2022 book 118

 Sarah Addison Allen's Other Birds

I generally enjoy this author's stuff; she tends to write southern fiction with a tinge of magical realism. This falls into that category but feels less “women's fiction”-y, focusing less on romance and relatives and more on an eccentric found family (though there is still a hint of romance). The central character is young Zoey, who’s moved into her long-dead mother's condo on a small South Carolina island (known for its candy scene), where she’s determined to befriend the other residents. Except then one dies. And also Zoey has an invisible bird. And also there are a bunch of ghosts hanging around (several of the ghosts are POV characters). I really liked the characters here, and their friendships and kindnesses, but all the plot reveals are very obvious, and the end felt really rushed. I wanted the second half to have a little more room to breathe. (My ARC also had an error where one character starts a new job, but then several chapters later finds out about said job and is then hired, so I hope that got corrected.) Still, a pleasant read, and a good one to add to the cozy fantasy lists. (Oh, except, content warning for very vague references to child sexual abuse, so maybe not.) B+.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.