Right off the coast of South Carolina, on Mallow Island, The Dellawisp sits—a stunning old cobblestone building shaped like a horseshoe, and named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy. Zoey inherits her mother's condo and decides to move there and attend college nearby. The chapters are divided into the other tenants and the ghosts who live there. Ms Allen always has a touch of magic in her books and I adore that aspect of her writing. As the people get to know each other the birds and the ghosts sense the change that is coming. Loved this one.

4.5 STARS

Read if you like:
✔️ Magical realism
✔️ Quirky characters
✔️ Coming-of-age stories

"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 was thrilled to discover Sarah Addison Allen had a new book coming out, and even more pumped when I was approved for the ARC! Other Birds is a ghost story of sorts, but in a whimsical and fun way where the characters aren't afraid and you read snippets from the ghosts' perspectives. Zoey was an easy character to root for, and I was invested in her quest to learn more about her late mother, her mysterious invisible bird, and her longing for relationships. The pacing was good and Allen did a great job tying together all the stories. Though we read from many different perspectives, I felt like each story was wrapped up satisfactorily and I had a warm, happy feeling when I finished.

This is a wonderful book about found families, opening yourself up to love and new possibilities, and grief. There were also several twists that I didn't see coming, so it kept me guessing as well as being heartwarming. I definitely recommend Other Birds, which comes out next week!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sarah Addison Allen creates fantastical worlds based in reality and buried in small town Carolinas. In complete candor, "Other Birds" need more fleshing out. While the ending is able to tie all the various storylines together, it is a disruptive, and at the same time a surface level, read.

There are too many characters introduced throughout out the story and none of them get enough time to fully develop and ensnare the reader. The Ghost excerpts could potentially be removed throughout the narrative and added just before the ending, to give the reader that "Ah Ha!" moment.

I wanted more from "Other Birds" and I wanted to give the characters more humanity. At times, Charlotte seems a foil of herself and while this comes together in the end, it's more frustrating because I wanted to love Charlotte more. She is really the driver of the plot line, whereas Zoey is the assumed protagonist. It feels almost like we have the beginning and end of the story but no real concept of the journey they went on to get to the end.

Other Birds is Sarah Addison Allen's newest book and it does not disappoint! I have loved all her books--the magical realism entwines the characters, the ghosts, their pasts and futures--- binding all in love. This is what draws me to Ms, Addison's books, her ability to pull emotions from her characters and surroundings in such a way, that I gain new perspective on living.
The blurb does a good job of setting the storyline, I will say that the unfolding of each character's story kept me reading this book straight through. The feel good vibes last long after the last page is read. This book was definitely worth the wait.

A magical read, on a small island, found family, connecting to those you've lost and healing from the past.

Zoey has just graduated high school, and decides to move into the apartment her mother left her on Mallow Island before starting college in the fall. Just after moving in, a neighbouring resident dies and Zoey is thrust into all the mysteries and history of the island and The Dellawisp apartments and the mysterious man who manages them.

I was not sure what to expect going into this one but the magical realism elements were the perfect touch. The found family was so heart warming. The only thing that i felt was not up to par was some of the backstory of the characters, they book needed more detail, it should have been longer.

Thank goodness Sarah Addison Allen is back! And this novel is full of Southern charm and the magical realism we've come to expect from Addison Allen. It's perfect in its simplicity. On tiny Mallow Island, sits the Dellawisp, a condo complex named for the teeny turquoise birds that flit around the complex and its inhabitants. When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment, she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors, including a girl on the run, two estranged middle-aged sisters, a lonely chef, a legendary writer, and three ghosts. Each with their own story, not yet written.
Note to the author: PLEASE KEEP WRITING MORE BEAUTIFUL NOVELS! We've missed you.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-arc of this novel.*

I am so glad Allen is back. I have always loved her stories, and this one is no exception.
This book is about a grieving daughter looking for closure. What she finds is a new family to belong to. Every character has flaws but in a real and relatable way. You feel for them all . Allen's books always feature magical realism and she does it the best. So much heart and whimsy were infused into this story.

