ghosts. Emma's old best friend is missing and the police aren't searching for them. The book deals heavily with the opium epidemic. Even though the book deals with heavy topics, it is still often heart warming and hilarious. Sometimes with how dark the world is, it's nice to have a little light shine in.

This unique and quirky novel was a book club pick for Good Housekeeping. It tells the story of Emma. She is a young woman who has had her struggles. She has left medical school and seemingly has lost her way.

Emma returns to the place where she grew up. Things are no easier there. Emma’s father is dying. Emma’s mother judges her. Emma’s brother has issues. Emma’s good friend is missing. There is much to cause despair.

This is a novel that invites readers into a world and asks them to consider some big issues. This is all done in a work that is both funny and heartbreaking at times as readers spend time with both human and animal characters.

Many thanks to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Family, community, and love for our animal friends are at the heart of this quirky, poignant novel with a lovable protagonist.

Let me start by saying this book was unlike any other that I have ever read. I admit I had a bit of a hard time getting into it but I try to always finish any book I start. I'm glad I stuck with it. This book has a bit of everything, mystery, comedy, family, a touch of psychic, mental illness and a lovely ending. Emma, the main character is quite relatable. When Emma has to return to her childhood home she is faced with many issues and we travel her journey along with her in this story. I would recommend giving it a try. I found it to be well worth it in the end.

I really enjoyed this one! There are multiple points of view, including the spirits observing life on the street they used to live and offering commentary. Emma is a natural born healer who has lost her "touch". She has a father who has dementia and is slowly declining. Enter in his visions including conversations with a naturalist that befriended animals and you have a wonderful, quirky, thought provoking tale.

Thank you to my friends at @randomhouse for this free advance copy of UNLIKELY ANIMALS! This book comes out April 12 and I highly recommend it. Like ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ recommend it! 🦊

When I read the synopsis, it was like this book was written just for me! The backdrop of a small town in the opioid crisis, a medical school dropout goes home to help with her father. Her father has brain disease and has hallucinations of animals. That’s right, GHOST ANIMALS. Well actually, the dead naturalist is the ghost, but there are invisible animals. Once I read it, I fell in love. Hartnett is an incredible storyteller. 🦊

Quirky, funny, witty, heart-grabbing, fresh, poignant and so much more. There are so many words I could use but it's hard to describe a novel that encompasses so much. The hardest part is wrapping into a small package because this story wants to burst at the seams.

Annie Hartnett sets the scene, prodigal daughter coming back to her rural New Hampshire town leaving medical school behind to find her brother a recovering addict, her father dying, her mother at her wit's end, her high school best friend missing and her own remarkable gift gone. Trying to get back on her feet, she takes a long-term elementary subbing job and with it learns to trust her instincts more and give back to an ailing community.

One of the most clever and heartfelt decisions made, Hartnett chooses for the inhabitants of the town's cemetery to narrate this story, giving the reader perspective from not only the present but from the dead's endearing hope for their town. The opioid crisis breaks my heart but Hartnett has a way of interspersing humor in times I needed it most. I mean, c'mon....Auggie's speech, sheer tears...enough said.

If you are looking for a mainstream novel that leads to point A, to point B and so on, skip this. This tragicomic takes you outside your bubble, makes you think outside the box and leaves you with the town's wholeness you didn't know you needed. For an even better experience, I was able to interview Annie for an author chat learning so much about what drew her interest, her writing style, who she based characters off of, scenes she almost included and so much more. Visit my YouTube channel, LB the Lover of Books to view: https://youtu.be/xWIVmMymPqE

Thank you Netgalley, Annie Hartnett, RandomHouse publishing and Ballantine Books for my advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

The heartfelt humor poured into every line of this story is unlike any other novel I've read this year. You will fall in love with the characters despite, or maybe in spite of, their complexities. This was a sweet and beautiful read. This is not the typical book I reach for on the shelf, but I'm glad I read it and discovered the quirky story.

I have to say, Unlikely Animals is one of my favorite weird reads ever. To start: this book is collectively narrated by the…residents?…of a local cemetery. Really, they’re all a bunch of gossips, deeply interested in the lives of the people who live in their New Hampshire town.

Their focus in this story is the Starling family. Emma has returned to town from California, where she was supposed to be in medical school (but wasn’t), and now is back because her father, Clive, is dying of a brain disease. Clive is having hallucinations–of animals and of ghosts who keep him company. He’s also obsessed with finding Emma’s former best friend, Crystal, who has disappeared. No one else seems concerned–they assume she’s another victim of the opioid crisis running rampant through their town–and Clive is generally dismissed because of this disease.

