Dolly Parton, a woman who we can all agree is unequivocally herself (and her best self, at that), once advised to "find out who you are and do it on purpose." I mention this not because Little Bird is about country singers or Tennessee, but because author Tiffany Meuret has so completely embodied this advice. Little Bird is a book that is itself, on purpose, and I am thoroughly impressed.

Little Bird is an odd book. It's the kind of odd that's the unique product of a single person's mind--not a committee, not some genre-regurgitation cabal churning out Tolkien-likes, and maybe not even a Big Five publisher. Tiffany Meuret has written a moving story of grief and alcoholism through the medium of...a talking skeleton, semi-sentient vines, and a very food-motivated Chihuahua.

See? Odd. But it works. Josie is a customer relations consultant, a job for which she has a kind of weary but amused contempt. She performs it remotely, alone in her house but for her little dog Po. She wants this to be enough, but it isn't, and she knows it. She drinks too much and avoids every attempt at non-work interaction, icing out her neighbor Sue as well as her mother and her ex-husband. The only person who might have been able to break through to her was her father, but he passed away and left Josie walled in with her grief.

Josie's anger and sadness are palpable as she tries and fails to address her problems. Most poignant is the way she knows she has issues, but all her resolutions to improve collapse like wet cardboard at the enormity of her sadness. This self-defeat might be frustrating in some other book, but Meuret makes it agonizingly clear how these patterns aren't annoyances but traps, deep pits that Josie can't seem to get out of, even though she dug most of them herself.

It helps that Josie's bitterness has made her snarky. She's funny, and it's hard not to be impressed by her wild defiance, even if the bravery is a thin front for her larger self-destructive impulses. And she'll need it, because into this tightly-controlled mess comes...plants. An explosion of strange vines that seem weirdly aware of what's going on around them start to spill over the bounds of her property. And worse, in the wake of the proliferation of flora is a human skeleton who retains some bizarrely human traits, like the ability to speak, and think, and sass Josie right back.

The skeleton--whose name, delightfully, is Skelly--has some decidedly super-human abilities, though. Her power is obscure but extensive, and she wants something from Josie. It's not even big! She just wants a story.

What story can Josie possibly tell after getting stuck in the same routines in the same house? How can she say anything of consequence through the static of alcohol and the deep silences of grief? She doesn't know. But she has three days to figure it out while even weirder things start happening.

I'd like to tell you that Josie is a postmodern Scheherazade, but that's not what this is about. I'd also maybe consider saying that this is some kind of Gandalf-at-Bilbo's-door thing, but...no, not really that. Is it horror, because of the overly persistent skeleton? Hm, no. What is this book? How can it so thoroughly defy every expectation?

I'm not saying there are no discernable influences or themes. Little Bird clearly wasn't produced in a vacuum. But in this era when art is more accessible and digestible than ever before, it's rare to find a novel that isn't iterating on those themes. Talking skeletons usually belong in the bad guy's camp, or at least in books about necromancy.

It's also not that Little Bird is flawless. I was skeptical at some of the leaps Josie made in interpreting some of Skelly's actions, and I'm left with some questions about what Josie's purpose going forward will be.

However, none of this really detracts from the fact that this book is good. It’s one of the most deliriously, relentlessly, defiantly unique books I’ve read in a long time. It resists tidiness. It resists categorization. Little Bird is itself, as hard as it can, on purpose.

What a creepy cover! This storyline had me gripped and I raced through it...well worth reading :) I can't wait to read more from this author!

Look, I may be biased but this book has a talking skeleton and so it gets five stars from me. I'm easy to please.

LITTLE BIRD by Tiffany Meuret is a delightfully weird little speculative tale with a sweet dog named Po, a plant-magic skeleton named Skelly, and a messy MC named Josie who's got an existential crisis and a drinking problem. Her life is falling apart, is Skelly here to help or a symptom?

The story sucked me in and kept me turning pages even after I was supposed to have turned out the light. Meuret's writing delves darkly into the heart of grief and trauma, of broken families and broken hearts. And there's just the right amount of black humor to carry readers through to the ultimately satisfying conclusion. Oh yeah, and sentient plants.

LITTLE BIRD is out on June 7th. Thank you Black Spot Books for the eARC!

For as unique and intriguing as this book was, I'm finding I don't have a lot to say about it. The premise was a lot of fun, the cast was kooky in a great way, the idea of a story-within-a-story is always something I'm here for, and the fantasy elements were intriguing. I also found myself relating with Josie at times, whether it be her apathy for customer service or her small dog who is always hungry. But somehow, all of the elements didn't come together to make something I loved, and I don't know why!