Ill be buying it as soon as it comes out.

Read this gem of a book ALL DAY yesterday so if course here’s another…

✨Book Review✨
Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Stories aren’t fiction. Stories are fabric. They’re the white sheets we drape over our ghosts so we can see them.” - Roscoe Avanger, Sweet Mallow🕊💕

First, thank you so so much to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC copy. I am so happy to have gotten the chance to read this sooner rather than later!

Oh you guys, 🥰 I absolutely LOVED everything about this book! This is a book my heart didn’t know I needed right now!

It’s been a couple of hard weeks, emotionally recently and this book put me all in my feels and said all the things I cannot put into words. I definitely shed some tears! 🥲

I stayed in my room all day yesterday flipping through these pages because I was captivated by every single character in this book!

From Zoey, to Pidgeon, to Lucy and Lizbeth. Mac and Camille, to Charolette, and Oliver and oh Frasier you all stole my heart 🥰 I will forever remember this book!

One of my favorite books of the year!

Did I do any responsibilities yesterday , aside from the bathroom and taking care the pup you ask? Nope and I’m okay with that 🤷🏽‍♀️ Nothing negative to say.

This was my first @sarahaddisonallen read and I will be looking for more after this one hands down!

Be on the lookout for this at times funny, whimsical, magical, all in the feels book coming to your shelves August 30th 2022!

And as always friends, happy reading 💕 Xx

Sarah Addison Allen is one of those authors that is an instantaneous, no-questions, I don't even read the synopsis, I'm going to read her books. 

The way she blends magical realism with real-life emotions and scenarios is nothing short of brilliant. She uses the magical elements to bring about situations and responses in her characters that are beautiful, poignant, and--at times--devastating. 

I don't think I've read a book by her that hasn't left me with quite the book hangover. And, of course, Other Birds is absolutely no exception. 

A story of a group of people who all have, not much more than, their residence in common. They all live at the whimsical Dellawisp--a condo on the lovely Mallow Island. 

Even though they have nothing in common, many of them build a bond based upon loneliness, kindness, and heartache of all different kinds. 

The wonder of this book is wrapped up in the secrets, the beautiful island, and, of course, the crazy group of Dellawisps that live at the condo. 

Addison is forever going to be a go-to author. One who manages to always evoke emotional responses--both sadness and joy--through her words. 

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. My review will be live, at the link given, on 8/24/22.

"We all want to think we're worth the trouble."

Other Birds is a character-driven story that centers around the people that live at the Dellawisp. With a bit of otherworldly at play, the author focuses on Zoey, whose remaining family is less than stellar. So she heads to college early to stay at her mother's condo in the Dellawisp. Her bubbly personality might be just the thing the other residents need.

Zoey is a fount of positivity. She's been through so much in her young life, but her personality draws people in. This is a sweet story about friendship and found families. The characters are flawed and unique, and they're healing. With the added birds, both ones you can see and those you cannot, there is a touch of whimsy in the storyline. Overall, this is a thoughtful and touching read. Thank you, St. Martin's, for sending this along.

I received a digital ARC from St Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

This is the first book I have read by Sarah Addison Allen, and I will now make sure to find her other novels, too. Other Birds is a story about family at its core. It is beautifully written. The story unfolds in such a way that I felt like I was inside of it.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me approval to read Sarah Addison Allen’s new book. Though it’s been awhile, she hasn’t changed. Her writing is specifically full of wonder. She has created another lovely story filled with magnificent characters with hints of magical plot lines along the way. One of the things (among many) that I love about Allen, is that she always writes mystical mysterious stories. There is always a magical moment. As continuous reader I am able to just go with it. The acknowledgements at the end brought sweet understanding and closure. A genuine special read. No sexual content. No swearing.

I couldn't get into this book. i picked it out because it was one of the monthly reads for a book group that I am in. It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't the one for me. One thing I did like was how one of the characters was a ghost. I am grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, anyone who knows me knows I love a good magical realism book. This one is definitely at the top this year. It's been some time since I've read one of SAA's books - The Sugar Queen. Just like that one, which has stuck with me all these years this one will too. It was just so heart warming and you couldn't help but want to be a part of the Dellawisp community. ♡

Between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways. This book was very kindly gifted to me by NetGalley and St. Martins Press all thought's and opinions are my own.

