An absolute masterpiece. Breathtaking and heartbreaking, a character study that was as riveting as any plot-driven novel I’ve ever read. Franny will live with me for a very long time; I am blown away.

This book is an absolutely stunning (US) debut for the author. This story is set in the (not so) distant future where all wildlife is on the edge of full extinction. We follow the narrator, a woman full of love, heartache, and mystery, as she tracks the last known terns on a very long migration. The relationships she forms with the band of "misfit" crew on the ship she finds to take her on the journey is so interesting, and the love story with her husband is beautiful. The writing in this novel just carried me away - it was descriptive but not cumbersome - and I couldn't help but see a piece of me in Franny, and left with a renewed awareness of our planet at risk. Many thanks to the author and publisher and Netgalley for the advanced read (all opinions are my own). I absolutely loved this book.

There are times that a novel will make me laugh out loud. There are others that will make me cry. But I don’t ever remember a novel make me audibly gasp. As in “gasp so you need to stop reading, stand up, and walk around for a while”. That is not until “Migrations” by Charlotte McConaghy. What a remarkable book by a new super talent making her 1st forray into adult literary fiction.

I will always remember that I read “Migrations” at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. We are living in times where we clearly see the results of what we have wrought. “Migrations” is set in the not-too-distant future when flora and particularly fauna are disappearing at an ever more alarming rate. Scientists continue to argue about how to best stem the tide. Protests abound, some violent. Enter Franny, a most remarkable protagonist. Her past has made her uniquely suited to play a key role.

There’s the ice-cold sea and the Arctic terns – the wonderful, wondrous Arctic terns. "Migrations" is much more than an apocalyptic adventure novel. It is deeply touching as the lives of the characters slowly unfold. There are deep themes of abandonment and commitment, bravery and fear. Please read "Migrations”. You may gasp.

Thanks to Flatiron Books and Netgalley for the eARC.

What a stunning, melancholy, visceral book. A young woman, with a wandering soul in search of meaning in her life coincides with her study of the migration of the Arctic tern. The atmospheric writing is amazing and there is enough unspoken secrets to keep you immersed.

This book will touch your soul.