I think I was hoping that this book would weave together facts about birds with the story of a family, but I found myself really bored and frustrated with the youth of the author. That’s no one’s fault. I would recommend this to younger readers who want to learn about climate change and birding.

I really enjoyed this one. Thank you, NetGalley for sharing this with me. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading more.

I listened to the audio version of the book narrated by Mya-Rose herself. I liked it, but it was long! 9h30 long.

I feel like I traveled to the seven continents with her. I was mostly under a blanket, my eyes closed, and visualizing all the birds she saw and so vividly described.

It was repetitive, but it also showed how slow and tedious it can be to do bird watching.

I really enjoyed her talk about climate change, social justice, diversity and equal access to nature. She is truly an inspiration with all she did at such a young age.

I didn't realize that half of the book would be a memoir about her family life, the bipolar disorder of her mom, and how it has strained their family, but it makes sense. Birding was/is so integral to her family life.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any bird lover and anyone who has enjoyed taking photos of nature during their walk :).

*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a good book but a little hard to follow, or keep engaged with the story, on audiobook. I love the descriptive writing and hearing about her activism.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I tried to get into this book but could not connect and my mind kept wandering. I think the mental health parts with her mother felt a little to close to home and I dnf.

Birdgirl by Mya-Rose Craig is an inspiring and informative read. It is an autobiography of a young avian enthusiast, who started bird-watching at an early age, dedicated to conservation and racial equality. I love learning about birds and ecology, so this was a must-read for me. The book conveys a powerful message about giving a voice to the underrepresented in the environmental movement and encouraging young people to lead. The author's passion for birds and her efforts are admirable, and her experiences add a unique perspective to the conservation world. Overall, Birdgirl is an excellent read for all ages interested in bird-watching, conservation, and activism.

I am a bird nerd at heart so bird memoirs is one of my favorite hyper-specific niches. I hadn't heard of Mya-Rose Craig prior to this or her blog Birdgirl, but she won me over with her deep love of bird conservation. I enjoyed hearing about her adventures traveling the world as a kid, though she's much more hardcore than I'll ever be. Well written, well edited, well executed.

Birdgirl by Mya-Rose Craig is one of the most refreshing, surprising, inspiring, and informative memoirs that I’ve read in a very long time. Who knew that bird watching could be so exciting? Ha! I learned so much from the adventures that Mya took with her family around the world, seeking out rare birds and jaw-dropping landscapes. Her father focused less on possessions and more on experiences—a way of thinking that I truly respect and admire. The author’s mother struggled with mental illness for a large part of her life, so this is a major focus in the memoir as it greatly affected the family’s travels and overall dynamic. Birdgirl is perfect for nature lovers, bird watchers, hikers, world travelers, environmental activists, and social justice advocates. We can all learn a thing or two from Mya-Rose Craig!

Mya-Rose Craig is an inspiring young person. Mya is not even 30 yet, but has been to all seven continents and seen over 5,000 species of birds in her lifetime. Not only is she an avid birder and world traveler, she is an activist for human rights as well as the fight against climate change. Mya narrates her story beautifully in this book. It was a wonderful experience to listen to her explain all the different types of birds as well as the importance of diversity in all things, whether that be out in nature or culturally amongst humans. She is able to articulate the importance of fighting climate change while still keeping hope alive that we can make a difference. I cannot wait to see what other amazing things Mya-Rose Craig achieves over the years.

I did not realize that Mya-Rose Craig was only 20 years old when I started this book, and that had me 😳😳 when I looked back at this book with that context. Part memoir and part climate activism, this book was such an interesting look into a science I wasn’t super familiar with previously: birdwatching. Craig chronicles her life both as a birdwatcher, but also her mother’s struggles with mental illness. As mental illness is still not something openly talked about in desi families, I loved how she and her mother have chosen to be open about it.

In awe of what Craig has already accomplished, both as a birdwatcher and as a climate activist. This book was fun, eye-opening, and so interesting. I would highly recommend, especially as a starter nonfiction to those who don’t usually read it.

(Thanks to #MacmillanAudio for the audio arc)

An excellent author read story of birding, nature, and pursuing one's passions. Craig paints a lovely picture of her life interwoven with the birds she's seen and the places she's travelled. Her love of birding and her relationship with her parents provides the backbone of this nature driven memoir that is part coming of age store part love story to the world around us. Craig's voice is refreshing and I look forward to see what she does next. I would highly recommend this book to any hiker, birder, or otherwise outdoorsy reader.

If you enjoy bird watching or learning more about environmental justice or conservation, this is a great book for you. Mya-Rose is genuine and passionate which she shares beautifully through her words in this book.

“Birds make me happy.”

Same. What an absolutely fascinating story about a young girls lifetime quest to not only see as many bird species as possible, but to help preserve their habitat.

But with the impressive number of birds and types and subspecies that are touched upon, there is also a parallel storyline of her mothers bipolar disorder and how that impacted every aspect of her life. So often in books you read about the character themselves suffering from mental illness. But this book has a very fresh and raw perspective…the effect on the child. How she learned to adapt, even at a young age, to her mothers rapidly changing moods and the chaos that resulted. Thank you for sharing that and being so honest and real.

