This book is so engaging and does such an incredible job of showing the problems of the opioid crisis. It is heartbreaking and gut wreching.

This book was pure delight! Incredibly original and unique, this novel has a plethora of likeable characters. The author's note explains her reasoning and thoughts behind this book and I really loved reading about how she came up with the Starlings and the rest of the town. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this copy.

I loved this peculiar book. That is the best word I can use to describe it and I absolutely adored the writing style and the plot. My suggestion would be to go in blind as not knowing anything about the book, made it a great read. Trigger warnings for talks about drug abuse and an an overdose.

When I first read Unlikely Animals a few weeks ago, I was grateful for the acquantaince I had already established with Annie Hartnett upon publication of her debut novel, Rabbit Cake. Having a line of communication with her meant I could send her a message the minute I finished to tell her that somehow, her book arrived in my life at the exact moment and with the exact message I needed. Since that night, I have struggled to find the words to explain to the rest of the world just what Unlikely Animals has meant to me, and I needed a bit of emotional distance from the book in order to review it properly.

But really, what could possibly make a book better than for it be so relatable that you feel like the primary purpose for its existence in the universe was for you, specifically, to read it?

Luckily, Unlikely Animals is also highly entertaining, incredibly clever, and the perfect blend of darkly humorous and deeply emotional. I adored Rabbit Cake from the very first chapter, and it became so beloved to me that I recommended it to every person looking for a good read and added it to the curriculum in the twelfth grade English courses I was teaching at the time. When Annie Hartnett mentioned working on a second book during the last Skype session she (very graciously) held with my students before I transferred to a position as a librarian in an elementary school, I had a hard time containing my excitement. Hartnett’s writing style is wickedly funny, witty, and unique, and although I tried to approach Unlikely Animals objectively, I knew before reading the first page that I was VERY likely to love it.

Harnett’s story about Emma Starling’s return to her hometown to help care for her ailing father seems to be a familiar tale on the surface—the prodigal child returns to heal old wounds and face parents whose good intentions were muddled as a result of their own selfishness and pride. However, there is nothing familiar about the execution of this particular story. The father has a mysterious illness causing oddly specific hallucinations, the mother is well beyond being OVER his antics, the brother is a recovering addict, the protagonist has mystical healing powers, and the narrators are an eclectic group of characters with a deep attachment to town and all its citizens. Those narrators are also one of my favorite parts of the book, and without ruining too much of the fun, I will simply say that they very well could be my new favorite narrators of ANY book. Every character in the book has a unique personality with tiny details sprinkled throughout the pages that all seem to end up being critical to the way the story plays out. There are several madcap adventures in the book, my favorite of which involves a play performance with elementary school students, that give readers welcome periods of laughter between gut-wrenching emotional truths, and as an elementary school librarian, I can verify that Hartnett’s depiction of fifth-graders is absolutely spot-on. Her inclusion of the opioid crisis is timely and free of victim-blaming, and although the book is packed full of plot points, it never felt like too much or that the development of any of them was lacking as a result. With Unlikely Animals, Annie Hartnett has crafted the fantastically quirky masterpiece I knew she would, and this book would have stolen my heart even without the deeply personal connection I formed to it.

Although that personal connection bears no influence on anyone else, I feel that it warrants mentioning in some capacity. My father passed away six months prior to my reading Unlikely Animals. My father wasn’t in a rock band and had absolutely no tendencies toward philandering. In fact, he was a very conservative minister who was married to my mother for 45 years and couldn’t carry a tune at all. However, he loved his Harley Davidson and had a personality very much like that of Clive Starling’s. Although he had Parkinson’s, a condition that shares many symptoms with Clive Starling’s mysterious ailment, his death was the result of a truly freak incident. As such, it was completely unexpected, and I never got to have one last conversation with him to make sure he knew just how important he was to me. As I told Annie in my late-night message to her, all the things Emma did for her dad are things I wish I had done for mine. And all the realizations she made about what he must have been going through are ones that I didn’t make until my father was already gone. When I read “Emma felt bad for her dad, how lonely he must be without his band or his job or his bar,” I sat and cried for a good long while. In that moment, I felt like I understood so much more of what my own dad had gone through the last couple of years, when his Harley was parked for good, he could no longer work or pastor a church, and he rarely left the house. I know I can’t go back in time to be there for my dad more, but Emma’s journey in Unlikely Animals left me feeling more at peace than I have in months.

Annie Hartnett is a treasure, and I have yet to find another writer whose style is so perfectly suited to my personality. Unlikely Animals will always be special to me because it arrived at the exact moment I needed it most, but it will always be on my list of favorite books and most recommended reads because it’s a true gem of a novel.

I loved this wry and imaginative and funny and sad book. I love the Thornton Wilder-esq chorus of ghosts in the cemetery, the characters with hidden depths, the absurdity of small-town life, the parents grappling--or not--with age and decline, the young characters exploring a mystery, the dedication of the dying father to a missing girl, the savvy schoolkids--everything and everyone in the book. I know people will complain about using Clive's dementia for laughs, but I found it to be handled very well. My mom died of Lew Body dementia, which has symptoms like what Clive experiences, and I know that you have to just roll with patients' hallucinations and ideas and not to argue with them. This is a novel about joy in living and finding joy in your surroundings and making life work, and I can't wait to talk about it with other readers.

