The Bitter End Birding Society

Members of a rural Appalachian community grapple with forgiveness and faith in this uneven offering from Cox (He Should Have Told the Bees). After protecting her kindergarten class from a school shooter, Ana Leigh Watkins wants nothing more than to escape her local reputation as a hero. So when her great-aunt Cora invites her to spend the summer in Roan Mountain, Tenn. (formerly “Bitter End”), she jumps at the chance. She finds refuge in the Bitter End Birding Society—a ragtag group of nature lovers whose ranks include Sam, a shepherd with a mysterious past, and Marilyn, Cora’s sworn enemy. Meanwhile, Ana discovers that her family’s history is intertwined with some of the mountain town’s darkest secrets. Woven through the present-day plot is a 1950s-set narrative following Ana’s grandmother, Viola Whitt, as she falls in love with the preacher’s son, triggering her moonshiner father’s paranoia and anger. As Viola’s tale hurtles toward a shocking conclusion and Ana works to heal her wounds, both learn to lean on their faith and love of nature in life’s lowest moments. While Cox poses intriguing questions about trauma and forgiveness, the historical plot sometimes feels rushed and the narrative is weakened by a surfeit of unsubtle emotional exposition. This has its moments, but never quite takes flight. (Aug.)