Letting go as you still suffer from the emotional baggages you’ve been carrying which prevent you make peace with your past and shape your future might be the most challenging thing!
Sometimes just saying goodbye to the ghosts of your loved ones that seem like a betrayal and unfair ! Many things can hold you back to set them free: guilt feelings, fears, loneliness, disorientation, resentments, unconditional love, sadness.

This book is about the grief, the ghosts of the people who shaped and reformed the main characters’ lives and power of learning how to let go and believe in yourself to start over!

The magical realism and surrealism matched with angsty dramatic stories of the people who find themselves at the Dellawisp sits- a stunning cobblestone building shaped like horseshoe : a place located in Mallow Island/ South Carolina.

18 years old Zoey, talking with her invisible bird Pigeon moves to this place to experience the life of her mother left for her as soon as she got her trust fund, leaving his neglectful father and criticizing stepmother behind. She wants to learn more about her mother’s past to start her new life.

Charlotte, hippie , scooter rider, henna artist, 26, reserved young woman still deals with the ghosts of her past and the friend she’s lost.

Mac, a talented chef, still finds himself covered in corn flour in the morning when he gets visits from the woman he owes everything good in his life. He still holds onto her, resisting to let her go.

Frasier, the old man knows everyone in the building, getting used to connect with the birds and ghosts, hiding his own skeletons in the closet.

Lucy: a mysteriously lady in her 50s, living secluded life by never leaving her house and her sister Lizbeth who always resented her, recently passed away, lurking around at the building as vengeful ghost to tell her own story to feel connected and be loved by people!

And Oliver, Lizbeth’s estranged son who left the house for college education, still dealing with the damage his mother has created, having second thoughts to return to the island.

Those characters are lonely, carrying their baggages for so long! Zoey’s sudden move and Lisbeth’s death change their lives. They realize their stories are connected and power of friendship, forgiveness can heal all the damage they’ve been getting through!

This is spectacular book warmed my heart! Definitely soul healing, emotional, powerful and another must read I highly recommend!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Sarah Addison Allen's work is that rare kind of writing that charm the reader effortlessly then turn on a dime to stab the reader's heart with a wicked little thorn. She enchants with her words. You fall effortlessly into her worlds and glide along rivers of poetry and sadness and hope before finally finding the rivers edge.

Quirky, gentle Zooey is running from a loveless home with nothing but an empty birdcage and dreams of a better life. When she arrives on Mallow Island to take possession of her long dead mother's condo she has hopes of making real friends for the first time in her life and finding answers to all the questions she has about a mother she can barely remember.

Instead before her first night is over one of the communities strangest residents is dead and she's tasked with going through the dead woman's apartment. As she sifts through piles upon piles of paper and junk she meets the other residents; a tough as nails henna artist hiding a dangerous secret, a sad, sweet natured chef in mourning, and the mysterious caretaker of the community who's relationship with the resident birds borders on an obsession.

Every resident is being haunted. By long held pain, by lost love, by missed opportunities and by more than one literal ghost. And all of them are looking for the love and acceptance they never had with their own families. Their journey to finding those connections with each other and putting those ghosts, both literal and metaphorical, to bed is the heart of Allen's beautiful, sweetly haunting book.

The journey is the real treasure here, those first moments of tentative friendship and love, quiet revelations, the gentle letting go of past pain and sadness. I could have stayed with these characters forever just to spend a little more time in their world.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest review.

This author’s books feel like such a warm hug, and this one was no exception. I love her descriptions of food and how she writes about the town/neighborhood. I wish Mallow Island was a real place that I could visit and I wish I could see what a dellawisp looks like! 😩 Really lovely.

This is a magical book about loss, grief, and chosen family. Every single character in this book has such a sad story to tell and each one is more interesting than the last. I also liked the ghosts’ versions of the stories being told and their perspective on them. However, took half the book for me to finally get into it. I think it is because I was often confused about who’s story was being told because there were so many characters and there are a lot of different timelines going on. Overall I really enjoyed it and want to know more about these characters’ stories.

Other Birds is the kind of book that is so welcoming and refreshing after reading a few dramatic thrillers! Sarah Addison Allen is the master of whimsical fiction stories with a hint of bohemian and mystery infused characters in them.

Zoey is an adorable 18 year old girl whom has lost her mother and was raised by her father and stepmother. Her stepmother is less than desirable as a human being and only cares about her own biological children. It is time for Zoey to find her own way and use the money and condo that was left to her by her mother before she starts college.

Once she moves to Mallow Island she is immediately immersed in a little colony of interesting people of all ages and from all walks of life. What complex and interesting characters Sarah has developed! This book reminds us that we are not walking in life alone and that family is not how the dictionary describes it. Family is a person or group of people that truly care about you, are there for you and the feelings are reciprocated. Also, family can be an animal like a bird or dog and can even be a ghost!

I truly enjoyed this book. I am so thankful for the ARC I received from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

Other Birds is a story about a group of neighbors and the ghosts that watch over them. I really liked this book. It was quaint, magical, and ghostly but not in a spooky way. Each character had so much depth to them. I really loved the ghosts, getting to know their stories, seeing the little or big ways they stuck around. This book was about holding on, saying goodbye and letting go. I liked the little twists/reveals and the roles of the birds and what they symbolized. Would recommend if you like found family books.

I adored this book. As with all of her books, there is a fictional town that I wanted to get lost in, a tone that is light and warm-hearted, with just the right balance of serious substance to keep it from getting overly sweet, with a sprinkle of magic throughout.