On top of all this, Emma also has a touch of magic about her–the ability to heal small things, which seems to have disappeared. So between the magic, the ghosts, the visions, and the gossips in the cemetery, there’s a lot of levity to be had here, mixed in with the very real crises of drugs, disease, and the disappearance of a young woman. Despite these dark themes, it’s not a spoiler to say that this had one of the most delightful endings in recent memory.

This book is perfect and has everything I want in a story.... Animals, humor, family dynamics.... what a world the author built. It was a pleasure to live in Everton for these 300 pages. I demand a sequel!

Loved it! I really like this author; she writes what I want to read: true to life fiction ( is that an oxymoron?) that highlights growing problems in America. Emma is a healer but is also a med school dropout who comes home to take care of an ailing father. Her brother, Angie, is fresh out of rehab and struggling with his own demons. Her mother is tired and needs help but also wants out of her marriage. Her father is an ex-band member, ex-professor who sees ghosts and animals that aren't there. Now starts the caretaking; mostly by Emma but it takes a village to take care of Dad. He's a handful. This village includes the local dead so the book reads a little like Our Town or Lincoln in the Bardo. They all have their own opinions but can't act on them or.... poof....they're gone. Great story! Highly recommend!

Wow, what a fun, heartwarming (and I mean that in the least corny way) story! I’m so glad I decided to read this ARC from NetGalley and thank them and the publishers for the opportunity to read it. I’m not sure how the book is categorized but I’d suppose as contemporary fiction.

Emma is a disillusioned college student who has to return from hip California to her parent’s home in New Hampshire when her father is diagnosed with a fatal disease. She takes a job as a long-term substitute teacher at a local elementary school to pay off her debt. To make her situation worse, she has a younger brother recovering from addiction, her mom & dad’s marriage is rocky due to some poor decisions made under duress and her childhood best friend has disappeared, presumed to be deceased of an overdose. Interspersed with this narrative is the historical ramblings of a local Dr Doolittle type of figure and numerous ghosts inhabiting the town cemetery and watching over the living. This doesn’t sound like the basis of a lighthearted reader’s romp, actually it sounds like a literary mess, but trust me on this, it really is a good read. Ms Hartnett is a skilled writer, with a real talent for the polished phrase. Perhaps the writing was a tad juvenile, with references to farts and butts and bodily functions, but as a former teacher of elementary and middle school students, and mother of 3, it struck me as incredibly authentic. I totally enjoyed the characters and found the author’s dialogue amusing. I also was struck by the not-exactly-specific descriptions of Clive’s (Emma’s dad) illness. I’m wondering if the author was alluding to him perhaps having Lewy Body Dementia? Anyway, great book, I totally recommend it.

This book was.an unexpected and wonderful delight. Since reading it, I have listened to multiple interviews with the author on podcasts, and I just wish this book had gotten more press when it released! It sold very, very well at the independent bookstore I work for, and I believe that is because everyone on staff just loved it and was able to hand sell it. This is a smart, compassionate, often funny and beautifully written story about love, with some mystery, ghosts and grief woven in. It’s so good. I cannot wait to see what Annie Hartnett does next!

I enjoyed this quirky book. The main character is Emma, who once had a healing touch but decided medical school was not for her, and returned to her small town. Her father is dying, her mother is having an affair, and the dead souls in the town graveyard comment and kibbitz on all the action. Dad is palling around with the ghost of a real-life naturalist who had a heavy influence on the small town, and can’t quite make it into the graveyard. This story is full of heart, family and friends who see each other for what they are and love them anyway. There are many plotlines that seem disjointed but come together satisfactorily in the end. Who knew that a fox and a dog could be such good friends? Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

What started as a random pick on NetGalley became my favorite book of this year. My first Annie Hartnett read blew me away. Her light touch with some heavy topics elevated this family story. She wove together humor and emotion, including a Greek chorus of dead cemetery residents to bring Emma's story to life. It also allows for deep issues between family members to become fully realized without taking over the tone of the book. If you enjoy a quirky story set in a small town with some depth and some fun animals, be sure to pick up this novel.

a solid 4 star read for me. the voice in this book was so well done, and the moments of tenderness were expertly mixed with moments of wry humor. I loved the ghostly cast of narrators so much, they were my favorite aspect of this book by far. I loved the animals that Clive brings into the family, and I really enjoyed the writing of the small-town. I think my only knock was Emma's story dragged a bit for me, but overall I really enjoyed this one and the way the author wrote about some truly awful events in a wry and readable way that still made you think.