Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Wild Chorus by Brenda Peterson!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this title.

This book was though provoking in how I personally interact with the natural world around me. Though on opposite coasts from the author, I found myself relating to her personal stories, and was intrigued by the scientific facts she presents.

I found this easy to digest, and never felt like I was being talked down to. It even inspired a trip to my local aquarium.

I really wanted to love this book, but it fell a little flat to me towards the middle of the book. I really liked the contents of the book and found a lot of the insight into the different animals interesting. But, I felt that there could have been some refinement to a few of the descriptions of the animals. Some of the chapters felt somewhat repetitive and there were a few comments that were likely written during the beginning of the COVID pandemic which could have been fleshed out.

There were some beautiful scenes written and I very much enjoyed the parts about the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks to Netgalley and Mountaineers Books for this ARC!

I began this book extremely excited but my excitement quickly fizzled out. It felt like a collection of stories important to the author but I didn't feel the importance of the stories as a reader. I thought the author's craft could have been tightened up in some areas. BUT I would still recommend this book to nature lovers. I would warn readers about the hunting as I know there are two major camps of "nature lovers".

Thank you NetgGalley and publisher for providing readers with this title.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

This book was very much a memoir that I think could have used a little more structure. For those who do not believe that hunting can be part of being in harmony with nature, they should pass on this book. I personally believe that hunters can be in harmony with nature if hunting is done with respect to the animals and acknowledgement that the animals being hunted are also living beings too. That is what is shown in this memoir when it comes to the bits about hunting. Otherwise, I feel that it can get a bit repetitive at times and could have down with a little more editing or more structure. The writing is strong and shows a great love for nature and what we have in our world.

In the spirit of transparency, this was a free galley I won from a Publishers Weekly event on NetGalley. Similar to Wintering and The Comfort of Crows, this book is about our connection to nature and the importance of maintaining that connection. The difference between this book and the former is that Brenda Peterson shares her decades of experience in animal conservation and behavioral research, starting with being raised by her park ranger father in state/federal parks. It communicates information and her beliefs without being overly preachy or scholarly. I appreciate that the chapters center around the animals as well.
This book is equal parts devastating and motivating, filled with sorrow and beauty. I can't recommend it enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mountaineers Books for an eARC copy of Wild Chorus by Brenda Peterson.

I DNF'd this particular book at about 20%. How the book was described was not anything with what was written within and there was no concise understanding of where Brenda Peterson wanted to go with the novel. Also, if you're going to write about a book about living in harmony with nature, maybe not highlight hunting so much. Highly disappointing.

Unfortunately for me this book couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be a memoir, a manifesto, or a scientific exploration of animal behavior and communication. I found the animals fascinating, but struggled to be interested in the more philosophical sections.

3.5
The beginning of the book and many other smaller sections read more like a memoir. Also, if you have an issue with hunting you might want to skip the first couple pages. Honestly, she repeats the main point of those pages so many times in the book that you don't even need to read them. She repeats a lot of things, actually. The writing is not great and relies too much on adjectives, analogies, and metaphors. You almost lost sight of the point. I wish think the book would flow better if it was grouped into sections about aquatic animals and then land animals (or vice-versa). The back and forth didn't flow well.

However, the content is clearly based on research and decades of experience and paints a grim picture of the fate of animals if we humans don't get our heads out of our arses and stop messing up the environment. We are a selfish species and if we think we can live without animals, we're in for a sad lesson.

Once you get past the first chapter, the book reads easily and some of her stories are wonderful. My favorite was the man with the heron on the beach because it shows that we CAN live harmoniously with animals.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I expected this book to be about respecting and loving animals but there was too much hunting and killing in this book to make me want to finish it. The description of the book left out these key elements. NetGalley and Mountaineers Books provided the advance read.