Cover Image: Starling

Starling

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19 year old Starling is raised off-the-grid by her unconventional mother, Mar, traveling the English countryside and never setting down roots. One day, Starling returns to their camper van to find Mar gone. With their camper van stuck in the mud in the woods and no money, Starling begins her journey of survival and making her way on her own. Along the way she must decide if she is going to continue living the live of a traveler or move towards a more conventional way of life.

The author uses beautiful imagery which made me feel like I was immersed in nature with Starling. I'll admit, it took me a little bit to warm up to her, but eventually she won me over. I loved the descriptions of Starling foraging for food and the different meals made with the items found in the woods. Despite Mar being absent from the book physically, she plays a huge role in the story having raised Starling into who she is, so I would have liked to learn a little more about her beyond the glimpses we were given.

This a a slower paced, character-driven, coming-of-age novel. The book didn't grab my attention initially, but around the 25% mark I fell into a groove and became more invested in the story. It is quite sad in parts while also being quietly uplifting in others. A good debut novel overall. 3.5 stars rounded up.

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This is a tough book to review. I will begin with the most obvious point, the cover provides no inkling of the tone and content of the book. The beautiful watercolour-like picture of a camper in the woods does not talk of the sorrow Starling feels when her mother leaves her alone in that camper with no reasons or information. Mar is one of those people who is anti-system to the extent that she hides out from the law and lives off the land (not exactly her own lands). She refuses to be part of a bigger community of people who might want to live exactly the way she does. They have had friends over the years, and it is one such person that Starling turns to.
Our lead protagonist has been brought up to think a certain way, and it is so ingrained in her to make quick calls that she comes across as a brat. I kept wanting there to be a reformation arc, and there was one. It just was not exactly the happily ever after I would have wanted. This last part is mostly why I do not think that this book fits any particular genre very well. There are some hard-hitting introspective questions hidden away amongst the struggle for Starling to be okay with the life she is leading.
It was an interesting book and one that I am glad I stumbled upon. There will be people out there who might even get more out of this book than I did.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

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This is the first of Butler's books that I've read and I really enjoyed it. The writing itself was poetic and beautiful. The story was interesting and definitely kept my attention.

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This book made me hungry for fresh produce. Other than that, it was a tad repetitive and irritating. The main character was unlikeable, despite all the unconditional love surrounding her. Way too much time spent with the wandering about…I get the concept of “wandering lost to find yourself” but it was way overdone.

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Very moving and thought-provoking read. I feel that survivalist parent stories are becoming popular strangely (think Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller and The Marsh Kings Daughter Karen Dionne and many many more), but I don't seem to be tiring of it yet. Very much enjoyed this and will recommend it to many.

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This cover is stunning. It beautifully portrays the calming, homely feel of nature for Starling but also the bleak loss that this book explores. A magnificent cover that sets up such heights that, unsurprisingly, the story cannot reach them.

To label the writing as prosaic is accurate but also does it a disservice. It is reasonably easy to follow, uses some nice descriptive language and, fundamentally, there's nothing wrong with it. However, the writing is methodical- it has a repeating pattern or a plan that will not be deviated from. It's like the ticking of a clock; once one has realised something, it's impossible to forget about it. For this book, it's that the structure is as follows:
She did this.
She did this.
*paragraph describing the natural surroundings*
She did this.

Nevertheless, the setting descriptions are good. They utilise all the senses, building a rich portrait of Starling and Mar's home that's easy to visualise. There is then some development from this as to why they have chosen this way of life:
'It would be easy to walk away, get a job, a floor, a room, always have a meal that filled you on the table, and more in the cupboard where it came from. But such a life held no meaning- what was the point of living as if you were not part of the land? Of buying a sauce in a jar that tasted of chemicals? Of never smelling the cold jade of midnight in February or the feel of a pike nudging your leg in the river in June? You might as well not live. The real world was here.' 5%

These moments are glorious but they are so few and far between; there is so little character feeling in the story. If, put simply, the choice is a plot or character-focused story, this hasn't got enough of either.

