“Stories aren’t fiction. Stories are fabric. They’re the white sheets we drape over our ghosts so we can see them.”

Thus begins Sarah Addison Allen’s latest release, the one waited for patiently by legions of loyal fans. From the first sentence on, every reader can rest assured– it was absolutely worth the wait.

I’ve never been able to pick a favorite Sarah Addison Allen book– they’re all so wonderful! But Other Birds may just be her best book yet, and my new favorite.

Zoey has just inherited her mother’s condo in the tourist town of Mallow Island, South Carolina. She escapes her unhappy childhood by moving there the summer before she begins college, intending to make this unknown place her true home, and perhaps finding some of her mother’s belongings and healing for herself along the way. She finds the magical Dellawisp tucked behind the main boulevard, a horseshoe shaped building with a garden full of strange turquoise birds and even quiet residents. Life becomes much less quiet for all the residents when the neighborhood busybody unexpectedly dies, ushering in all kinds of change. Charlotte keeps to herself, Mac is hiding something, and Lucy– well, no one sees Lucy. These neighbors may just have to confront mysterious circumstances, ghosts, and possibly discover that not all stories need to be told.


All of Allen’s titles sweep me up into the story so fully I’m reluctant to put them down, but none so much as Other Birds. The way these characters lives intersect, the secrets they keep and the stories they share, weave together in such a compelling way. But there’s more to it than just that– this story has such heart, made all the more heart-piercing with magical realism.

This cast of characters is intriguing, relatable, and intricately developed. Perhaps it is the little nuances, their histories, and their resilience that make them endearing and unforgettable, or perhaps it is the way they help each other grow. Regardless, the result is that whether the last chapter ended on a cliffhanger or not, I was equally enthused about each perspective shift and character.

As always, Allen’s settings are unique and lean towards the magical themselves. The storied history of Mallow Island made me wish it was a real place (I’m only half certain it isn’t– this world is so well crafted I can’t tell what is true and what is invention!). The island, the Dellawisp, and the individual condos are all so well developed that the imagery jumps off the page to form a mental film reel so real it feels as though you could reach out and touch it.

There is something inherently magical about Allen’s writing. The writing itself is gorgeous and engaging, made all the better by the equally engaging story. The integration of magical realism adds an air of whimsy to a story that certainly has its heavier moments, but also suspends the reader fully in the story.

Honestly, I’m a reader and a writer, and I’m having the hardest time pinpointing what exactly it is that makes this particular novel so engrossing and wonderful. I couldn’t put it down– I read it in just a few sittings, and I was thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. Reading this book– it felt like more than reading, somehow. It felt like an experience.

Even though you may want to devour it, read it slow the first time. It’s worth it. Personally, I can’t wait to re-read it.

After all, the heart of every one of Allen’s stories is the promise of hope and magic in everyday life.

And as she says herself in Other Birds, “Not everything has to be real to be true.”

Thank you to Sarah Addison Allen, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an advanced e-galley such that I could share my honest opinions.

I liked the cover and the title of this book so I figured I’d give it a try. It starts out well but as time goes on I found myself having a hard time remaining engaged. I didn’t really connect with the characters and the story is more slow paced. Plenty of other reviewers liked this book well enough but it wasn’t a fit for me. I had no problem with the writing, I guess I thought it would be more exciting than it actually was. I’d still suggest others check it out, but it wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley awhile ago and just let it sit there. I was thinking this isn’t the type of book I normally read so maybe I’ll skip it. However about 2 weeks ago I started reading it, just a few chapters at night and I actually started to like it.

It is beautifully written and has so much meaning behind it. All these people meet in the DellaWisps and together they form their own family. Towards the end I didn’t want the book to be over.

I have to admit I’m more of an audio person and this is the first full length book I’ve read on my kindle. It kept me interested from the get go and never wavered.

It would be amazing to have a follow up to see how Zoey gets on at college. Does Oliver ever move in or does he stay with Fraser. How about Charlotte and Mac getting married and having children?

I am now going to check out this author for more of her books. Her writing is spectacular, some of the best I’ve ever read.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this beautiful book. I LOVED it.

I am so in love with this book! I love all her books but this is my favorite! Going to be in the top 5 books for me this year! Amazing characters! Love love loved the ending! One of the best endings to a book!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Sarah Addison Allen - 5 stars!

Zoey arrives on Mallow Island SC after leaving her father's home in Tulsa OK with not much more than her imaginary bird, Pigeon. She is going to reclaim her deceased mother's apartment and go to college in Charleston. Zoey doesn't have many friends and her family left much to be desired. She's disappointed when she sees there isn't anything personal left in the apartment but she's determined to make friends with her new neighbors. And they are quite the bunch - both those that can be seen and those that can't.

