*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although I'm quite squeamish, I have been fascinated by the art of taxidermy and the mindset behind such an artistic medium since reading English Animals last year. This beautiful cover instantly drew me in and when I learned it was written in verse, I just had to pick it up. 

I ended up reading this in one sitting. As it is written in verse, each section is quite short and there are illustrations such as those on the cover that break up the story also.

This is quite a sad read. A lot of Lottie's experiences and interests revolve around death and there are many instances of quite grotesque animal imagery throughout. However, I didn't find that off-putting at all. I enjoyed the way that the author used Lottie's interest in taxidermy to contrast with her aunt's societal expectations of her as a woman. The discussion surrounding the concept of taxidermy and whether it is morbid or wrong in some way were fascinating. On the other hand, I felt like I would have liked a little bit more from these discussions, particularly the idea of gender and what types of jobs are "proper" for a woman to be interested in compared to a man.

Overall, I liked this book. It was a quick read that I read in one sitting and I would definitely read something else by this author again in the future. If you like novels written in verse, I would recommend you give this a go.

The Art of Taxidermy is about a girl who is fascinated by dead animals, which may be because of the past deaths of her sister and mother. While I'm not particularly a fan of books in verse, since I think they lack the depth and description of an actual novel, I was fairly pleased with this story. The Art of Taxidermy had a good message that I could get even from the few words that are in this book. I loved the fact that the main character made a career out of her interest in the deceased at the end. I also thought it was satisfying that she came to terms with the deaths of two of her family members.

The Art of Taxidermy was a quick read, but it was worth my time. In fact, this is one of the better poetry novels I've gotten through. I recommend this book to those who like books in verse-- and even those who don't.

This novella written in free verse is about a family dealing with multiple deaths; the beauty of the prose is juxtaposed to the heartache and loss of this family’s lives. The young daughter, Lottie, is twelve when we first meet her. She has no one left in her immediate family but her father, although her Aunt Hilda helps to take care of her. Lottie is obsessed with the dead creatures she finds in the Australian outback, and wants to be a taxidermist. But it is not because she is morbid; rather, she sees taxidermy as a way to bring back the dead from the edge of decay. “The revival and re-creation of something that has expired,” she maintains, “is an honour and a gift.” She imagined, she said, all the dead “coming to life with the magic of taxidermy . . .”

Moreover, she muses:

“In those delicate
bones and teeth
were the elements
and minerals
of stars and stardust
and all of the people
I ever loved.”

Her Aunt Hilda tries to steer Lottie to pursuits “more appropriate” for girls. But Lottie loves science even beyond the psychological balm that taxidermy provides her. It is an uphill struggle to convince Lottie, but at least her father, a scientist himself, eventually supports her. First, however, he has to get a handle on his own grief.

The language is often lovely and evocative, as with these passages:

“We arrived home beneath a sickle moon and faint suburban stars.”

“Her body is bent, her arms thin. Like a cubist rendition of herself, all squares, rectangles, triangles.”

Evaluation: This is a quiet little book, with its appeal sneaking up on you as you get caught up in the rhythms and images of natural life in Australia:

“Today the trees are full of flowers
and parrots.
Rainbow, musk and little lorikeets
hang from branches
like gaudy clowns,
squawking and chattering
as they strip the flowering gums . . . ”

Juxtaposed to “the bone-heavy ache of grief,” the blazing colors and warmth of the Outback that Lottie celebrates helps mitigate the darker colors of repeated loss, and lifts the mood of this gem of a book.

This is a very beautiful novel. It's a story about a young girl struggling with death and a fascination for taxidermy. The writing is very poetic and flowing, and makes for easy reading. This is a quick read, but will leave you thinking about it.

The book has pretty illustrations that add to the story. A small warning for if you have trouble with detailed descriptions of dead animals, it's not too intense in my opinion but if you're squeamish easily, this might not be a book for you.

The Art of Taxidermy is a verse novel about death, grief and how we cope with losing loved ones. After her mother's death the young protagonist Lottie tries to remedy her grief through collecting dead birds and small animals she finds by the roadside and in fields, trying to preserve them. She sees their death as beautiful, her aunt however sees her obsession as weird and unhealthy. We follow Lottie through her everyday life, watch her befriend a boy from her class (another outsider) and lose her companion Annie. There are surprising revelations and moments of deep, profound sadness in this book - a story of death and loss told through Lottie, her taxidermy and her family history (Germans who emigrated to Australia during World War II) before the bad things are eventually transformed into something beautiful. It was a pretty good read, although it felt a little underwhelming at times. The writing is poetic and almost dream-like, I'm not sure why it was written in verse though. Apart from a certain cadence to the words, I don't think the verse actually added much to the book.

Thank you to Text Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.