As a symbolical approach to representing, in particular, Mar's view of life (namely the fleeting quality of human life, that people should not leave a mark on the Earth as it will continue long after you have gone), it makes sense that the focus should be on the natural elements. By skimming through human actions, it allows for the emphasis to remain on the world around them. For anyone captivated by this lifestyle, this will be fascinating to explore, but it does little to engage anyone who isn't.

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Starling by Sarah Jane Butler is a slow-burner about Starling - a girl growing up whilst travelling around the English countryside, living in a camper van with her mum, Mar. As the reader follows Starling, there are flashbacks to her childhood and the tribe who surrounded her and nurtured her. When she is forced to fend for herself, her solitary journey sees her seeking people from her past. This is a welcome distraction from life's current struggles full of descriptions of nature and it contains heartbreaking moments though chunks are also uplifting. It is character-driven and it touches on family, fear friendship, loss, disappointment, survival, life's decisions and creativity. Captivating and vividly written.

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Fairlight Books via NetGalley.

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𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘼𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙠𝙚.

What is beautiful about this story is the ideal of living outside the margins of what others deem as worthy of a life. With young adult Starling fending for herself, it brings into question her deep rooted beliefs, molded very much by her mother’s ideas of how human beings should live in the world, in touch with the earth, shirking the ease and comfort of society. There is a superiority and anger that arises, a sort of us against the world mentality. Starling finds that unlike Mar, she may need people and words. Mar is famous for her silence, her inability to remain in one place for long. “Life was in the traveling, in the music, in the joining of journeys one after the other to make something whole, but never finished.” Mar’s leaving is the norm, ever since Starling was a child Mar would head off, but she left maps of where she’d be and Starling had Em (Mar’s former best friend, until a falling out), whose van she would stay in until Mar’s return. But they are alone now, without a community, and Starling is left waiting, working jobs, finding scraps to eat and puzzled over where Mar could be. Mar has always needed to feel the soil on her feet, but this time is different, is it some sort of test? Mar has never been steady with others, preferring instead to hit the road in their camper, unchained from the demands anchoring in place forces on people. The only relationship she has remained steady is with Starling, but something has changed.

Who is Starling without the force of her mother, her strength and guidance? Mar is the one who has always decided the direction their lives have taken. A life that respects the earth, leaves nary a trace, does no harm to the land, takes only what is needed, and disgusted by the destruction human beings leave in their wake. If she never returns, will Starling still be a solid person? So much of who she is has been tied into Mar’s molding but Starling loves being a woman of the earth, her mother has taught her how to live off the land, find food, get water, gather firewood. Starling isn’t a helpless child, she is more than capable, a survivor who doesn’t need much money based on Mar’s teachings. Their van is her home, always has been, but without Mar’s presence, there is a shift, and she must decide whether or not to remain alone or put her toe back in the world, a place of nothing but greed and corruption. Mar is out there, somewhere, so are people Starling was once close to, Luc and others from their tribe (family of friends).

Mar may not have always been straight with her, a woman who decides how she is going to live in the world also chooses who to cut out. There are many truths Starling will need to learn about Mar and about herself. She is free now to make her own decisions about her future, but she is terrified, overwhelmed. Will she muster enough strength to leave the van, the land they’ve been living on? What about their way of life, solitude?

I really enjoyed this, Starling is a well written character, believable in her interactions, her needs, her fears and her struggles. She gets confrontational, like most of us, her criticism of certain people is colored by past hurts, and as open to the earth as she and Mar are, when it comes to people, they can be quite closed minded, making fast judgements and assumptions. Of course, it’s not out of ugliness, but their impassioned belief system, born out of Mar’s soul. Mar, though physically absent, is solidly present in how Starling makes decisions for herself based on what Mar would do. But Mar and Starling aren’t the same person, don’t necessarily need the same things, Starling is finally forced to stand on her own two feet fully, decide her own way of life. I think, living off the land or smack dab in the middle of society, most young adults must search their souls and figure out who they are as a separate individual. Weed out what fits and give birth to what burns within them. Other people are always a challenge, with their own views and decisions, it is something that we cannot control. Mar needs her absences, but it is Starling who benefits from the distance between them. It’s a transformative experience, learning who you are without another making all the big decisions for you.