Oh, I loved spending time in this place with these characters. The author has created a magical world filled with birds, interesting characters, and so much heart. This book is all about the family we make, finding those who love us just the way we are. It's also a good reminder that everyone has a story and is struggling in some way. I loved all the life lessons here wrapped up in a beautiful but not overly sentimental way. I didn't want this book to end!

Magical! A beautiful story about love and what family really means. It may take a while to get into the story but once you do you’re hooked. I guarantee it! If you’re into magical realism that is. 🤓

Thank you for this opportunity!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Ms. Allen for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

Ms. Allen’s books are always a treat. Gentle, sweet, a little magical, they remind me of a vanilla ice cream cone: just right on a warm summer day. I will be honest, the book blurb for this title didn’t excite me as much as some of her others have done, but the book itself ended up working magic on me just like all its predecessors.

The main character is Zoey, a lonely, neglected girl who moves to Mallow Island off the Carolina coast because her late mother bequeathed her an apartment there. She intends to go to college in the fall and spend the summer in her mother’s apartment, reliving memories and looking for things that might remind her of her mother. She is accompanied by an invisible bird named Pigeon.

Of course the apartment building, which isn’t very large, hosts a small collection of various misfit residents who make up a sort of quirky, miniature found family for Zoey. Every one of them comes from a troubled childhood and each one of them had parents who ranged from lousy to downright criminal. There’s also, as in all of the author’s books, a healthy dose of magic and a few ghosts.

Overall the book was charming and a smooth, easy read. The writing flow gently from one character to another. I liked Charlotte the best – she had more layers and was slightly darker, as opposed to Zoey’s youthful effervescence – but I suspect that had Lucy gotten more page time she would have been my favorite.

If you like the author’s books, you’ll love this one. I walked away afterwards feeling refreshed and charmed. Maybe Ms. Allen really does work magic!

This book had some good parts and some bad parts.

I love how Sarah weaves subtle magic into her stories and this story delivered on that. I also love how all of her stories highlight found families.

The thing I didn't like was the cultural appropriation of henna done by Charlotte. So I get that Charlotte had a really bad childhood and she found henna and it was an escape for her BUT she made a career out of doing henna as a white person. It just felt gross. If Sarah had wanted Charlotte to wear henna and be an artist she could have Charlotte be a painter but regularly get henna done by an Indian person to feel beautiful.

Overall, this book was not my favorite Sarah Addison Allen stories but it wasn't bad. It was just meh,.

"Other Birds" by Sarah Addison Allen is an absolutely delightful read! Ms. Allen is one of my favorite authors. Her books are like a warm hug, comforting and enveloping. I was captivated by the quirky, well developed characters and the touch of magical realism made this book a charming read. The setting for the story, an island whose history is built on marshmallows, is absolutely perfect for this sweet story. There were twists and turns that I didn't see coming, keeping me interested and engrossed in the story and the large cast of characters. At its core, this book is about overcoming trauma and letting go so one can move forward, happy and healed. It's not as light of a read as some of Ms. Allen's other works, but it is a beautiful one nonetheless.

I'm only subtracting a star because of a glaring continuity error in the plot that should have been caught by an editor. Though it didn't take away from the story, it bothered me!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this fabulous book, in exchange for my honest review.

OTHER BIRDS
Sarah Addison Allen

Other Birds is a magical journey of the whimsical, the enchantinting, and the peaceful.

After many years, Sarah Addison Allen gifts to us a uniquely creative and beautiful story where magical realism is not only front and center, but also infused with memories of the past, family secrets, love and hope~ along with the exotic and eccentric which makes for a heart-tugging story that is emotional, colorful, quirky, and charismatic.

Ms.Allen transported me to a place so intriguing, that I found myself absorbed within the lives of these characters and all that surrounded them at The Dellawisp on Mallow Island...

I thank the author, publisher, and Netgalley, for the opportunity to enjoy this captivating narrative which brought to me the unexpected, the light and airy, as well as the sparkling, spellbinding, and memorable moments that make stories by this particular writer, favorites of mine.

4 Stars

#OtherBirds
@sarahaddisonallen
#StMartinsPress

Wild Sage Book Blog

My only criticism of Other Birds is that I wanted more. I wanted to see more and know more about these delightful characters-- to feel as if I had put my book down and taken my own quiet little condo at the Dellawisp.

This is a sweet book about motley and colorful characters who find a way to grow and heal together. I enjoyed it very much.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me an ARC copy of this delightful book to review.

Sarah Addison Allen has done it again! She has delivered another enchanting story sparkling with hints of magical realism.

