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Henry is 28 years old and works at an office in New York City. He’s generally self-effacing and puts himself last. Dating hasn’t been great, but the blind coffee date he’s on right now is going tremendously well. Molly is enthusiastic, funny, and eager to try new things. But when they walk through the park, all of a sudden, Henry hears a bird … SPEAK. The bird goes on a whole profanity-laced tirade. And suddenly, Henry has to wonder if he’s hallucinating. And going crazy.
It gets worse: all the way home, after this promising date, he hears all kinds of animals talking. And most of it is negative. Henry never thought animals would be so mean. What is the world coming to? It’s bad enough that humans can be so cruel to each other, so thoughtless and unkind.
In the subway, when he overhears what turns out to be a few rats talking about a corpse in an unused part of the tunnels, he ends up telling Molly about it. And thus begins a whole adventure Henry never imagined experiencing.
In the course of just a week, Henry and Molly investigate the mystery of the corpse and find themselves having to elude the murderers. Meanwhile, Henry takes in a dog when a kind older neighbor goes to the hospital, then is surprised when the yappy Pomeranian shares wise life advice. And he hears everything when his roommate’s feuding betta fish face their own crisis.
I had the BEST time reading It’s Hard to Be an Animal. I was reading it while on a trip with my oldest daughter and just had to read aloud a lot of passages because I was laughing out loud so often. Henry and Molly’s conversations are so cute and funny, and the animals’ chatter is hilarious. But it’s not just funny; the story is about a man who always puts himself last discovering, thanks to what he experiences in this week, that he’s allowed to have good things, that he can assert himself while still being genuinely kind and gentle.
This book is utterly charming and witty to boot. I read through it so fast, so eagerly, I was so sad when it was over.
Rated: High. Profanity includes 20 uses of strong language (plus some in slightly different spelling and cut off), around 30 instances of moderate profanity, about 20 uses of mild language, and 45 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes only a kiss. There is peril and talk about a dead body.
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*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