Yes, read it.

Publication Date: October 1, 2022 Available Now

Fairlight Books

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A quietly satisfying read following a young woman discovering normal life after growing up as the tag along child of a free spirit.
A real acknowledgement of the gifts that living in the wild can give but also the safety and protections of ordinary existence.

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4.5 stars rounded down. Do you like books which take place in nature? Even though I was born in Calais and then lived in various cities since, one of my favourite hobbies is to spend time in parks, the countryside, or gardens. And to read about it.

Starling by Sarah Jane Butler was a welcome escape. We follow Starling, who grew up travelling around the English countryside, living in a camper van with her mum, Mar. Throughout the book, we get flashbacks to her childhood and the "tribe" who surrounded her and nurtured her.

But most of the book is Starling's solitary journey, once she is forced to fend for herself and find people from her past.

This is a slow burn, full of descriptions of nature, food, and heartbreaking moments. Some passages were really sad whilst others were uplifting and inspiring.

If you're after a character-driven novel with gorgeous scenery and reflections on family, friendship, loss, creativity, finding your purpose, with a little bit of politics thrown in towards the last few chapters, then do pick this one up!

The only possible improvement which would have made this a definite 5-star read for me would have been more POVs and more passages/chapters about previous generations and how they made the "tribe" work. I feel like it could have been a longer book or perhaps a multi-generational one.

Thank you so much to @NetGalley @sarah_jane_butler_author and @fairlightbooks for my e-ARC. All views are my own and unbiased.

Starling is out on 29/09 in the UK.

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Starling is a short novel centred on the relationship between nature and humanity. The main character, Starling, was raised off-grid and, after her mother abandons her, finds herself caught between continuing life as she knows it or reintegrating into her local community.

I adore novels in which nature is a key component, especially those focusing on off-grid living - I recently read and loved Elmet and Our Endless Numbered Days - so went into this with high expectations.

Unfortunately I have to say that I was underwhelmed by this novel; what started as seemingly a 4-star read soon deteriorated. It is plainly written and, at points, cheesy and almost trite. I was too distracted by the writing to connect to the characters, and found myself struggling to engage as the plot developed.

At parts the potential of the novel shone through, with some beautiful descriptions of nature and community, but these were few and far between.

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I went into this book expecting something completely different based on the description given and was a little bummed at first that I wasn't getting the spunky, young survivalist tale that I was craving. For one, Starling was much older than I was initially expecting, and the story ended up centering much more around her first taste of independence and integration into the world than simply just learning to survive. Overall, I felt like this book was genuinely beautiful and touching. Though Starling's character ended up being older, she still had many childlike characteristics, which made her an interesting character to read from.

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Starling by Sarah Jane Butler

Nineteen year old Starling has had a different childhood to most, growing up with her Mother called Mar, travelling from place to place with The Tribe in their van, living a nomadic life until now, for reasons we don't find out till later in the book, Mar and Starling are now living alone, off grid, deep in a forest in their beloved van.
Until one morning when Starling comes back to the van after collecting wood to find the Mar has gone, when she doesn't return and with Winter fast approaching Starling has to decide whether to stay or leave her beloved van behind and find her own way in the world.

The descriptions of nature in this book are wonderful, so well described you can almost feel the dew in the air and taste the foraged treasures.

This is a beautifully written debut novel, about love, loss, acceptance and finding your own place in the world.

If you enjoyed Where The Crawdads Sing and Unsettled Ground you'll enjoy this one.

