I really enjoyed reading this book. And although the storyline dealt with some very heavy topics (drug addiction, dementia), there was still quite a bit of humor threaded through the story. The basic storyline follows Emma who returns home to her parents house after lying about being enrolled in med school. She gets a job as a long term substitute teacher and the book follows her teaching career, her father's declining mental health, her brother's past drug addiction, her mother's side trip into an affair with the family doctor and much, much more. There are happy endings and sad (but expected) endings. Overall a very interesting read that holds your attention throughout.

An entertaining read. The variety of characters draw you in. The fact that half the characters mentioned, if not more than half, are dead just makes it more interesting!

I got about 25-30% in and just couldn't do it. There was too much ghost talk/ animal talk/meandering about stuff other than the present-day plot and I just didn't care. I was interested in knowing what was happening w/ the missing girl but I couldn't get past the rest.

A great read. Really loved the main character Emma. Great family Dynamics, and a mystery all in one. This was one of my favorite books I’ve read in quite a while. I look forward to reading more books by this author thank you for my advance copy. I will surely recommend this to my friends and family.

This is a completely delightful, endearing novel. There are so many wonderful things to say about this novel, but I must start with how original this book is, and how full of heart it is! I came to fall in love with this family, and deeply care about all of them and their pets. The animals are some of the best parts of this novel, as a huge animal lover, I loved how well they were treated and considered just the same as any member of their family (as it should be!). The pets had their own personalities that felt so real, as well. While there is a whimsical nature to this book, at the heart there are deeper issues, such as grief and prolonged illness, addiction and the drug crisis in America, friendship and family, and finding oneself. I loved this book so much that I felt heartbroken to finish it and leave this sweet family behind.

“This book is about rooting for everyone…” from the Author’s Note

Unlikely Animals has a great New Hampshire small-town setting and community, as well as eccentric, flawed, and lovable characters. I don’t usually select magical realism, but I loved this book. The special omniscient narrators are great, and even better on audio. I also enjoyed the substitute teacher storyline (as a former teacher and sometimes sub).

Heartwarming, unique, a treat, but also serious

The opioid crisis, dementia, death, and dying are all prevalent in the novel, but the novel manages to feel light and uplifting. Be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end, where she addresses her desire to be sensitive to opioid addiction and also explains the inspiration for the novel.

Unlikely Animals is a five-star read for me, and I hope that you read it! Try the audio! It's great on audio!!

This review is also posted on Instagram and Facebooks @beginandendwithbooks and on Goodreads Michelle Beginandendwithbooks

Annie Hartnett is a force, and this is another wonderful addition to her catalogue. Every time I picked this book up, I couldn't wait to see where the story led. Annie has become a must-buy author for the Scuffy Book Dude!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5! I really loved the magical quirkiness of this book and its entire cast of characters. It's full of heart and gave me that cozy and familiar feeling even when meeting characters for the first time. The ending is the only reason I would give it a 4.5 and not a 5.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

What a quirky, lovely novel! I can't even describe it, because it's as if the author took a half dozen unrelated things and threw them all between the pages. But it works, and I loved reading the author's note to discover that there was a method to her madness.

Small town New Hampshire, the golden daughter coming home with her tail between her legs, the eccentric father dying from a brain disease that makes him see ghosts, a Greek chorus of the dead buried in the town cemetery - it sounds bizarre. And it is a bit strange, but if you just go with it, you'll be treated to a terrific story.

“It’s unfair how the body crumbles while the soul still lives in it.“

This was almost incredible. Clive is suffering from a brain disease that causes entertaining hallucinations. Daughter Emma returns home to help watch over him. For me, this, the animals, and school kids were enough. Rasputin and Moses were nice touches, but the healer stuff, missing person, and cemetery commentary were TOO much. This needed reining in a smidge.

🌟UNLIKELY ANIMALS🌟 by Annie Hartnett ~published April 12, 2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Creative, quirky, fun! More general fiction than literary fiction, imo.

We meet Emma Starling who, after deciding not to attend med school after all, is returning home to her native Everton, New Hampshire to break that news to her parents and try to figure out what she actually wants to become. She’s also coming home to spend time with her dying father, Clive, who is suffering from a degenerative illness that is causing him to hallucinate animals. As Emma navigates her new life substitute teaching, coming to terms with her father’s illness, and reconnecting with her brother (now sober nine months after previously being addicted to opiods), she discovers that she does, indeed, have healing powers, just maybe a different kind than she previously thought.

