I am a big fan of Sarah Addison Allen. Her books are ones I have reread over and over. I have anxiously awaiting this book for years. This book is in the same category of the rest of her books. A classic. One that must be on my bookshelf.

Sarah Addison Allen writes characters who just can't help but love and wish that you knew them in real life. I especially loved the character, Camille. This book stirred so many emotions in me. I don't think I will be the same again.

"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."
It's been seven long years since Sarah Addison Allen's last book. Seven long years of me waiting. Seven years of tumultuous life for the author--surviving cancer and then experiencing the loss of both her mother and her sister. It was worth the wait for sure. As much as I wanted to savor each page, I also wanted to inhale these words I had been longing to read. I think I was able to achieve a balance.

This story features one of my favorite themes, which is found family. These characters are real, raw, somewhat broken, somewhat healed, with fractured pasts and working toward new beginnings. There's loss and grief and misunderstanding. They come together, along with a few ghosts, to help each other move forward.

I adore Allen's magical realism and her incorporation of food as one means to communicate love and care. Her characters are vividly drawn and made me want to know even more about them. There's the perfect amount of intentionality by the author to craft an imaginative and moving tale, sure to please current fans of her work and hopefully to create some new ones as well. Do yourself a favor and pre-order this book, you won't be disappointed.


I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an early copy of this lovely novel.

Sarah Addison Allen writes books that bring comfort, joy, and magic to her readers. Other Birds was worth the wait.

I read it in one sitting because I needed to know what happened to the characters so lovingly brought to life by Ms. Allen's words. Now I'm going to read it again to savor those words and soak up all the magic. Wishing one of those little birds would come sit with me.