This title will be released on 29th September 2022.
Thank you to Netgallwy and Fairlight books for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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To begin with, while the book description is accurate, it is deceptively simple. Starling is a complex character, raised wild and semi-feral in her thought processes. This is a result of having been brought up by Mar, someone who is an incredibly strong presence in the book. Mar's deep mistrust and avoidance of humans has rubbed off on Starling to the point where Starling also trusts no one. So when Mar abandons Starling without warning Starling is completely adrift and with nowhere to go and no one to turn to except for the childhood friend she hasn't seen for many years and whom she also feels abandoned by.

Starling is not always an easy person to like. Even knowing why she does the things she does it is hard to see her hurt others, sometimes unknowingly and other times intentionally. Being forced to live fully with other people for the first time in her life without Mar's judgemental presence helps Starling to see, for the first time, that perhaps Mar's perception of the wider world and those who live in it might not be entirely reliable.

This is a very insightful book with characters that get under your skin. One part of me hopes for a sequel, but the larger part wants to leave the story exactly where it ended and let my imagination continue to fire.

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Starling and her mother Mar have always lived off the land, travelling in their van, foraging, surviving. It’s been then two of them, until one day, Mar leaves while Starling is out gathering, and doesn’t leave a note. Starling, at 19, never been to school, never lived in a house, is on her own. Knowing that she doesn’t want to join society, she still ends up in a village, after having looked for her friend Luc, a childhood companion. There, Starling starts to figure out what she truly wants.

This was an interesting character portrait, though I have admit I raised my eyebrow several times when Starling was talking about wilderness…in the UK, which is not known for its bounty of untouched land. Starling is also very superior, crossing into the point of being obnoxious, for much of the book. I did end up appreciating her arc, though it could be draggy in places.

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I absolutely loved this book. My imagination ran away with me as I travelled the roads and slept outside with Starling. I found the book to be beautifully written. Such a heart warming story. I became emotional at times as this book really touched my soul. Please, Sarah Jane, write a sequel. I need to know Starling had a happy life.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful book.

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My Rating : 4.5⭐

“We are women who live needing nothing, needing no one. We are women who live in full connection with our mother earth. We will never betray her.”

Nineteen-year-old Starling has spent her life living off the grid with her mother traveling across the country in their camper van. Once part of a community of travelers, it has been a while that she and her mother have been on their own. As the story begins, we find them living in their van parked deep in the woods. Starling’s mother, Mar, is an artist whose paintings and artwork are often bartered for necessities. Though they have friends in the outside world and a community of fellow travelers that they have left behind, Mar is unwilling to be a part of any community - her fierce independence, preference for isolation and need for personal space override her social needs.

“This was Mar’s idea of heaven, a space under the trees with no one else for miles.”

Starling misses the friends she made in her “tribe” and is often tempted to contact them, (with a cell phone her mother does not know she possesses) but her love and loyalty toward her mother keep her from doing so.

“Starling had been leaving places all her life. Still, though, every time she arrived somewhere new she was like a sprig of mint in water–she couldn’t help but put out hopeful roots.”

Starling’s life changes when after a morning of foraging, she returns to their van only to find her mother gone. From what she can make out, her mother left with a packed bag and deliberately left her behind. After waiting for a few days only to be disappointed when her mother fails to return to the van, Starling ventures out on her own, braving the elements, walking and hitchhiking, initially hoping to find her mother in any of the few familiar places she might have gone to in the outside world but is unsuccessful in her search. She realizes, that for the first time in her life she is completely alone and must find a way to support herself. What follows is the story of a brave young girl, attempting to walk her own path and find her place in the world.

“Was she free now? Free to make her own life and find her own way? The world beyond the van was dirty and corrupt. It rejected her, as she rejected it.”

