This Animal Body: A Novel

After trying and failing to launch her adult life several times, Frankie is ready to start her first year on the neuroscience graduate program at U.C. Berkeley on the right foot. Having endured bouts of depression for most of her life, she’s determined to follow through on her new career path to find a cure for herself and others like her.

After an unfortunate first day of class, Frankie begins to encounter a group of animals in her dreams that claim they have an important message for her that she’s not quite ready to hear yet. When her dreams of them begin to blur against the edges of her waking life, she has to make some hard decisions that could derail the life she’s worked so hard to build.

Walters’ writing style is phenomenal! Not only is the plot enchanting, but the conversations between Frankie and the animals are so emotionally vibrant and empathetic that I carried them with me for days after finishing the book. Heartfelt, full of bittersweet realizations, and sentimental without being mawkish, This Animal Body is a lovingly crafted and philosophically inclined novel perfect for fans of top-tier magical realism.