I was excited for the opportunity to read this but this is a DNF for me. I appreciated the satire but it felt repetitive in parts.

Ever seen a baby pigeon?

That's the nugget of truth, (because everyone I have asked has never seen a baby pigeon, so it must be true right?) which somehow billows out into this parody of conspiracy theories. ALL BIRDS ARE DRONES AND THEY'RE SPYING ON US!

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. For about the first quarter or so, I was amused. For the next quarter, less so, but still interested. By the halfway point, the book is essentially over and there's a bunch of filler. A long list of our presidents, each with ridiculous bios. Directions on how to organize a "bird truther" rally. There are drawings and charts throughout-more and more filler.

The synopsis was funny and intriguing, but the book was not.

Without all the filler, this could have been condensed down to a novella or even a short story.

*ARC from publisher. Thank you.*

I thought this book was for real….he got me for about 30 pages and then….”waaaaiiit a minute”…this BOOK isn’t for real 😅 A tongue and cheek look at how Americans can fall down a 🐰hole of conspiracy theories!

I always enjoy funny, satire reads. I follow some conspiracy theories as it is, but this one is pretty much out in left field. Didn’t realize it was satire at first until I read it.

I didn't realize that this was a Satire at first, and was like "who is publishing this?" But then once I realized it was a satire on conspiracy theories, a major one being that birds aren't real and the government is using drone birds to spy on the American population, I realized this is in fact a very funny and well written satire. Even the research in to all the historical events, which are then satirized into only being useful to make robot birds, was very funny.

This book earns 2 stars because it is funny, but could have been a lot shorter. Maybe it should have been an essay in a collection.

Birds Aren't Real is a conspiracy theory I first read about on social media. The birds we see in the US are not alive, they are mechanical. The government is surveilling the population by using robot birds. The authors take the idea and build a book out of it. There's just not a book's worth of material here.

About midway through the book, the authors reflect on presidents and how they have participated (or not) in the unreal bird surveillance program. That's when the book went downhill for me. It was drawn out and seemed like a way to fill a few more pages.

The premise is funny. But like an SNL skit made into a movie, maybe this shouldn't have been a whole book.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Did you know birds aren't real - they are really small government drones that are constantly watching and listening to the American public! Authors McIndoe and Gaydos are here to set the record straight and shares all the information the government doesn't want you to know!
A picture perfect satire on misinformation, this book is perfect for our current political climate.

This is the most important piece of literature published in the last 50 years.

So many people are living, like ostrich-drones, with their heads in the sand. We're coming up on Easter and what are people doing? Hiding eggs. WORSHIPPING the very birds that are destroying our society!

Peter McIndoe is a prophet, and a more talented artist than Andy Warhol. I am in awe of this treatise. People will be quoting these words for years to come, using them as beats in the backgrounds of their TikToks (no worries, y'all; I've checked, and there are no birds on TikTok. It's just preteen girls dancing to WAP. Your phone, unlike the birds, is not listening to every word you say).

Read this book. Buy several copies of this book, and hand it out to people on street corners. You may feel awkward, at first, having so many eyes on you, but you'll get over it when you remember that you have eyes on you every day. Bird eyes.

We must speak up. Thank you, Peter McIndoe and Connor Gaydos, for fighting the good fight against the birds/government.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will soon be submitting my full review for this book to Library Journal. I found this book to be a humorous, quick read and, though it is sometimes infuriating because it reminds me of some of the more ridiculous elements of our current political climate, it is good to bring this satirical concept of the Birds Aren't Real movement to a wider audience through a book.

I thought this book was for real….he got me for about 30 pages and then….”waaaaiiit a minute”…this BOOK isn’t for real 😅 A tongue and cheek look at how Americans can fall down a 🐰hole of conspiracy theories!

While I have been a fan of the Birds Aren't Real instagram for years, this book just fell a bit flat for me. It made me laugh in some parts, but ultimately it just felt like the joke had run its course.

I have followed the Movement since the early days on the internet and was absolutely thrilled to see there was a book! I laughed so hard throughout the book. While, yes, this is satire, McIndoe also incorporates facts. This was a short, good read!

Fantastic. So much proof that birds aren't real. This book explains how it happened, who's behind it, and how leaders have dealt with it over the years. Next time you see a bird at the window, remember, you're under surveillance.
This was hilarious because there's so much detail.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I’m not sure the point of this? It wasn’t funny. Like this is funny once as a one liner. If you’re very drunk. But to make this an entire book? It was definitely the worst thing I’ve ever read and that’s the nicest way I can put it

This book was hilarious and also sad. It is a well written piece of satire that makes you look at something absurd, but also shows how people can go down a rabbit hole and not come back. I had laugh out loud moments and also so many shake my head moments. I enjoyed the read but also when looking at this in a larger context it provides some scary insight. Things are so divided and there are so many conspiracies now that this book really shows how one small belief can snowball into something extreme.

Birds? Not real. Though this is shorter than I'd thought it would be, it was so COMPELLING.

(In all honesty this was a fun read.)

One of the most confusing and enjoyable books I have ever read. From the very first page I was invested. Just as many other Gen Z people, I have heard of the birds aren't real movement but have not spent time looking into what it entails. I was throughly invested throughout the entire book as it ties in history and humor perfectly. There is not a single page in this book that is boring and I hope that these authors write about more alternative history in the future, if they do, I will make sure to grab a copy!

Birds Aren't Real is a unique and fun satire that will keep you laughing the entire time. The author shares his distinctive take on American history, including a concise history of all the United States Presidents throughout our country's history and their role in the big cover up of the bird surveillance program. From the fun illustrations to the “actual replicas” of historic documents that he uses to prove his outlandish bird replacement theory the author takes us on a wild ride through this country’s history and it is a lot of fun. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys humorous satire.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book..

Well, it did make me chuckle...as it is meant to. An extensively deep dive into the "birds arent real conspiracy". Maybe a tad too all-encompassing. It's a satire obviously, but there are people...
...And I've never seen a baby pigeon...
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC

Birds aren.t real. Really!
This novel is a follow up to what has been a popular “ conspiracy “ wink wink…on college campuses for awhile now..
The premise is that there are no REAL birds anymore because the government has killed all the real ones and replaced them with a variety of spy birds.
If you have a sense of humor and are able to appreciate a little bending of history to support the PROOF given in this book for the story that unfolds, you will enjoy it immensely. It is funny, witty, sarcastic and leaves you thinking…hmmm, could it be so?
I very much enjoyed this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC.