Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett is the story of a family living in a small New Hampshire. Clive Starling and his wife, Ingrid, live behind a mansion in the Corbin caretaker's house. They have been through a lot: a miracle, drug addiction, an affair, illness, etc. The one last thing they must survive is finding Crystal Nash.

Their miracle daughter, Emma, arrives home from college only to report that she hasn't been going. No med school, no money, no nothing.

That leaves Emma's brother, August, as the not-so-bad son. August is a recovering drug addict. When everyone thought Auggie wasn't paying attention, he was.

Auggie was counting on his family's support. The added stress on his father and mother's relationship causes his father to stray. The kids must learn to forgive their father.

It's hard to hate someone who is dying. Clive Starling is losing his mind. He sees animals, talks to ghosts, and forgets things. One thing he will not give up on is finding Crystal Nash.

Crystal Nash used to be Emma's best friend. The pair grew apart when Emma went to college in California. Crystal had her problems: she lost her dad, got hooked on heroin, and ran a sketchy side business.

When all of these things come together, it's unbelievable!

A uniquely refreshing story!

I loved this book so much. I don't have any cons to report. I left some tidbits out to not give away spoilers.

I applaud the writing. I feel like I am always saying, "Fluff!" Books are often monotonous. I'm happy to report that there is none of that here!

Simply perfection.

Set in the small fictional town of Everton, New Hampshire, Unlikely Animals was a unique, almost whimsical kind of story, where even the dearly departed buried at the Maple Street Cemetery get to have their say about the residents still living in their town. It is a story of a family in crisis and it is also a story about how the opioid crisis has impacted small town life.

Emma Starling was believed to be born with the gift of healing. At 22 she drops out of medical school (at least that's her version of the story) to return home to help care for her dying father, Clive. Clive was forced into retirement as a result of a rare brain disorder that resulted in hallucinations. Clive sees animals that only he seems to see. He has even made friends with the ghost of a NH naturalist, Ernest Harold Baynes, a man known for his love and compassion to the gentle creatures who called the woods surrounding his property home. Clive is also all consumed with helping to find Emma's former best friend, Crystal Nash.

In this story the characters are flawed and animals play a significant part in this novel. The story is a bit slow moving but, trust me, it is slow and deliberate in the best kind of way. Emma was a well-crafted character and my heart went out to her at times. Her life wasn't turning out anything like she had thought. She'd gone from medical school to a caregiver and long term substitute teacher for fifth graders in town. Clive was also a character I grew to care about even when I didn't expect to as I learned about his past. There were some touching moments in this story and I loved the ending and learning about the author's inspiration for this story as well. Very enjoyable. If you are in the mood for something totally different, this just may be the book for you.

RATING - 4.5/5 stars
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Unlikely Animals was a magical, quirky, and whimsical story about an unconventional family. I liked Annie Hartnett's use of humor to address terminal illness and drug addiction. She balances the underlying sorrow really well. I also really liked the author's note detailing how this book came to be. I think this would be a great choice for fans of Eleanor Oliphant or Frederick Backman.

This book was a little quirky. A little odd. A story that didn't really capture my attention at times. The animal stories were interesting and fun. The dead narrators in the cemetery were...odd.

Not sure if I'd recommend this to others.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute and unique story with an exciting premise. Hartnett loves to dance along the “is this too quirky?” line and does it well. She dealt sensitively with difficult topics (Opioid addiction, brain disease) and created characters (human, animal, and dead) that were appealing and likable.

Emma was a golden girl growing up in her small New Hampshire town and left to Make It Big. Instead, she returns lost, confused, and without her healing power of touch. Her dad is dying, and the disease makes him hallucinate animals and befriend a dead naturalist (who helps him buy a pet fox from Russia on the internet). Her brother is recovering from opioid addiction, and her mom is just fed up with them all. Observing, commenting, and judging all that goes on is a “Greek Chorus” of ghosts in the cemetery.

I wanted to LOVE this tragicomedy but got a bit bogged down by all the characters (mainly the ghosts’ chatter). I feel bad - I follow the author on Insta, and she’s doing well, getting good praise but being humble and sharing her joy. I’m SO HAPPY FOR HER.

Isn’t the cover the cutest, though? The pet fox and a protective, giant white dog who adopts the family are adorable. Emma goes through some decent growth. Overall, a fun jaunt into “I’ve never read anything like this before” territory.