It took a while (almost the 30% mark) for me to adjust to the pace and structure of the narrative but after that point, I was absorbed in the story as it progressed and felt invested in Starling’s journey as she tries to make sense of her situation. The author eloquently describes Starling's thoughts, memories and her struggle to come to terms with her mother’s abandonment. We can feel how conflicted she is when experiences moments of happiness in a way of life that she has been conditioned to judge as wrong. At each point in her journey, we see Starling’s thoughts drift back to her life with her mother, and she is reminded constantly of the principles and convictions her mother has ingrained in her. (“People do not live in towns. They cling together, existing and no more, because they are afraid to live fully and freely as we do.”)The cynicism, distrust and commercialism she associates with life as a “townie” often holds her back from fully opening up to new experiences. She finds kindness but also experiences disillusionment, loss and disappointment – not knowing quite how to navigate her way around new people, places and emotions. In a corner of her heart, she harbors hope that her mother will return and they will be reunited. For the first time in her life she is alone , missing her mother, longing for friendship and a sense of belongingness on the one hand but also feeling suffocated and craving the solitude and sense of freedom living in the heart of nature afforded her.

“Starling wondered where she belonged now. Could she be woven into this place of streets and bricks and orange light, and people who let their plants die of thirst?”

Sarah Jane Butler’s prose is exquisite and her descriptions of nature are vivid and captivating. The author balances the poetic, descriptive writing in these segments with a retrained, often factual, style of storytelling (which, for some, might result in difficulty to connect with the character emotionally) when describing Starling’s thoughts and behavior. I found the narrative, which is presented to us from Starling’s perspective commensurate with the character and how she evolves through the course of the story. Given how Starling has been brought up in survival mode, its suits her character that her actions would be governed by her thoughts and convictions and lesser by her emotions, at least initially. Her emotional side comes into play gradually as she acclimatizes to her new circumstances. I also like that the author gives readers the space to figure out how they relate to the character and the story without overdoing it in terms of over-the-top sentimentalism or melodrama. In doing so , each of the characters comes across as well fleshed out and believable. Overall, I enjoyed “Starling “ by Sarah Jane Butler and would definitely be looking out for more by this author in the future.

Thank you, Sarah Jane Butler, Fairlight Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this beautifully –written novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Hard to believe that this is a debut novel, it is so well written, atmospheric and compelling….I am looking forward to the next one, so hurry up Sarah! The story appealed to me immediately and the cover of the novel is extremely good, it enables you to realise immediately what kind of story you are about to enjoy. It does, after finishing it, make me think that it is a young adults novel however and that is not a criticism as I am well over 60 and also enjoyed it, the sign of a really good writer who can appeal to all ages. Foraging is now becoming more popular and as a child I was taught to use foods from the wild by my mother, a Cornish country woman and very keen forager so already the subject matter appealed to me. I was not a fan of the ending!!!!
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

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I loved this book.
Its about Starling who wakes up one morning in a van in a field, and her mother, Mar, is gone.
Starling who has always lived with Mar, is sure that Mar will come back and waits for her in the van.
Mar doesn't come back.
The story unfolds to reveal that Mar and Starling were living off the land and taking care of the earth.

With Mar out of the way Starling must find her own way and path in the world.

The book is gorgeously written about Starlings thoughts, feelings, memories.
The author took her time to describe all of the animals and plants along the way, I Truly felt that I was walking the same earthen paths that Starling was.

This book is all about finding one's own path in life, while trying to discover the truth. Not everything you are told is true.

I would highly recommend reading this coming of age novel to everyone.

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*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

I so wanted to love this book, based as it is in the deep countryside, a setting that appeals to me deeply. The novel tells the story of Starling, a marginalised young woman who lives by her wits, immersed in the natural world of a Traveller. Starling has to work out what to do when Mar, her unconventional mother, leaves her without warning. The novel describes the journey and the choices Star has to make.
The descriptions and detail are lovely and reminiscent of the best bits of 'Where The Crawdads Sing''. But it took me a long time to get to know the main character and be really inside her head., which is exactly how I felt about 'Crawdads'. Unlike 'Crawdads', the characters are not stereotypical and 'Starling' does not descend into melodrama. But there seemed to be a lot of telling and not enough showing and I felt strangely detached from much of the action. I would have liked more dialogue early on to overcome the distance I felt between myself as the reader and the protagonist.

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