Eighteen-year-old Zoe arrives at Marrow Island, South Carolina. She moves into the studio apartment left to her by her mother Paloma. Paloma died when Zoe was young, and Zoe is hoping to feel closer to her mother by living in a place that they were both happy. The apartment is in the Dellawisp, named for the enchanting turquoise birds that inhabit the gardens there.

Family is at the heart of this story. Sometimes our given families fail us, and we need to build our own family. This was such a touching story filled with eccentric characters, a few ghosts and a whole lot of heart.

Very well written book II like how it's a structure in this book. I like when she was telling the stories about these people in the book and then you find out what happens with these people who are of the ghost in this book and their own chapters but it all seems to be tied together. Everybody has a story to tell Zoe came back to marshmallow island. She moved back to her mother's old apartment DELLLL ACAWS P. Zoe gets accepted into account in Charleston. When she gets there there's a lady called Lacey who never leaves the apartment Call LI ZB ETH. There's the girl named Charlotte who's running through something for the past as well And then you're h Mac who would get cornmeal all over every night. This was tied to a woman called Cam ILL And then you had the guy who lived there as a property manager.. You find out who Oliver is related to it also in the book This book reads like a murder mystery and people helping each other out. Everybody had a very hard life and they seemed to triumph. Mac who lived on the island since he was a child And Lucy and her sister as well. Zoe had A pet called pigeon who was Is Hebrew And there were other birds around there area as well. There's a lot of history in this book as well about about The property Manager Who turns out to be somebody in the book to find this out there. It's the same thing with pigeon the bird to find out who this bird really was. Oliver has a story behind it as well and you find out what really happened between Lucy and her sister. Charlotte also has a pass as well and she did believe in the ghost And she kept running away from things because she's always afraid she's c O Let's Colt and find her from Vermont. Mac was very dedicated to CA MILLE who raised him. She was really good because his mother abandoned him as a child. The story I like because there's a lot of happy endings and everybody got what they wanted in the en Even Pamela Who was Zoe's Mother who died when she was very young Every time something would happen in the book The next chapter would be about these people who were no longer around. This is how you found out about them and how they were Type to the living person.

If you’ve been a fan of Sarah Addison Allen’s books for awhile, you’ll know it’s been a long wait between her last book and this book. Other Birds was definitely worth the wait.

It’s hard to know what to say about this book without spoilers, so I’ll talk most about what I loved and how the story made me feel. This story felt like a balancing act in many ways; it would go along slowly, giving you a chance to immerse yourself in the characters and setting, and then BAM - you’d get hit with a huge piece of information that changed everything. I had trouble setting the book aside because the characters felt so real and I wanted to know what was going to happen next and how everything was going to work out.

The found family aspect of this book was absolutely beautiful. I loved how the group of Dellawisp misfits were so used to living their quiet, private lives, and then circumstances brought them together and they had to choose whether to stay closed off or open up. I loved the dynamics between the different characters and getting to see bits of their lives and what led them to the Dellawisp and, ultimately, each other. I also really appreciated the themes of the things and people that haunt us, and rising above not only adversity but also the expectations of others.

Other Birds is surprising, magical, beautiful, and emotional. It’s a story about love and loss, hope and grief, finding family and finding home. I know this story and its characters will stick with me for a long time, just as many of Sarah Addison Allen’s other stories and characters have.

Sarah Addison Allen is one of my go to authors for Magical Realism and she did not disappoint with her book, Other Birds.

Allen’s books are always filled with family (found or actual) and friends that are going through troubled times, but with a bit of magic and romance are able to overcome. In Other Birds there is a bit less magic then in her previous books, but it was still a wonderful read.

Each of the characters (including the ghosts) get their moments to shine in the story and Allen is able to develop them very well in such a short time. There are some surprises that show themselves towards the end, and I had to grab a tissue to get me through a few of the spots.

The visuals and lessons in this book are still floating around in my head a week after reading it… that’s how I know I’ve read a great book!

This book was excellent! I have read a couple of Sarah Addison Allen’s books before picking this one up so I had a good feeling that this would be a book I would enjoy. I just love the way that she weaves just a hint of magic into her stories and I really believe that she is one of the best when it comes to magical realism. It didn’t take long for me to fall for the characters in this story and I soon found this book very hard to set aside.

After graduating from high school, Zoey decides to move into her mother’s old studio condo at the Dellawisp. Another resident has recently died, leaving a condo full of paper and other items. Zoey takes on the task of clearing out the unit and is soon joined by another neighbor, Charlotte. Zoey and Charlotte work on cleaning together and eventually get to know the chef that lives in the building, Mac. I love the bonds that this group of characters formed over the course of the story. Zoey seemed to be the catalyst that was able to bring everyone together, even Oliver, who says he wants nothing to do with his mother’s things. Every character in the book had an interesting history and I really enjoyed the way those stories were worked into the story.

