Audiobook Review – Nest by Esther Ehrlich, Narrated by Jenna Lamia (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 8 hours and 37 minutes (336 pages)
Publisher: Listening Library
Release Date: March 3, 2015
ASIN: B00SZ1ZN76
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“In 1972 home is a cozy nest on Cape Cod for 11-year-old Naomi “Chirp” Orenstein, her older sister Rachel; her psychiatrist father; and her dancer mother. But then Chirp’s mom develops symptoms of a serious disease, and everything changes.

Chirp finds comfort in watching her beloved wild birds. She also finds a true friend in Joey, the mysterious boy who lives across the street. Together they create their own private world and come up with the perfect plan: Escape. Adventure. Discovery.”

This is a very raw and emotional book about a preteen, Chirp, whose mother is suffering from MS and depression. Chirp is an intelligent girl who finds comfort in studying birds. While I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this book, it was very well done.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was awesome. I would highly recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.

This book was well written and I thought Ehrlich did a good job of getting a preteen’s “voice” down really well. Ehrlich also doesn’t shy away from the raw reality Chirp is dealing with.

The story is very tough to read at times but also has some beauty and fun to it as well. I did wish there had been a bit more info about birds and how Chirp learned so much about birds.

Overall this was a good, if somewhat depressing and emotional, read. I like how true to Chirp’s voice Ehrlich was and how she didn’t shy away from the tough issues the story deals with . I will definitely be checking out Ehrlich’s future books.