Unfortunately this book was just not for me. I loved that it was written in verse, that's very unique these days. But the story line itself just did not captivate me. Charlotte was a dull character who dealt with grief and battled against her Aunt Hilda who wished she could be a normal girl. The details were another good point in this book as they painted wonderful pictures for the readers. I do believe others will enjoy this book and I wish it luck!

What instantly drew me to The Art Of Taxidermy was the unique poetic verse the author uses to create a beautiful tale of loss, and understanding. Within the passing of a loved one the main character unknowingly seeks understanding through her curiosity of wildlife, and the structural body. With the wide eyed innocence of a child oblivious as to why her actions are considered strange it resonated on a personal level. The supportive role her father portrayed was refreshing, and heartwarming as he subtly encourages his daughter, and her inquisitive nature into the world of science without ever for a second pausing to acknowledge the societal pressure.

A beautiful story of a girl processing grief.

The book is written in verse, which is something I did not expect, but absolutely loved.

The writing is beautiful and lyrical. The story will tug at your heartstrings and give you a different view of how people process death and grief differently.

I really liked this book. It was very dark and heavy, with death as the biggest topic, but it was also beautifully written and you felt deeply for the main character, Charlotte, and her family. They have a tragic past as refugees from Germany during the war and they have lost both friends and family members - Charlotte's mother included.

Charlotte is confused about death and since the adults won't explain it to her, it makes sense that it occupies her mind and she turns to taxidermy to try and resurrect the dead. As I said, the writing is beautiful and usually novels written in verse is a hit or miss for me, but this time it matched the theme and emotional content so well. My only slightly negative point is that after the first half of the book, my interest slowly decreased as it began to feel a little repetitive. However, it was a beautiful story with a haunting atmosphere and I truly liked it. Also, that cover? Stunning.

I loved that this book isn’t written like a normal book almost like poetry about a young girl finding the beauty in death

The Art of Taxidermy is a novel written in free verse about grief and loss and death, and its depiction of these topics is so raw and honest. There's a lot of morbidity in this book--how could there not be when it's about amateur taxidermy?--but ultimately it offers optimism and healing and the idea that life can come from death, in a way. The Art of Taxidermy is real and beautifully written. 

One of the things I appreciated about this book is that it discusses the complexities of grief and how much it can twist your entire world upside down. After the death of her mother and sister, Lottie develops a morbid fascination with dead animals. It doesn't stem from violence; it stems from her need to understand death. 

There's lots of interesting discussions of binary thinking in this book: masculinity vs. femininity, death vs. life, black vs. white, and the author tries to break these down through showing Lottie's opposition to her aunt, who keeps trying to steer her away from her fascination with science and dead animals and onto more "girlish" things like sewing (but unknowingly gives her the tools to proceed in amateur taxidermy). Lottie gives life to dead animals through trying to preserve them. Also, her friendship with an Australian Aboriginal boy factors into this as well, but a he's a minor character in the whole scheme of things. 

Even though this book was beautifully written and raised a lot of interesting questions, I didn't find myself interested in what was going on most of the time. A lot of the book seems repetitive--Lottie sees dead animals, brings them home, and her aunt gets angry at her and her father encourages her. While this is meant to show a longstanding fascination with death it gets tiring after a while. 

All in all I think this is a well-written free-verse book that will probably be enjoyed by those who like poetry and words more than the plot and characters.

This book....was special.
It isn't your typical novel. It's almost like a poem, or a journal entry. A young girl thinking about death, connecting to it that makes her family members think she's gone mad. Keeping dead animals around, taking photos of them...it's not normal...for some. When your mother and sister have died, and you wonder why, and can't really move on from it, the only way you can have peace is to resurrect the dead. Taxidermy comes in. Even wearing of clothes and jewelry, keeping the room the dead have lived in..all part of the process.

What instantly drew me to The Art Of Taxidermy was the unique poetic verse the author uses to create a beautiful tale of loss, and understanding. Within the passing of a loved one the main character unknowingly seeks understanding through her curiosity of wildlife, and the structural body. With the wide eyed innocence of a child oblivious as to why her actions are considered strange it resonated on a personal level. The supportive role her father portrayed was refreshing, and heartwarming as he subtly encourages his daughter, and her inquisitive nature into the world of science without ever for a second pausing to acknowledge the societal pressure.

Set within Australia it was wonderful to see the scenery brought to life through imagery, and in some cases prompting further research into particular species, and greenery. With a diverse cast of characters who resonate deeply, and a historical past that took the reader by surprise - the novel left in it's wake thought provoking questions.

Highly recommend for those who love poetry, and vivid imagery. It is not a tale for the faint of heart, and delves seamlessly into deep conversational topics within a few pages. Breaking the mold of young adult literature; it is exactly what our day in age requires as prejudice, assumptions, and sexism prevails.