I really wanted to see everything work out for this group of characters. Each of them deserved to have good things in their lives. I loved that the most important thing that they gained over the course of the story was their relationships with each other. All of the characters were able to find some closure from the things from their past that has been haunting them. There is just a bit of magic sprinkled throughout the novel which kept things very interesting.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a delightful story featuring a fantastic cast of characters that I could help but root for. There were a few twists in the story that I found rather surprising as well. I definitely need to read more of this talented author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press.

“There are birds, and then there are other birds. Maybe they don’t sing. Maybe they don’t fly. Maybe they don’t fit in. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be an other bird than just the same old thing.”

I have always loved Sarah Addison Allen's stories. I was delighted to recieve an ARC from Netgalley for Other Birds.
The story started slow and it took a bit to start. Sarah weaves a whimsical, ghostly tale of a small group of people living in a community together. Secrets unfold and there are quite a few twists. The characters were intriguing and the story kept me entertained.

What a magical, endearing, and memorable book Sarah Addison Allen has given us in Other Birds!

The book opens with Zoey Hennessey, 19, moving into the studio apartment her mother willed her in the well-hidden Dellawisp Condos on Mallow Island, off the coast of Charleston, SC. The complex, consisting of five apartments, was named after the small turquoise birds who inhabit the courtyard of the beautiful cobblesone building shaped like a horseshoe. Zoey will start college in Charleston in the fall.

Zoey's mother died when she was quite young. Her father and his new family have always treated her as an outsider and made it plain that when she turns eighteen, they expect her to move out on her own. Her step-mother already has well thought out plans for Zoey's room.

It's no surprise, given her background that Zoey is a very lonely and quirky girl, used to being on the outside looking in, and longing to find a place where she feels she belongs. As she meets, or is told about, each of her new neighbors, she finds them to be unique and quirky as well. Not only are there people living in the Dellawisp Condos, but three ghosts as well!

The author does a wonderful job of painting each of these colorful and secretive characters vividly and bringing each of their stories to light so beautifully. I love her writing!! It is wonderful to watch as the characters bond and become a found-family to each other. YAY!!!!!

This is a magical, heart-warming read that I won't soon forget. I highly recommend it!

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an e-ARC of the book via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

What a sweet story!

Sarah Addison Allen has reminded me once again why I love Magical Realism so much. How can I not love a book whose main character has an invisible bird named Pigeon and who resides in a condo complex with several ghosts and some curious little turquoise birds called dellawisps? It’s not really a question, because of course I’m going to love that!! Like TJ Klune, Allen captures the human spirit so well in a way that both charms and makes you feel for all the characters, while gently giving focus to some pretty heavy topics - in this case childhood trauma and healing old wounds.

Nineteen-year-old college student Zoe Hennessy has just inherited her late mother’s Mallow Island condo off the coast of South Carolina, managed by friendly but mysterious, Frasier, and is a new neighbor to four other residents of The Dellawisp: executive chef Mac, henna artist Charlotte, resident busybody/hoarder Lizbeth Lime, and Lizbeth’s estranged and reclusive sister, Lucy Lime. At first glance, they’re a rag-tag group with little in common, but after an event happens that slowly draws these residents closer together, you see just how similar they really are. It’s the newly formed friendships and each character’s gradually revealed backstory that give this book its heart and depth, and by the end I loved all these characters.

Zoe is an energetic ball of charm who’s determined to bring these virtual strangers together, if she can get her often petulant invisible bird, Pigeon, to stop interfering. It’s sweet to watch her friendship with Charlotte grow and, in turn, their friendships with Mac, though the Lime sisters are another issue. I cheered for each character as they confronted the traumas of their past and opened their guarded hearts to each other. The budding romances were also handled with a light hand, so they felt very pure and sweet!

My main difficulty with the story was that it was a bit heavy-handed on the bad parenting theme, which made it a little less believable, but then again, Frasier did say the residents were picked for a reason, so I guess the similar backgrounds were intentional? The ending went a teeny bit OTT for me as well. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this, I love her writing, and there were some fabulous unexpected twists that I didn’t see coming! I highly recommend this lovely story and I’ll definitely watch for more from this author!

★★★★ ½

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and author Sarah Addison Allen for this ARC to honestly review. It’s due for publication on August 30th, 2022.

Other Birds feels little different than previous Sarah Addison Allen novels. I did enjoy it, just took some time to get into.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.