Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin is a library check-out published in 2024. To be honest, the author’s surname is the entire reason I picked it out. There are less than 20,000 people living in the United States with the same surname. And ancestors of my kids shared the name. (Our surname is shared by fewer than 2500 to give some perspective. And there are over 2,400,000 Smith’s in the country. But I digress.) Since the novel is outstanding, I am particularly grateful for the shared name.

This positive, uplifting story is built upon the subject of grief. Both heroine’s, Frankie O’Neill and Anne Ryan are dealing with the loss of a loved one. To compound things for Ryan, her son stopped speaking at the age of 3 ½ years. She blames herself for his problems since they manifested after the loss of her closest friend.

O’Neill is a loner and estranged from her surviving parent. She has also run afoul of the individual overseeing the completion of her master’s degree. The work revolves around the spotted owl. First, the young boy Aiden is attracted to the gangly outdoorswoman. Then his mother, homesick for Ireland with a marriage teetering on a precipice forges a friendship with O’Neill as well.

A beautiful area in a remote lakeside enclave is the setting. And by remote, the only access is via boat. Nature plays an important role in the bonding of the three characters. At the forefront is the plethora of birds with an injured young crow at the center. But bears and weather and other challenges of the wilderness are brought to life by the wonderful writing.

Each chapter or section begins with information on birds. Many facts are focused on the crow, including their language-crow talk. O’Neill begins to pull herself together by chronicling the recovery of the injured crow. She is able to finish her paper on the owls only to fail once again. However, the research on the crow takes flight and she progresses on multiple fronts.

Meanwhile, Ryan is also at a crossroads. As her marriage deteriorates over the stress of a special needs child her new friendship provides the support needed to make the decision on what is best for Aiden. Her in-laws want him institutionalized. Both she and her husband Tim face many decisions.

Eileen Garvin’s Crow Talk is the best book I have read this year. Even though the genres are totally different, this novel and the writer evoke the same feeling of awe that I encountered with Where the Crawdads Sing. The writing is compelling and brings the characters to life. Perhaps Crow Talk will also make it to the movie theatres. The novel certainly deserves many honors. I highly recommend the reading of this book. I plan to give copies as gifts.