Much like Nothing to See Here, this novel is that perfect combination of funny and sad that is so hard to achieve but when done well, gets me every time. The ghosts narrating from their gravestones were excellent and added just the right amount of quirk. I loved their rules about how much they could and could not meddle in the townspeople’s affairs. Emma’s mother was such a strong character, and I am still reflecting on her relationship with Clive and how she chose to handle its ups and downs. As one would expect, there are quite a few animals in the book as well (both real and imagined), and I found them to be so calming and comforting, just like in real life.

My small criticism would be that the mystery aspect of the novel — Emma and Clive instigate a search for Emma’s missing ex-best-friend to determine whether she’s overdosed like everyone thinks, is in some other kind of trouble, or has simply left town — didn’t quite hit the right note for me. It was too unbelievable and it distracted me from Clive and Emma and their journeys. But overall, this feel-good, almost fairytale-esque story was just what I needed. Unique!

Many thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse Ballantine Books for the complimentary advance review copy. All thoughts are my own.

This is a delightfully quirky novel. It takes place in a small town in New Hampshire, that is somewhat famous for being residence to a man who loved, and lived with, lots of wild animals. In the middle of town is Maple Street Cemetery, where the residents watch the townsfolk carefully, but aren't allowed to help too much.

Emma Starling returns to help her family. Her father is dying, and each family member has problems. I came to like them, as I discovered their pasts and their hopes. I also liked the fox, and Emma's fifth-grade class.

I also liked how unique the story is, and want to thank Annie Hartnett for the ARC and Netgalley for helping me discover this book.

I liked this book! Heartfelt and funny (laugh out loud funny). A feel good book that everyone should read.

I liked Hartnett's previous book Rabbit Cake, so was looking forward to this one! I had a hard time suspending the disbelief necessary to fully buy into this story. I don't enjoy ghost stories or reading about characters that are deceased, so for that reason this book didn't totally work for me. But I know so many other people who really loved it!

This was a quirky, lovely read. Beautiful prose, endearing characters and an unusual voice, all of which I greatly enjoyed!

Emma Starling was once believed to have healing powers. But now that she’s gone to medical school, her gift seems to have faded. When Emma’s father is diagnosed with a fatal brain disease, she returns home in the hopes she can do something to save him. But between Emma’s uncertainty, her father’s hallucinations of animals and ghosts, and her missing high school friend, Emma wonders if she can do anything to help her small New Hampshire town.

OBSESSED. This book is completely bizarre and unexpected and bonkers in the absolute best way. The narrative voice is fascinating and somehow feels like a warm hug, and the sense of humor is sheer perfection. As things got weirder and weirder, I got more and more invested in Emma and her strange hometown. I never wanted this book to end!

I attempted to read this book by Annie Hartnett, Unlikely Animals. After a few chapters I had to give up, as it just wasn't resonating with me. I can't give anyone low stars though, as each author works hard and has a fan base that resonates with their work. So this one gets three stars as it just wasn't for me. Thanks to NetGalley.

This was such an interesting read! It follows the old trope of returning to a small town after college, but with a twist: the main character, Emma, has a healing power known as the Charm. She returns to her hometown because her father is sick with a mysterious illness, one that causes him to hallucinate animals as well as see the local ghosts. As her father's condition worsens, he becomes more obsessed with the case of Emma's high school best friend's disappearance, drawing Emma into the amateur investigation he's conducting. The story is alternately told by Emma, her father, and the ghosts that inhabit the Everton cemetery, watching over the living residents. This novel was a delightful portrayal of grief, love, and complicated relationships. It made me laugh multiple times. Definitely recommend it for people who enjoy magical realism and literary fiction!

I really enjoyed the historical references in this book, and learned a lot about the quirks of the town and its previous inhabitants. The dead talk to each other in the graveyard, which might have been more of a unique, fun plot device if I hadn't already read Fannie Flagg's The Whole Town's Talking which uses the same gimmick. Some of her writing here was really good even the fantastical elements worked. I could have done without the gimmicks.

This is a new favorite for 2022. I’m recommending it to all my friends and talking it up in bookstores and libraries. The protagonist, Emma Starling, was born with a gift for healing. But somewhere along the way, everything went wrong, and she has lost her gift and her life direction, and now she is home caring for her dying father with her snarky brother, judgmental mother, and hoping to find her once best friend who has unaccountably disappeared.

Emma is charming and funny. The ghosts and spirits who surround her are startlingly believable. I was cheering for her and the other characters the whole time.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.