Add Unlikely Animals to my list of this year's best quirky books. Much like Lessons in Chemistry, which I compared to a Fredrik Backman novel, Annie Hartnett's Unlikely Animals tells the story of a lot of characters whose lives intermingle in surprising ways.

Emma was born with charmed hands, meaning she could heal people and things. She leaves her small New Hampshire town to go to med school in California, but when she returns home for Thanksgiving, she doesn't bring good news about what she's been doing all these months on the West Coast. However, her problems pale in comparison to what her father is going through - let go from his professorship due to a mysterious degenerative brain disease that causes him to hallucinate and speak to a ghost. Emma's mother is overwhelmed with her husband's diagnosis and keeping tabs on her son, who is home from rehab because of opioid addiction. Adding to the mix is the fact that Emma's best friend from high school has been missing for months.

I know this doesn't make the book sound very lighthearted and happy, but it manages to find the humor in tough situations. Did I mention that the story is also narrated by the ghosts living in the town cemetery? They see all!

Unlikely Animals is published by Ballantine Books and is available to purchase now. I received a free e-ARC.

You know when you really stall finishing a book because it's so good you don't want it to end, but then you end up staying up all night to finish it anyway? You know when a book is so good you read the digital advanced copy and then immediately read it again in hardcover once it is published? You know when you put off writing a review for a book because you love it so much that you can't really articulate just how strongly you feel about it? YEAH THAT IS THIS BOOK. I cannot say enough kind things about UNLIKELY ANIMALS. I already loved Annie Hartnett's weird dark humor and the way she explores a complicated family dynamic and can balance both the funny and sad parts of life, and UNLIKELY ANIMALS digs into all of that, plus there are tame foxes! Bears! Ghosts! Little-known New England history! A mysterious giant game park! Magic! Did I mention ghosts?? UNLIKELY ANIMALS looks at both the most difficult parts of life -- illness, aging, death, infidelity, addiction, failure, friendships falling apart -- but it also celebrates all the beautiful things in the world. I can't stop thinking about this book, and I already can't wait to read it a third time. Go buy UNLIKELY ANIMALS right now.

A funny, emotional book about family, the loss of loved ones, and learning to be ok with changes in one’s path in life. Unlikely Animals is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year!

This book is centered around the small town in Everton, New Hampshire. The Starling family members are all facing their own difficulties and are pulled back together when the father, Clive, is found to be terminally ill. The story primarily focuses on Emma Starling who is returning home to see her father after secretly dropping out of medical school in California. The story is unique in that not only are the living members of the community involved in the story but the deceased members living in the local cemetery also play a part.

I found this book to be a very enjoyable and memorable story that had a perfect balance of humor and seriousness. I also really enjoyed the interactions between the members of the Starling family and watching how the family members all grow throughout the story.

Annie Hartnett is wonderfully original and thoroughly gifted. Unlikely Animals is a recommended first purchase for all collections.

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett begins with an implausible start. The protagonist Emma Starling is born with the gift of healing which seems strange enough. Then the reader realizes that the narrator tells this tale from her allotted space in the graveyard, having died and been buried some time ago. Emma’s central dysfunctional family includes her father with dementia who is slowly dying, her mother who is having an affair with his doctor, her brother Augie who is in drug rehab, and Emma herself who carries the secret of having never entering medical school when she went to study in California.

Emma returns home to New Hampshire near a private hunting park owned by millionaires who have cut it off from the general population. Hope is that Emma’s gift will heal her father Clive, whose illness is compounded with visions of animals and the ghost of famed animal charmer, Ernest Harold Baynes. His visions have led to losing his job and an obsession to find Crystal Nash, Emma’s high school friend who is missing. The small town has given up on finding Crystal since they aren’t too concerned about missing drug addicts.

The quirky novel treats tragic happenings with a sense of humor and a light touch. An interesting twist in Emma’s own ultimate rescue, after it becomes obvious that she has lost her “Charm” for healing, comes from her stint as a long-term substitute for a bunch of fifth graders.

Some of the best characters reside in the graveyard. You even have my permission to read Chapter 6 first since it gives the rules for how much the graveyard residents can participate in the living world. The book is a read that will add nothing to your life but some fun.

An extra from the “Acknowledgements” section is Annie Hartnett’s encouragement to her readers who are also writers, “To any readers of this book who are writers, too: if you’re still in the woods of your own novel – keep going. Exit this way.”

