I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen | Goodreads Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen | Goodreads

Allen’s gift for whimsical, poetic language, makes Other Birds one of our most-anticipated books for 2022. You’re going to want to read this one with your book club.”—Reader's Digest

Zoey Hennessey, almost 19, has just relocated from Tulsa to Mallow Island, on the coast of South Carolina. She has inherited her mother’s condo there and will be staying until she starts school in the Fall in Charleston. Zoey is 18 and right out of high school when she comes to claim her mother’s condo at the Dellawisp, on Mallow Island off of Charleston, SC. Zoey’s a bit of an oddball, with an invisible parrot as her only friend. She sets out to meet her neighbors, including a chef, a henna artist, the condo manager and two reclusive old sisters. Oh, and the place is also haunted by ghosts that are bound to the various individuals. On the other side of the country, a young man finds himself without a job or means and decides to return home. In spite of some hardships while growing up, Zoey seems to be a preternaturally positive person. Upon hearing a bit about the other residents of the adjoining condos, she is anxious to meet them. Soon after Zoey’s arrival, one of the residents, Lizbeth, is found dead. Her estranged sister Lucy lives in the same building, along with a chef named Mac (who is always covered in corn meal), and Charlotte, a henna artist. Frasier asks Zoey to clean out Lizbeth’s condo (Lizbeth had a serious hoarding problem). Addison transported me to Mallow Island. I not only felt like I was in another place while reading this but also that I was in another time. Magical realism is woven throughout seamlessly, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. The dellawisps, the island, and all of the characters warmed my heart. Food also plays a special role in this story and unites the characters.

Sarah Addison Allen Sarah Addison Allen

With a dash of her signature magic, Allen dishes up a touching story that hits the sweet spot between heartache and healing. This story was a great break from heavier reads, and I quite savored it! I loved the last chapter and found it to be an excellent way to end the story. There are whimsical birds, magical cornmeal, and love just waiting to be found. Spending the time to read this book was both poignant and delightful. I just love this authors books and this one was a long time coming. Well worth the wait.

There are several other characters, including a famous author, some who bond with Zoey over time, and some stories from the past, as well. There’s the grief of loss, but there is also the magic of healing, and families created from love, sprinkled with a touch of magical realism. She was here in his office with him and he sensed her impatience, like she was wondering where something was.The ability to sense the dead was handed down. His grandfather had not fared well with it and took to drink to drown out the spirits. They have served Frasier in some positive ways. A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Made famous by Roscoe Avanger’s legendary novel Sweet Mallow, quaint Mallow Island, South Carolina, proves a welcome respite for Zoey Hennessey. With her inattentive father and stepmother’s eagerness to convert her bedroom into a crafting oasis, the 18-year-old decided to leave her home in Tulsa to spend the summer before college at her late mother’s old studio on the island. She hopes that the condo, located at the horseshoe-shaped Dellawisp complex, will unearth memories of Paloma, who died 12 years ago in a car accident. Joining Zoey is her imaginary bird, Pigeon, and when they arrive, Zoey is disappointed to discover few traces of her mother…though her new environment proves anything but lonely. Maintained by the elderly Frasier, who is constantly tailed by turquoise dellawisp birds, the condos house a hodgepodge of colorful neighbors, including the burly redheaded chef Mac; the guarded, henna-covered artist Charlotte; the paper-hoarding busybody Lizbeth and her chain-smoking recluse sister, Lucy. When Lizbeth unexpectedly dies the first night of Zoey’s stay, Frasier asks Zoey to clean out her neighbor’s cluttered home. With Charlotte’s help, Zoey is determined to understand the secrets of this eccentric woman, but she soon realizes that Lizbeth may not be the only Dellawisp resident haunted by the past. Allen weaves together an intriguing mystery, following each resident of Dellawisp as they navigate loss and love and uncover what is true and what is real. Charlotte’s story in particular stands out; once beholden to her parents’ religious cult, she hesitates to trust Zoey’s innocence and Mac’s selflessness. Allen breathes life into her characters, those living and those in between, and fashions a narrative that imparts a powerful belief in everlasting memory:“Stories aren’t fiction. Stories are fabric. They’re the white sheets we drape over our ghosts so we can see them.”

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen - Publishers Weekly Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen - Publishers Weekly

When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment on a tiny South Carolina island, she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors — including a girl on the run, two estranged middle-aged sisters, a lonely chef, a legendary writer, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.There are birds, and then there are other birds. Maybe they don’t sing. Maybe they don’t fly. Maybe they don’t fit in. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be an other bird than just the same old thing.”-------------------------------------- “If the people around you don’t love you just as you are, find new people. They’re out there.”What happens to the untold stories? Two of my grandparents were in vaudeville at some point, yet I know almost nothing about that. Any materials passed down found their way to relations other than me, to my aunt’s family perhaps, or maybe through my mother to my older sibs, sisters in particular. I had always intended to speak with my sister Loretta about Grandma Anna, but she passed away before I got to it. The wages of procrastination, and surprise illnesses in old age. What happened to that story? What was my grandmother’s life like when she was in Show Biz? What artifacts might there be from that era that might tell us something? I expect I will never know. What happens to that history? Does it cease to exist if no one remembers? Is it not our duty as children, grandchildren, descendants, to keep alive something of our family heritage? Because whether we are aware of the events of prior eras or not, they have had an impact on us. History ripples forward in time and we are all riding its waves or are swamped by them. WADDELL, EALISH (2008-06-11). "The Sugar Queen (review)". Florida Weekly . Retrieved 3 November 2013. There are some excellent twists, and some mysteries to solve, like who is that shadowy figure who keeps showing up overnight at the Dellawisp and breaking into the condos? Long-held secrets are revealed. And some long-suppressed family stories are brought out into the light.