Thank you Text Publishing for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A heartbreaking verse novel about love and death, grief and beauty, and the very individual ways we make sense of it all.
Lottie, the daughter of German migrants, develops a fascination for death after losing her mother at a young age. When Lottie begins collecting dead animals, her aunt tries to redirect her energies into more 'feminine' activities. But her father encourages her interest, recognizing a scientist's curiosity.

4.5 Stars

so this book is a book I would normally go for because it's a verses book and I've not had much luck with them in the past, but this one really changed my mind about the style of writing. I loved this book. I am a slow reader and this book only took me 4 days to read, it was very fast paced and intriguing. I loved the main character Lottie as she reminds me a bit like myself, as a person that loves forensic science and has qualifications in the study, this book really appealed to me, I a not a big fan of taxidermy but through this book I have learnt quite a lot about it, and it really isn't much different from autopsies of a human. I feel like this is the reason I got on well with this book and why I really enjoyed it.

The plot of the book was great, and the parts of history, mentioning the war and indigenous tribes and parts about Egypt and Egyptians. I really learnt a lot in this book, like different names or bones and body parts that I actually didn't know the name of, I learnt about different species of birds that I didn't know existed.
overall this book is amazing, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in science.

A few of my favourite quotes:
"decomposition akin to art,
the shrivelled limbs,
the shrunken shoulders and chest,
the exposed clavicle,
the long ropey necks,
the perfectly preserved ear,
the missing nose,
the full head of hair crowning the withered face."

"She has a scientist's heart. It is in the genes. She is curious and she is bright."

"The man in the coffin did not resemble my uncle. the essence of him had gone. His spirit had gone, and in his place a prostrate lifeless statue lay"

Thank you to NetGalley, Sharon Kernot, and Text Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Two things drew me to request this novel: the fact that it is written in a poetic format, and my own odd interest in taxidermy. When I taught 8th grade, one of the stories taught in the short story unit is Roald Dahl's "The Landlady," a creepy story in which the Landlady of a bed and breakfast keeps her guests...forever! It's a fun creepy tale that introduces students to taxidermy, and they love it.

The Art of Taxidermy doesn't have the same creepy feel, but more a childhood curiosity into keeping animals after death. After Lottie's mother dies, the little girl has a strange fascination with death. She collects dead animals, takes pictures of death things, and writes poems about death. She is living in Australia, but her family is from Germany, which already makes her more of an outcast, so why not collect dead creatures on top of that?

Lottie's aunt does not approve of this hobby, and even goes so far as to throw away or burn Lottie's collection, saying it's not normal, especially for a young girl. When Lotie's aunt tries to coax her into thinking of a career in nursing, Lottie denies any interest. She wants to do one thing and one thing only when she grows up: be a taxidermist at the local museum. After getting a chance to learn and practice with the museum taxidermist, she knows that's what is right for her, and her father supports her interest. Who cares if a boy would never want to marry a girl who stuffs dead things? Lottie knows who she is and what she wants to do, and her father will support that.

I love the message of this book. Death can be made beautiful in an artistic way. Also, encouraging youth to follow what they are interested in, rather than telling them they shouldn't be interested in this or that, is one of the reasons why I am a teacher. To foster every young person and help them find their interest, no matter where that interest may lay (as long as they aren't putting themselves or others in danger, of course). I love books written in a poetic style. They are a quick read and always quite enjoyable as to how they are structured. While the poetic verse of Ellen Hopkins will (probably) always be my favorite, Sharon Kernot has a beautiful way of presenting a tale through imagery in poetic verse, and I would love to see something like this from this author in future!

A beautiful novel a special novel a novel in verse.Full of loss emotion heart ache beautiful writing a very special read,@netgalley @textpublishiing.

Amazing. Just amazing from beginning to end. For anyone who has ever had an interest in the macabre but felt like they were abnormal because of it, this novel is for you. Sharon Kernot’s writing is stunningly gorgeous. Charlotte sounds like a genuine 12 year old, not someone who’s written by an adult who thinks they remember what it’s like to be 12, and that’s such a rare quality to find in authors who write literary pieces about adolescents and kids.

I could say so much more about this book, but I don’t want to give any of it away. Fellow deathlings can most definitely relate to Charlotte’s journey, and I can’t wait to see what else Sharon Kernot writes.

I have really been enjoying novels in verse lately, and this one was no different. It's so beautifully told with a gorgeous examination of grief that I found relatable and poignant. I greatly appreciated this book and look forward to more from the author.

This is my first ever verse novel and I have to admit I was a bit sceptical at first, but I ended up liking this story a lot! It’s beautifully written and the language evokes images as well as smells and sounds of the Australian flora and fauna. I love how the story unfolds, slowly but achingly steadily. There is so much emotion in the relatively few words. I will definitely recommend this to others.

I found this to be a beautiful novel about death and grief and the importance of loved ones and taxidermy (which I find fascinating). It is written in verse instead of your traditional novel format. This really is a touching and lovely book.