She also touches quite a bit on her Bangladesh heritage and being a female in the birding world, which tends to be dominated by white males.

The physical book itself is beautiful, with illustrations of different birds to start each chapter. And the audiobook is narrated by the author, so obviously done SO well. I love when authors narrate their own books! You can feel her passion through her words. And her accent is just 🤌🏻.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, Celadon Books, and the author for the #gifted copy and ALC.

This was a really interesting, educational look at birds and the forming of a young girls life through the hobby of birdwatching. The work Mya-Rose Craig is doing is amazing and the awareness she is bringing to mental health and the climate crisis is admirable. It was wonderful to hear her story in her own words.

An incredibly inspiring and honest memoir from Muslim environmental activist and avid birder, Mya-Rose Craig. In her book Mya shares about how she grew up birding with her family, traveling all across the globe searching for rare birds as well as how difficult it was having a bipolar mother with serious mental health issues.

While her family life was often challenging, she was able to do amazing work at a young age as a climate change activist who focused particularly on supporting other BIPOC youth in the fight against racism.

With over 5000 bird sightings (roughly half the global bird population!), Mya's 'Birdgirl' persona is no joke and she easily ranks up there with Greta as one of the mega global environmental activists! Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for early copies of this memoir in exchange for my honest review!

Officially the youngest person's memoir that I've ever read! It was cute to hear of her passion for birding and the challenges she and her family faced. I'll think of birds a lot more fondly now!

Thank you Celadon books for my complimentary copy. All thoughts are my own. I paired the audiobook and physical book. I’m glad I did so I could see the pictures of the birds.

This was a very interesting and informative memoir. I enjoyed the descriptions of the various birds. I’m so happy she was able to see the elusive Harpy Eagle. I just returned from Brazil. I wish I had known about this bird while I was there !

Some chapters seemed disjointed, there was a lot of jumping around. I tended to skim the page until I found bird and travel descriptions.

I commend Mya-Rose for her dedication to social justice and actions for preserving our planet.

So I was gifted a physical copy of the book and while I enjoyed the bird pictures at the start of each chapter, I struggled to get into it. That is why I requested the audio version and this is a case where the audio version saves the book.

I didn't know much about Mya-Rose Craig before reading her memoir and I know virtually nothing about twitching. Learning about her life, her experiences twitching and her dysfunctional yet functional family was interesting though the novel is a bit all over the place.

I finished it and I enjoyed it, but I think this is going to be very polarizing. I also think lovers of nature and birds will deeply invest in this novel,

Thank you for access to this ARC.

I didn't know about Mya-Rose Craig when I went into this one and went on a google hunt when I started it! She's had an impressive birdwatching career and hearing her story was very interesting! I love how she was able to open up about her mom too! I loved her narration as well! Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this one!

This review makes me uncomfortable so let’s off with the bandage.

In the fall, I saw a “Lost Cat” poster tacked up right outside my house, and I knew the owner of this cat: a little boy whose father passed away from cancer about a year ago. The boy’s father couldn’t search for this cat so I took it upon myself to take up this challenge.

Even though I was searching incredibly familiar territory, I saw my surroundings with fresh eyes, scanning every last little detail. I spent hours searching for this cat, inspiring me to get outside and enjoy some fresh air.

Normally, I tend to keep to myself. However, a cat’s fate was on the line so I asked every single person that came cross my path if they had seen the cat. I even convinced some of the neighbors to join in the search.

Birdgirl: Looking To The Skies In Search of A Better Future is a memoir about the author, a young woman, who travels the world, to all seven continents, observing birds, and weaving in the tale of her mother’s battle with mental illness.

Although I am not a birder or twitcher, I believe in the power of nature and consider myself to be an environmentalist. I even have a flier from Extinction Rebellion!

But…..

This book bored me to tears. Although I loved the illustrations at the beginning of the chapters, this book needed some pictures as I found myself constantly looking up birds.

Mya-Rose Craig is clearly competent, and she has even given speeches with Greta Thunberg. However, the storytelling needed sharpening. It read like a high school journal lest the teenage angst. The paragraphs were too long, and there was v. little dialogue and no suspense. At times, the book was also overly preachy. Instead, Craig should have put a list of eco-tourism lodges at the end of the book for those interested.

Not too long ago, I read The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall. It was phenomenal. But guess what? She co-wrote her book with not one but two other authors. Ms. Goodall has been working on her storytelling for decades, and she still utilized the skills of two other writers. Her book (or rather their book) is amazing!

Now for the gut punch: Jane Goodall has the same publisher as Mya-Rose Craig! So why didn’t they give Ms. Craig a co-author?

What makes me so sad is that there is enough here to make a good story, and Ms. Craig is probably the next Jane Goodall. But the tale wasn’t told in a compelling way.

Best of luck to you, Ms. Craig. Keep on birding! Keep on exploring the world and speaking up!