Starling has been raised and lives off grid with Mar, righteous and angry at the world. That is, until Starling wakes to find Mar gone, without a word, one day. We travel with Starling as she finds her own way in the world, reconnects with old friends and figures out who she is without the overbearing presence of Mar. I found this a perfect summer read. A love of nature and the ebbs and flows of the seasons were beautifully interwoven into the narrative. Full of interesting characters and just enough intrigue to keep the pages turning without detracting from the emotional nuances of this tender coming of age tale.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Jane Butler and Fairlight Books for the ARC.

Every once in a while, I find a book I know is going to get 5 stars from me within the first few chapters. Starling is one of them.

The detailed descriptions of the countryside made me feel like I was out walking past battered hedgerows and over streams. Food descriptions had me salivating and now I must find a recipe for raspberry flapjacks. I could smell woodsmoke, grass and foxes.

Starling is one of my new favourite fictional people. I want to be her friend. The storytelling is clever and the characters are all strong and well developed. Butler makes her novel so visually descriptive, it's almost like watching something on the screen.

I'm honoured to have had an ARC but will be buying a copy when it gets published It is, to put it simply, exquisite. I would 100% recommend that you get yourself a copy.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Starling, a nineteen year old raised on the road and in the forests of England, suddenly finds herself alone after her mother, Mar, leaves without a word. Left by herself, Starling embarks on a journey of self-discovery and truth as she tries to find where she belongs, and with whom.

This book is beautiful, it almost reads more like poetry than prose. Butler is a lyrical writer, and Starling's journey is a long and winding journey. This is not a tale of a survivalist living off the land, but instead of a woman (who feels more like a girl) thrust into the world with no pretense or guide. There are those who care for her, despite her mother's cruel goodbyes, and Starling's story is one of accepting a home.

A beautiful, powerful story of life, loss and journeying. I loved Starling and read it over two greedy days. The author writes with such simple elegance and attention to detail, that I had to stop countless times to reread the beautiful language – ‘the high sky held a handful of light’, ‘she measured out words carefully as though she and Starling were running out of sounds’. This, on almost every page.

I was beckoned into the woods and fields of the story with the opening lines and held there until I put the book down. The plot unfolded at just the right pace, allowing me to hope that things would turn out for the better, but surprising me, for good and ill, when I least expected it. The story is one of loneliness, fear and uncertainty but also of friendship, hope and longing. It gave me a strong sense of the power of the land; of the strength of community; of both the ingenuity and hardships of a nomadic life.

Out at the end of September, Starling is the perfect, atmospheric read for the last quarter of the year. I loved it and would highly recommend it as a deeply thought provoking, beautifully written and satisfying story.