Well, it was a disappointing read for me. At first, it quite hooked me up with Josie background story, Po the dog, and the mysterious house next to Josie’s house whose owner is constantly changing and never stays there for long. And then the thing with the talking skeleton and living ivy-like vines creeping up everywhere. But then the story getting nowhere and boring. I kept waiting for something to happen but there’s nothing. I don't even know how it categorized as horror, when in fact it was just strange and kinda funny (?) at some points with every conversation between Josie and the skeleton. In the end, I feel that the whole story is basically about a person who has no friends, and everyone close to her leaves her. Then she 'make friends' with a talking skeleton. And a lot of their conversations feel like talking to a therapist.

I loved how the story flowed and the imagery was so vivid! Meuret wrote a relatable character who goes thrillingly good book. I loved the interactions between Josie and Skelly, honestly these scenes kept me hooked and immersed in this tale. Little Bird is a short read that packs a punch. I will be buying a physical copy for my shelves as soon as I can!



Thank you to Netgalley and Black Spot Books for a copy of this book. Pub date June. 07, 2022

Josie is recently divorced and grieving the loss of her father. With the company of only her dog and a nosy neighbor, she turns to drinking until she wakes up one day to find a plant which starts small, but eventually takes over her yard and Skelly, a skeleton in the middle of the vines, is revealed. A creepy story with an interesting narrator.

Thank you to Netgalley/publisher/author for an advanced copy of this book!

This was a weird one and I really enjoyed it!! It was creepy but with great characters!

There were times I felt like not much happened outside of the main house however I was still eager to see what happened! I loved both the main characters and would deffo recommend this to my friends!

Also the cover.. stunning!!

The cover grabbed me from the very beginning. This was a quick and fun read. It was different than books I have read in the past. The story was so different and the characters are definitely memorable. Such a fun read!

This is an interesting read. I don’t think I’ve read one like it in a while. It was interesting, but at times I felt like nothing was going on and then at other times, I felt like a lot was happening all at once. I did get a little confused at times, but I was invested so continued on. I would say that I wasn’t expecting that ending though.

For starters, the cover art is so stunning, and the story inside is beautifully crafted, and very spooky. This is unlike anything else I have ever read. I love how well it flows, and how well the dialogue between Josie, Skelly, and Sue is written. This is an engaging read from start to finish!


Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The book is about Josie, Po, Skelly and Sue. Josie is grieving the lose of her father and the end of her marriage and holds herself up in her house, with vodka; she's a bit of a mess. Po, is her cute little pup keeping Josie company. Sue is her nosie neighbor. And Skelly... just the talking skeleton that lives on Josies back fence.

I really enjoyed the interactions between Josie and Skelly. And the atmosphere of this book was really creepy, and cool. While there wasn't much going on outside of her house and backyard I was completely invested in what would happen next. The ended was not something I saw coming which I enjoyed.

I always enjoy werid stories, but this one I wanted to give me more weird, bazaar, out there things than I was getting. In the end I did give it 3.5 because it captivated me the whole way through.

Thank you to NetGally for the eACR

I give every book 50 pages to see if I want to go ahead with the story or, dnf it and get on with the next book. This book put me off on a 20 page line. May be this book is not for me.

Thank you for the eARC, Tiffany Meuret and NetGalley.

I didn't really understand what was going on because I mentally checked out with all of the repetition. I like weirder stories, but this just wasn't for me.

This was a strange one … I’m not even sure how to review it. I didn’t hate it, but I also didn’t like it. The writing style was a bit different, the story was decent but slightly odd, and it just wasn’t the best horror book I’ve read. Quite average, thus the three-star rating.

a v weird book!!! the premise kind of set me up for what i was expecting but i was still surprised at all the twists and turns it took and i really enjoyed the writing!!

•Quick Read
•Weird story
•repetitive

Main character Josie is recently divorced. Grieving her deceased father and living alone with her pet Chihuahua named Po. Josie has her own online business where she deals with her customers’ customers. She’s pretty introverted and enjoys her life of isolation until a mysterious talking skeleton arrives in her backyard almost at the same time a new neighbor moves in.

Has Josie‘s drinking gotten so out of control she’s hallucinating the mysterious crap happening in her own backyard? What kind of advice can her you creepy neighbor give her? And why the heck is it happening to her?

This book was definitely one of my more stranger reads. I personally wouldn’t go as far as to re-read it but I’m glad to have read it through once as my curiosity got the best of me. Also must say the cover is adorably awesome it even features little Po! Overall a decent story and quick enough read it’s not much wasted time if you end up not enjoying it.

A great unexpected read, not like anything I had ever read before. Really got my imagination going. Look forward to reading more from this author!

Reading this feels like incessant head noise that you can't escape. I didn't see the point of the story, nor did I enioy it at all.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thought it was going to be scary, but it wasn't. I did enjoy it though. And the cover is gorgeous.