Loved this so much! Review to be posted on my Instagram once I get the perfect photo. The magical touches were perfect. The small town feel was felt. The humor was amazing. I’ll be recommending to all my friends!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the book Rabbit Cake. I’ve been patiently waiting for Annie Hartnett’s second book and it surely did not disappoint. This book is loaded with great things: dead narrators, ghosts, hallucinations, history, addiction, fifth graders, family, charmed healers, missing persons, murder, and animals of course. Emma Starling left her small town to go to college, then medical school. But maybe med school isn’t Emma’s correct path. She returns home to a dad who is declining mentally, a mom who is fed up, a brother in recovery.
A new favorite book.

Are you looking for a touching but quirky story? Well, suspend your disbelief and dig into Unlikely Animals. This book focuses on family, friendships, regrets and real issues like infidelity, addiction, illness, and the struggle of becoming a caregiver all while giving us a little dose of magical realism.

There are so many books that use the trope of returning home to what you see as a dead end town but never have I read one that did it quite like Unlikely Animals. 

First of all, using the townspeople who have died and have been buried in the local cemetery as the narrator and cheer section for the townspeople was absolutely brilliant. This unique perspective not only added much-needed heart and humor to the story but I was able to give layers to the background characters and the issues that the town is facing during the time the story is set in.

Speaking of humor, I love how well the more emotional components of this book clash up against the uniqueness of the humor. 

This is definitely a book that I will not easily forget.

Unlikely Animals is a very different novel. Emma Starling was a healer since birth. She has lost her way, dropping out of med school and finding herself back in her home town. Her father is suffering from a brain disease and has begun to hallucinate small animals and a famous naturalist. Her mother is disapproving of the entire situation and her brother is home from his latest stint in rehab. Looking forward to catching up with her best friend, Emma is dismayed to learn that she's disappeared. Inquiries show Emma that no one is even looking for her, chalking the missing girl up to the rampant opioid crisis. Emma's father is the only one who thinks that the unfortunate girl may still be alive. Working together, father and daughter bring about the kind of miracle that the town desperately needs. Very well-written with realistic, quirky characters, Unlikely Animals is a great book for those looking for something new and different. There is a lot for discussion for book clubs as well. Many thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read the ARC.

Charming, quirky, and a breath of fresh air. The characters are all quite affable and even the ‘bad guys’ have their moments. Loved how Hartnett tenderly wove together local lore, supernatural elements, the undying love of animals, and a hearty dose of the very real problems of a small town full of “imperfect human bodies having hard times.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this!

I find it hard to know where to begin when talking about 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐒 by Annie Hartnett, so I’ll start with the easiest part, my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! It’s a book that left me hungover and already wanting more from its author. This is a story like nothing I’ve ever read before and a book that will stay with me for a very long time. At its heart, 𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘈𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴 is a grown up fairy tale, and don’t we all need one of those now and again?⁣⁣⁣
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The story revolves around a family in trouble. Emma is a medical school dropout. Auggie has just finished his second stint in rehab. Their mother is angry at their father for an affair, and their father is slowly dying of a brain disease which causes him to see things, especially animals. There’s a big white dog🐶, a fox🦊, rabbits🐰, deer🦌, rats🐀 and a long dead naturalist. Some are real. Others? Not so much. The whole story is narrated by the collective voice of ghosts watching over their small town from its cemetery. Sounds a little crazy, right? Well yes, but in the best possible way. Remember, fairy tale!⁣⁣⁣
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I wouldn’t normally lead with this, but my favorite part was how funny this book was. At times, I was laughing so hard I was crying. I was worried the neighbors would hear and think I’d lost it. With humor, serious topics were woven into the story in the most imaginative ways. Nothing ever felt quite real. Hartnett always kept me a little off balance, never truly knowing where we were headed, and I 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 that. Everything and everyone in the story felt fresh and slightly remarkable. It all made me happy. Remember, fairy tale and remember to add 𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘈𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴 to the very top of your TBR list. Better yet? Order a copy...right now!⁣⁣⁣
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Thanks to #BallantineBooks for an electronic copy of #UnlikelyAnimals.

I fell in love with this book from the very first chapter and could tell it was legit, 5-star material. I can't get enough of cute, weird books like this one. Throw in a smidge of magical realism and I'm hooked.

