This was a very good book. It was well-written. I would highly recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

An absolutely stunning book. It does such a good job at introducing thoughts about communicating with animals. I went into it a little worried about whether I'd understand any scientific language in this novel, instead I found Amelia Thomas's writing style very humourful and accessible to any reader. Despite that, her writing is also very deep and meaningful. I may have cried at some points through the novel, especially towards the end.

Some of what's in this novel, I've learned through my own research and curiosity of nature (always been a nature nerd, I mean...I apparently knew all the Latin names for birds of prey in my home country by age 4) however there are theories and experiments here that I'd love to learn and give a try.

I think what I like most about this novel is how many different perspectives Amelia Thomas has in this book. for a non-fiction book, it expresses a great variety of opinions and that's what makes this book feel rich with authenticity.

Once again, this book is a great one. I'd happily read from Amelia Thomas again.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers and the author for giving me this ARC in exchange for review.

This was a decent and fun read. It was cute overall, but felt like it didn't have a good sense of direction. You are relaxing on the author's farm, interacting with these animals, then pushed into an in depth conversation with some expert, then back on the farm. I guess the writing just didn't feel super cohesive to me. I think I expected a bit more of the science/animal behavior aspect to be delved into (think: An Immense World by Ed Yong). That being said, the farm stories were delightful and I appreciated the author's curiosities (I'm glad I'm not the only one who wonders about these random things!).

3 stars.

This was such a calm, thoughtful read. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but there’s something really soothing about the way Amelia Thomas observes animals. It made me think about how much we underestimate them. (especially sheep in this book)

The writing was jumpy for my taste though, one moment you're in a cozy farm story, then suddenly there's a quote or a random study, then back to a conversation. It felt a little all over the place. Honestly, it made me a bit sleepy at times.

But, I learned many fun facts. My favorite? Sheep yawn when other sheep yawn. Just like us humans. I don’t know why that delighted me so much, but it did.

This was a very odd and fun read! I enjoyed seeing how Amelia Thomas went about studying and trying to understand the chaotic language of animals! Multiple perspectives, many many many different experts with various thought patterns, and some extensive curiosities.


In the end you will wonder....What are animals trying to tell us?

4 stars