FANTASTIC ! Sweet and funny and smart and interesting - read this book! Historical fiction of which I never knew this existed, this book is delightful in every sense. It’s got family issues along with a cast of characters you won’t forget. Read this one!

I thought the concept of this book was fantastic, unfortunately, it is not for me. The story Hartnett wove was fantastical and clever and witty and I think readers who like a book a bit outside their comfort zone will be delighted in the twists and turns this book provides!

I'm guessing I will be in the minority here, but I just couldn't get into this novel. Some of the quirks that should have been charming (such as the dead people sharing their thoughts on the town) just annoyed me. It was long and meandering and odd (but not in a fun way). Some people are going to love this one, but unfortunately I did not.

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

UNLIKELY ANIMALS is whimsical, heartfelt, original story. It is the story of the Starlings, a loving but desperately dysfunctional family. Their daughter, Emma, who they believe is a natural healer, is returning home after a long absence. Her father, Clive, has a degenerative brain disease that causes him to hallucinate (ghosts and small animals, mostly) and Emma's mother, Ingrid, hopes that her daughter might be able to reverse the disease. But Emma knows she can't, just like she was unable to cure her brother's drug addiction. But when Emma arrives, she finds that not just that her family is more nuts than usual, but her former best friend, Crystal, has disappeared and her father has made it his personal quest to find her. And then when an $18,000 fox shows up, things get even weirder...

I loved this story so much. All the characters were wonderful. I especially loved the storyline of the father. His struggles and what he was going through. The animals were a delight. This was such a great book. Looks forward to more by the author.

What a strange and wonderful book! I very much enjoyed all of the different characters, animals and ghosts included. I was captivated throughout the entire book.

Even though I didn't love this novel as much as Annie Hartnett's debut, "Rabbit Cake" - I still think this was a solid read. What I love about Hartnett's writing is her wicked sense of humor. Also, I LOVE quirky novels! And boy this book is the definition of quirky. I must admit, it took about 20% to really sink my teeth into the overall story. I really enjoyed the middle part of the plot, but the last 15% started to drag a little bit. There's a lot of subplots going on in this book. There's the people of the cemetery who narrate/watch over the town in "Unlikely Animals". There's Emma, a 22 year-old med school drop-out returning home for Thanksgiving break, and to spend time with her dying father in the process. There's the subplot of Emma's childhood friend reportedly missing/addicted to heroin. And more subplots galore! Even though the extra subplots didn't take away from the overall story, the tone felt overwhelming at times. But I appreciate the balance of humor and heart. Quirky characters and serious subject matter is hard thing to balance, and Hartnett did an excellent job. I wanted to love this book, but in the end - I really thought it was a fine piece of literary fiction with a bit of magical realism mixed in.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House for the digital ARC.

A moving testament to this thing we call human existence, an absolute must-read! I've found many books tackling this topic to be morose, melancholy, or very bittersweet. Unlikely Animals is the exact opposite, a lighthearted, wild ride with great characters. Ever read one of those books where you lose yourself in the craziness of it all? With a mail-order Russian fox, a rescue dog with a purpose in life, a recovering heroin addict, a father losing his mind, mother and daughter struggling to maintain order... and a missing girl, there is a lot going on in this story. Despite the chaos, it never reads as chaotic and keeps the reader entertained from start to finish. With a hint of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman meets Doctor Doolittle, meets small-town family dynamics and current opioid crisis added in. I also loved reading about Harnett's inspiration for the book and now I want to find access to the park as well. A big thank you to NetGalley, Annie Hartnett, and the publisher for allowing me early access to review this title!

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advance copy!

This book is funny yet so moving at times. I quickly became immersed in this small town and became deeply invested in the characters- could not put it down!

A cleverly written, morbidly funny, and profoundly moving story as told by the omniscient residents of Everton, New Hampshire’s Maple Street Cemetery. An unlikely animal in and of itself, this book is deeply unique, sad, sweet, quirky, fun, and a little bit romantic all at once. This was easily one of my favorite reads of 2021 and I can’t wait until pub day so everyone else can fall in love with this book too.

This is one of those books that is so good and so different that you are just amazed at the workings of the authors mind. I could not put this book down. It was very easy to get caught up in the characters and the small town setting. Emma, the main character, had gone to California for college and came home feeling like a disgrace with a giant chip on her shoulder. Auggie, her younger brother is a recovered addict and very lovable. The father, that cheating man, was so charming and funny that I forgave him his infidelity and decided to like him. Ingrid, the mother, was uptight but you couldn’t blame her—she had an unfaithful husband, a disappointing daughter and a son who did not do anything since coming home from rehab. Such an entertaining read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I probably expected too much from Unlikely Animals because I loved everything about Hartnett’s novel, Rabbit Cake. The idea was definitely quirky which was great but I thought there were too many ideas, plots and subplots many of which seemed to have no direct impact on the whole. Emma had a miracle gift, then inexplicably she didn’t with never a clear reason as to why, there was the plot with her former best friend Crystal, and her brother’s drug problem, her mom’s leaving, her father’s brain tumor, the people in the cemetery who watched over the town, the millionaires hunting acreage which was kept as a big secret, and that’s not all. Too many irons in the fire trying to pull everything together and in my mind never quite succeeding.
What I did love was the history of the fenced in acreage that was used for hunting by a millionaires club that was indeed true as well as the original Dr. Doolittle.