Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen is a quick read about grief and found family. Written in a way that is both accessible and quirky, Allen tells us the story of many characters living on a fictional (but mostly realistic) island near Charleston, SC. If you are from or love that area, the descriptions in this novel will almost certainly appeal to you. 

Zoey is our main character. She is 19 and is returning to the island that she has been to but has no memories of. Her mother died 12 years ago, and Zoey is going to live in her mother's old apartment- a condo at the Dellawisp. The Dellawisp is an interesting place with a few long time residents and some newer arrivals. In this book, we read from the perspective of almost all of them. Allen swiftly changes perspectives so you'll need to read closely to follow those shifts- something I both enjoyed and found confusing. 

Charlotte is another central character in this book, one of the newer arrivals to the Dellawisp. I loved her storyline with her past trauma and what she was running from. There are also other characters- Mac, a chef, Oliver, the 20 something son of Lizbeth who dies early in the book, Lucy, Lizbeth's reclusive sister, and Frasier, the elderly landlord of the Dellawisp. And of course, there are the ghosts. 

I liked how this book played with magical realism and the idea/reality of ghosts. What I didn't like is the very serious topics that were brought up in the final third of the book and in my opinion not properly explored. I was especially disappointed when the final chapter introduced new conflict but not for the purpose of an open ending. It felt like something that could have been fleshed out or alluded to earlier on for more cohesion. 

Overall, I think this book is enjoyable and endearing but I also see lots of room for Allen's future books to improve. I'm eager to read from her again in the future.