April Davila

Our protagonist, Tallulah Jones is confronted, right from the start, with the sudden death of Grandma Helen, with whom she lives and shares the operation of an ostrich farm. Not wanting to remain on the farm, even prior to Grandma's death, Tallulah immediately negotiates the sale of the farm and ostriches. Family drama, estrangements, addictions and ostrich stress and resentment could put the sale in jeopardy.
The thing that makes this family drama stand out from every other family drama are the ostriches. They are adorable and humanlike without being cartoonish. At Grandma Helen's farm they are given names and treated more as pets in return for their eggs but to another farme they are just an asset.
Tallulah and her family and friends can fend for themselves but what will become of the likes of Abigail and Theo?!… (mais)

Young, self-doubting woman from dysfunctional family making bad choices. Must save the farm. Quirky townspeople providing support in surprising ways.

Sound familiar? Yes, we've all seen this movie, read this book countless times.

I was hoping the ostriches would add originality to a formulaic plot. Admittedly, the best writing in the book was about the ostriches. But at the end of the day, they were little more than a plot device. You could easily substitute a beloved horse farm, cattle farm or even an exotic animal zoo to tell the same story.

This book should appeal to lovers of Robin Carr's Virgin River series (although Carr's heroine, while self doubting, manages to move the plot forward with a lot less whining along the way).

Can this formula be elevated to five stars? Try Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams and see what you think.… (mais)