There is a wonderful grouping of different many characters with realistic motivations, backgrounds, and relationships. I liked the use of many different POVs to keep the plotline just twisty enough that I couldn't guess where the story would go next. The setting was rich and easily pictured - I wish I could go live at the Dellawisp and I was disappointed I could just stop in.

It is beautiful and comforting and you are left feeling like you just got the best hug - you can feel the love that the author up into this story.

This might be one of my all-time favorites from this author. I already want to re-read it (and I pre-ordered myself a physical copy).

I have enjoyed this author's storytelling in her previous books. Other Birds is in line with her great ability to hook the reader, keep them reading until the end and leave them wanting more. Zoey is the main character but I found that the other players in this story also take on a life of their own. If Mallow Island were a real place like described in Other Birds, I would definitely visit. Thank you again Sarah Addison Allen for another enjoyable book. I look forward to more about Zoey, Charlotte, Mac, Lucy and Frasier.

5+ stars!!
I’ve been in a reading slump and then I picked up Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen and all I can say is book slump is over! This book is so beautiful and magical. It’s one of those books the minute you finish it you want to go back and reread it just to see everything that you might’ve missed. Sarah is such an underrated author as are her books. They are beautiful, magical, and whimsical. The characters are complex but relatable and even though I was satisfied I wanted to read more about this eccentric group of lovable characters.
I can’t recommend this book enough. One of my favorites of the year!

“Children, don’t hold on to old love so hard you forget to live. Old love isn’t the only love you’ll ever have. And I can tell you from this side that it never really goes away, anyway. So let go. Whatever you’re holding on to, let go.”

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I've been a longtime Sarah Addison Allen fan, so I was absolutely thrilled to receive an advance copy of her latest work. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.

This book is quite different from Allen's other works. There is still a thread of magic and wonder weaving through the story, but overall the feel is darker and more sad. I know that Allen wrote the story after her mother and sister passed away, and there are many points of this book that feel like a loving tribute to those who are no longer with us yet have greatly influenced who we are.

While there are parts of the story that are disjointed and didn't quite come together, I still feel like this novel is an excellent comeback after some time away from writing. I still eagerly await everything Allen will write next.

Im in awe. I loved this book and how different it was and loved the magical realism of it. I read this in one sitting. Honestly one of the best books ive read in a while. I cant read to read more from this author because im in shock of how good the plot and climate of the story and the lovely characters

I think this is my new favorite Sarah Addison Allen!
I feel in love with these characters and this setting. I loved that Zoey was a bright light that came in and brought them all together. But I liked that she also had demons she was facing and not afraid to work on them.
I liked the relationship between Mac & Charlotte too.
This is such a feel good novel. With some mysterious ghosts joining the cast too. I liked the ghosts and the background they brought to the story.
I can't wait to share this with everyone I know when it comes out later this year.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC!

There is a lot of love that went into the creation of this book, you can feel it in the writing and the characters. I hadn't read any of Allen's books previously, so I wasn't sure exactly what I was getting into. Her story unfolds with whimsy and magic and I didn't want it to end. I'll be ordering several for the library because our patrons are going to devour this one!

I may or may not have squealed a little when I saw that Sarah Addison Allen had a new book coming out! Her whimsical magical realism novels have been some of my absolute favorites in the past, and I often recommended them to patrons when I worked in the public library. This book was no exception! The characters are so solidly developed and you can't help but love each one as their story is told. The relationships in this book were just lovely, and the story of the family you're born into versus the families you find and create along your life path was really heartfelt and poignant. I loved the setting of Mallow Island and the Dellawisp condos, with it's history and interesting design, as well as its unique and entertaining avian residents. Mixing ghost story chapters in with living character story made for a really engaging read, and I had a hard time putting the book down. Highly recommend this one! Be sure to read the acknowledgements at the end - learning about Allen's experiences while writing this book was a special, emotional addition to the story as a whole.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored the latest book by Sarah Addison Allen. Told with all of the whimsy and mysticism her books are know for, we see how family is necessarily to whom you are born but can be whom you choose.

I loved Zoey and her journey of growth and being able to find herself while learning about her mother's life after her death. I enjoyed seeing Zoey learning about the Island what it means to be apart of a loving family. The inhabitants of the Dellawisp are a quirky bunch and they have given each other what they need, without knowing what they needed. Can't wait to buy this book when it comes out.

I have been excitedly waiting for Sarah Addison Allen’s new book, After Sarah’s mother and sister passed away, she took time before completing Other Birds. I received an Advanced Reader copy from NetGalley. Sarah has a talent of creating characters you care about and want to know more about. Each person has a ghost from their past that is helping them in the present. They all live on Mallow Island at the Dellawisp. Young Zoey moves in and changes everyone’s lives. Hidden identities and fragmented family relationships develop a sense of distrust or fear. Things are not what they seem. I highly recommend Other Birds for lovers of magical realism. 5 stars!

Oh how I loved this beautiful book. It's all about how our past can try to make us, but we have to learn to just let go. The characters were wonderful. I always love Sarah's books and this is one of her best yet.

Per usual, Sarah does a beautiful job with weaving her story together supported with magical realism. So many themes are present for great discussions on family, home, etc.

Other Birds was a surprising read. Told from multiple perspectives, the novel follows the lives of a group of residents in a condo complex on Mallow Island. The small town charm of a tourist area provides the perfect setting for the complex lives of each character. Allen does a wonderful job of providing small nuggets of information to progress the novel along, but keep an air of mystery behind what is truly troubling the condo inhabitants. She develops characters so sufficiently that the reader cannot help but become invested in the outcome of each individual. Other Birds is a happy combination of the supernatural and a feel good tale of self discovery that keeps you turning the page to see if these residents will find their peace.