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April Dávila’s first novel is wise, moving and beautifully rendered…[Tallulah] is a young woman faced with difficult choices in her quest to rise above the perils of familial dysfunction. The result, Dávila’s stellar debut, is infused with richly drawn characters, tightly focused suspense and authentic detail about farm and desert life. A deeply moving story about a young woman who inherits an ostrich ranch and must fight family strife and dysfunction. (Read the full review on Shelf-Awareness.com)
– Shelf Awareness
In Davila’s vivid, uplifting debut, a free-spirited woman navigates her obligations to a dysfunctional family… The fascinating details of operating an ostrich ranch elevate this family tale… (Read the full review on the Publisher’s Weekly website.)
– Publisher’s Weekly
Navigating the aftermath of her grandmother’s death is a defining, tumultuous time for Tallulah, which Dávila presents with empathy and insight. How do we make hard choices in the face of uncertainty? What drives behavior, particularly harmful behavior? Readers will be fascinated by the ostriches and the desert, both of which Tallulah believes she wants to escape. Tension mounts in every chapter, and when the difficult forces converge in the satisfying climax, Tallulah discovers clarity. This is an enjoyable, winning, interesting novel for readers of many backgrounds.
– Booklist, Starred Review
Fraught with family struggles, addiction, duplicity, and deceit, this courageous coming-of-age story set in a unique and wonderful backdrop is one that listeners won’t soon forget.
Review of audio edition, written by Erin Cataldi, for Library Journal
An unusual ranching tale set in the Mojave Desert, where the herd is a flock of eight foot tall birds and their wrangler a young woman raised by her gruff grandmother who dreams of another kind of life. A twisty, warmhearted story of family, community and fate, a thoroughgoing delight.
-Janet Fitch, Author of “Chimes of a Lost Cathedral”
Tolstoy probably never envisioned an unhappy family which included ostriches, but these fine feathered beasts nearly steal the heart of this humane and heartfelt debut novel. Davila’s protagonist Tallulah must navigate that most fundamental of choices: should I stay or should I go? Anyone who has ever felt the insistent tug of Somewhere Else doing battle with the responsibilities of their Here and Now will find something of themselves in these fine pages.
-Mark Sarvas, Author of “Memento Park”
142 Ostriches is unlike anything I’ve read before. Wholly unique, this cinematic novel exposes readers to the relatively unknown industry of ostrich farming. In Davila’s skillful hands, the desert comes alive and the ostriches are as compelling as the human characters. Tallulah herself is a memorable, strong-willed protagonist. Her struggle to negotiate family obligations with her own desires feels both singular and highly relatable. I loved following her through the pages of this fast-paced and lovely novel.
– Amy Meyerson, Author of “The Bookshop of Yesterdays”
April Dávila has made the rare thing: The perfect meeting of plot and character. A hurtling adventure of family intrigue helmed by a heroine for the ages, Davila’s novel will make your heart swell as big as an ostrich egg, and then hatch it.
– Katie Williams, Author of “Tell The Machine Goodnight“
A story told with depth and beauty about the many things we inherit from our families. Davila’s characters are familiar, yet unforgettable, and I’m waiting patiently for what she writes next.
-Wayétu Moore, Author of “She Would Be King“
An engrossing and original tale of love, betrayal, and extremely large birds, April Dávila’s 142 Ostriches is a novel that blooms like springtime in the California desert. Fiercely independent, brave, and tender, Tallulah Jones is a heroine for our time.
Seth Greenland, Author of “The Hazards of Good Fortune“
Vividly imagined and deeply felt, “142 Ostriches” is an utterly absorbing tale of an intrepid young woman coming of age in the California desert. I loved Davila’s big-hearted debut about land, family, and the ties that bind. Highly recommended.
Lindsey Lee Johnson, Author of “The Most Dangerous Place on Earth“
Davila’s observant prose conjures the drama of sun-scorched days and the calm of cool painted evenings as it chronicles the struggles and rewards of a rugged life in the vast Mohave. This is a story that envelops you with a sense of place, and uses its setting to reveal how the human heart, like wildflowers after a rampaging storm, can thrive in the harshest conditions. It is a tale as surprising and delightful as a profusion of florid color in the sandy stretches of the California desert.
Yvonne Puig, Author of “A Wife of Nobel Character”
142 Ostriches, April Davila’s utterly unique novel, nails the Zeitgeist when her protagonist inherits a Death Valley bird ranch she’d hoped to escape. An avian Greek chorus, the birds seem to observe and share her longing to stand in a place of my own choosing. With unsentimental acuity, her narrator confronts the intangible covenant foisted upon her, and the reality that the disposal of her flock, from nature to product, is by no means a matter just for the birds.
Rita Williams – Author of “If The Creek Don’t Rise”
I’ve never read a coming of age story quite like Dávila’s. It’s about a rugged existence, but with prose so gorgeously written that you can’t help but see the beauty in the world she’s built.
Erin La Rosa, author of “The Big Redhead Book”
142 Ostriches was selected by Publisher’s Marketplace as one of their Buzz Books for the 2019 Fall/Winter season. In their own words:
…each Buzz Books collection is filled with early looks at titles that will go on to top the bestseller lists and critics’ “best of the year” lists.