This book follows the lives of people who reside on Mallow Island specifically in the Dellawhisp condos named for the birds who have made the area their home.

Our Main Cast:

Zoey: New to the island and came here because her mom had left her a condo before she died.

Charlotte: A henna artist who was finally feeling settled when she loses her booth.

Mac: The cornmeal chef of Popcorn. He cooks with it, he ends up covered in it every morning. It's a whole thing. A kind, caring and talented cook who's had a hard time giving up the one person who had showed him unconditional love.

Our story kicks of with Zoey coming to town and one of the residents dying in a way that I've been known to imagine, being crushed to death by books falling on top of her. Slowly the residents start getting to know each other and we get little peaks of some of the residents that were with a few ghost POVS as well.

This book was a delightfully charming as I expected from Sarah Addison Allen. Sweet touches of magic, little twists and turns and above all deep connections. This book has a strong focus on found family that I really enjoyed. None of our main character had good relationships with their birth family and they find those connections in others.

All in all I definitely recommend reading this, just a heads up there are allusions to child neglect nothing explicit but it is mentioned.

I found Sarah Addison Allen nearly 15 years ago while browsing the library shelves, and I've read her books many times over. Other Birds is another to add to my re-read pile. This book is magical realism at its finest. It stands tall with Allende and Hoffman.

I have to preface my review by saying that Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite authors and I have been waiting YEARS for this book so I went in with very high expectations. And I loved it! Allen is the queen of creating characters that you empathize with, love, and root for. I especially loved the way the book touched on grief and how we can hold onto events and relationships in our lives long after they are gone. All of the character’s stories were unique and came together seamlessly. I could have read about them forever. This is the perfect book if you’re looking for a something heartwarming and magical!

I've been eagerly awaiting this book and I wasn't disappointed. It's not my favorite from this author but it's close.

The setting of a small island known for its history in marshmallow production was almost otherworldly, the descriptions are vivid and I could picture it all so well. Typical for a SAA novel, we've got a cast of quirky characters and a little bit of magic!

I loved all of the characters and the ways they interacted with each other. They seemed drawn to each other by some external force. They each had a complicated backstory too.

It was an enjoyable read from start to finish. I couldn't put it down because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. I highly recommend this for SAA readers and fans of magical realism.

Other Birds, By Sarah Addison Allen

This book comes together in a very meaningful way. By the end, I was teary-eyed, in a good way.

The action takes place on a fictional island, (Mallow, outside of Charleston), and at the Dellawisp, a beautiful and haunted old place that’s got a few condos and a lot of ghosts. Indeed, the main characters are all haunted. They include college freshman Zoey, skittish Charlotte, sweet and lonely Mac, and Frasier, the apparent caretaker of the building who has a supernatural relationship with the rare Dellawisp birds who live in the garden.

This being a Sarah Addison Allen book, the supernatural unapologetically exists in this story. I’d have been very disappointed if it hadn’t been. But the book itself seems haunted, and like ghosts, the outlines and details come together slowly. That’s okay, because Addison Allen pulls it all together slowly, then much faster and very completely.

There are literal and figurative ghosts here, and Addison Allen doesn't shrink from showing that everyone suffers and that everyone keeps secrets. Yet it is not a book about suffering. It’s more a book about how we continue to grow up and surprise ourselves and others all of our days—and beyond. And the last few pages are exceptionally moving.

Sarah Addison Allen is back, and in top form. Hooray!

NetGalley very kindly gave me this book in exchange for a review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Sarah Addison Allen for letting me read Other Birds early. This book publishes on August 30.

This book felt so dreamy and was a very nice escape. I love all of these characters and I’m kind of sad that the book is over. I don’t want to give anything away but just trust me, this setting and these characters will become very close to your heart. This is my first book by Sarah Addison Allen and I’m very excited to read more.