142 Ostriches

By: April Davila

Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen

Set against the unexpected splendor of an ostrich ranch in the California desert, April Dávila's beautifully written debut conjures an absorbing and compelling heroine in a story of courage, family, and forgiveness.

When Tallulah Jones was 13, her grandmother plucked her from the dank Oakland apartment she shared with her unreliable mom and brought her to the family ostrich ranch in the Mojave Desert. After 11 years caring for the curious, graceful birds, Tallulah accepts a job in Montana and prepares to leave home. But when Grandma Helen dies under strange circumstances, Tallulah inherits everything - just days before the birds inexplicably stop laying eggs.

Guarding the secret of the suddenly barren birds, Tallulah endeavors to force through a sale of the ranch, a task that is complicated by the arrival of her extended family. Their designs on the property, and deeply rooted dysfunction, threaten Tallulah's ambitions and eventually her life. With no options left, Tallulah must pull her head out of the sand and face the 50-year legacy of a family in turmoil: the reality of her grandmother's death, her mother's alcoholism, her uncle's covetous anger, and the 142 ostriches whose lives are in her hands.

©2020 April Davila (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

The care and feeding of ostriches

The ostriches were the best part of this story. The human characters were alternately too abrasive, too evil or too good to be true. And there was one glaring plot point that was left unanswered, which is a big negative.

Connection and compassion

This story reminds you of the choices we make and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. It confronts ideas of family, adventure, and expectation, while exploring grief through the eyes of our animal companions. I absolutely loved it, and each of the ostriches.

Compelling, engaging, entertaning

I truly love it when you find a book that you just want to keep listening to all day. The character of Tallulah is someone I loved spending time with, gritty and tough. The story kept me riveted throughout. I never knew what was going to happen next. It felt like real people, real emotions, real conflict. And an ostrich ranch. Wrangling ostriches. This was something new and fascinating. I can't wait for the next April Davila novel.

Ms Mollo-Christensen, the narrator is very good. Her performance added to the enjoyment of the book, so much so that I will be looking for other work of hers.

Too basic

The authors writing style is unsophisticated. The characters point of view is repeated on nausea such that I felt it insulted the reader that we were in capable of remembering the first time when the character expressed their feelings. I don’t recommend it 

I liked it, not all that surprised by ending

It was okay... The narrator's whispered voice drove me crazy, but I eventually was able to get past it.

I loved knowing a bit more about ostriches and empathize how difficult farm life is. I