Migrations

 

Summary (from the publisher): Franny Stone has always been a wanderer. By following the ocean’s tides and the birds that soar above, she can forget the losses that have haunted her life. But when the wild she so loves begins to disappear, Franny can no longer wander without a destination. She arrives in remote Greenland with one purpose: to find the world’s last flock of Arctic terns and follow them on their final migration. She convinces Ennis Malone, captain of the Saghani, to take her onboard, winning over his salty, eccentric crew with promises that the birds she is tracking will lead them to fish.

As the Saghani fights its way south, Franny’s new shipmates begin to realize that the beguiling scientist in their midst is not who she seems. Battered by night terrors, accumulating a pile of letters to her husband, and dead set on following the terns at any cost, Franny is full of dark secrets. When the story of her past begins to unspool, Ennis and his crew must ask themselves what Franny is really running toward—and running from.

Review: Franny Stone is on a mission to track the last flock of Artic terns on their final migration from remote Greenland. To do so, she must convince captain Ennis Malone to allow her travel with his crew on their boat. As the journey progresses, the crew and the reader slowly learn that Franny is not who she seems. Over the course of the novel, Franny's darkest secrets are slowly revealed. 

Franny presents herself as a dedicated scientist with a husband back at home. In reality, Franny's life is much more complicated. Franny is running from a tormented childhood, a complicated marriage, and motivations beyond just following the terns. Franny believes that wandering is in her blood and she can't help herself from leaving those in her wake. Yet time slowly reveals that she is running from her pain, her loss, and even the law. 

In addition to an unreliable narrator, the novel is set sometime in the not too distant future, when animal species are undergoing mass extinctions. The sea is largely depleted of fish. The last wolf and bear has died. Franny is so desperate to follow the terns in this context because they are some of the last of their kind. Likewise, Franny feels as if she is on her own final journey. One last desperate flight to give her life and her story meaning. 

As a reader, I wanted to like Franny but clearly couldn't trust her. She seems vulnerable yet fiercely independent. She is volatile in her decisions, actions, and portrayal of her past. Even in her sleep she can't be trusted, as she sleepwalks and winds up in dangerous situations. Between Franny's personal story and the sad world full of dead and dying animals she lives in, this was a relatively bleak book that left me with a lot of questions. 

Stars: 3