Emma Starling is back in the small town in New Hampshire that she swore she would leave because she had BIG life plans. After dropping out of med school, she's come home to help her family take care of her father as he's dying from a brain disorder. Quite hilariously though, this disease causes him to hallucinate animals everywhere. On top of this, he's set on solving a friend's mysterious disappearance, hanging out with a local ghost, buying an $18k fox, and taking his pants off in public whenever possible, so needless to say, Emma has her hands full in this quirky little town.

Y'all I adored this morbidly funny book. There's a lot of death talk, especially with her dad's disease, but it's comical and charming at the same time. My favorite part of this entire book is the sort of Greek chorus, omniscient narrators coming from the graveyard. That's right, the dead folks in this small town root for and gossip about their friends and family that they seem to have total-ghost-access to. I laughed out loud SO many times at their comments.

One of the most charming things about this book is how all these flawed individuals in the book grow in their own imperfect ways.

Plus, did I mention it involves children putting on a Titanic musical? And a huge restricted hunting park for eccentric billionaires? And a Black Sabbath cover band? And a super hot boy from high school? And that so many of the things in this book are based on an actual town?? This book seriously has aaaaaall the quirks.

This is one of those books that has it all -- it's funny, meaningful, droll, suspenseful, and speculative, with a disarmingly enchanting plot. I don't know how this author did it but it is all these things, and very readable too! The gist is that a med school drop out moves back to her quirky Connecticut town to help out with her troubled family -- her father is gravely ill with a brain condition that makes him do comical, madcap things that break up the sadness. Her mother is a little removed, and her brother is somewhat of a ne'r-do-well on the mend. The town is plagued by the opioid epidemic, and the tale of the father's decline and the daughter's transformation through it all is told in part by a Greek chorus of ghosts from the local graveyard. Really!

This is a definite "yes" for patrons who enjoy magical realism, as there's plenty of that. The c'est la vie tone is so refreshing and the plot so imaginative that, although there's death and addiction throughout, you laugh too hard to get sad. I'll give it to anyone who's up for a slice of life served with a healthy dose of humor.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this lovely book.

“I am not a writer overly concerned with realism, but I am inspired by true events and real life is where all my ideas originate,” writes Annie Harnett in her author’s notes at the back of Unlikely Animals, her new novel from Ballantine Books. Although evolving in part from history Hartnett began to discover on a 2016 trip to visit friends in Newport, New Hampshire, Unlikely Animals takes the prize as one of the quirkiest novels I have come across recently although I frequently read quirky novels.

Fictional Everton, New Hampshire, is described by the souls residing in the town cemetery as “a town no different from any other, a place where people live and people die.” However, now that Emma Starling is returning from California, “Just this once,” they hope, “maybe someone would cheat death, edge the Grim Reaper out by a nose.”

Since the midwife claimed to be cured of sciatica when she delivered Emma Starling more than two decades earlier, townsfolk have believed she possessed special healing power. From Emma’s childhood, Everton residents had greeted her with high fives, hoping her touch might cure their aches and pains. As teens, Emma and best friend Crystal had tried to make money by charging for 30 minutes with Emma at the local McDonald’s.

Now Emma’s dad is dying of a brain disease causing him to hallucinate. Clive Starling sees small animals, such as rabbits in the kitchen and cats in the Meriden College classroom where he teaches poetry but is forced to retire mid-semester. Then he begins to see the long-dead Ernest Harold Baynes, once the naturalist at Corbin Park, a hunting park developed by a New York robber baron, who retired to Everton, building the park and the mansion where the Starling family lives in the caretaker’s cottage.

Clive’s physician cautions the family to act as though Clive’s hallucinations are real as well as to humor his obsession with posting missing person notices on all the town trees, as the only person looking for Emma’s childhood friend Crystal. The rest of this small New England town knows where the young people are going. Even Clive’s own son Auggie has been in and out of rehab.

Now the pressure is on as Emma reluctantly returns home from medical school in California, where she first moved to pursue her undergraduate classes at Pomona College. Arriving with a secret and a large dog she picked up by the highway and named Moses, because he was an orphan and she felt she needed a savior, Emma knows her parents and the people of Everton will expect her to heal her father or, at least, to buy him some additional time.

In short chapters arranged into book parts, each part named for a type of animal, Hartnett tells the story of the Starling family and of Everton. Filled with family secrets and problems needing resolutions, hallucinations and a ghost, and cemetery souls commenting on events, this unusual story mixes fictional elements with history and somehow makes the strangest of elements believable. As Hartnett explains, “This book is about rooting for everyone, and about loving a place.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House for an advance reader copy of this touching, highly recommended novel.