Strange Animals

• Author: Jarod K. Anderson
• Genre: Fantasy
• Publication Date: February 10, 2026
• Publisher: Ballantine Books

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An ordinary man discovers a hidden world of wondrous supernatural creatures—and an unexpected home—in this enchanting contemporary fantasy debut.

one who studies cryptids; an expert in or student of supernatural history.

After a series of inexplicable encounters upends his life, Green finds himself alone and terrified in the Appalachian mountains, full of questions about the transformation he’s undergoing and the impossible creatures he’s starting to see.

When he meets a hermit named Valentina, he realizes that something more than chance has brought him to her door. For she has devoted centuries to researching the hidden world of cryptids that Green is only now beginning to perceive.  

As Green begins his studies beneath her watchful eye, he comes face to face with time-stopping giant moths, cyclops squirrels, and doorways to elsewhere. Along the way come clues about his own nature and the powerful beings who led him here—and, most wondrous of all, a sense of fulfillment like nothing he’s felt before.

But Green’s new happiness promises to be short-lived, because alongside these marvels lurks a deadly threat to this place he’s already come to love.

Featuring incredible creatures and an unforgettable cast of characters, Strange Animals is a charming, addictive fantasy about the magic all around us.

Books like this are the reason I love reading debuts. I never know what I’m going to find between the covers, but I’ve discovered a lot of talented authors this way. And Anderson has done a wonderful job with this fantasy debut, creating an engrossing story that strips away illusions about what is around us and what is really important. 

I found this to be a curiously engaging read. While I do love fantasy, I’m not so well-versed when it comes to cryptids aside from the basics. It has a fantastic opening scene, crafted to resonate throughout the story but also to dramatically grab the reader’s attention—depicting the main character, Green, falling to his death under the wheels of a bus. It wouldn’t be much of a story if he died on the first page, so Green undergoes a rescue along with an awakening to the hidden nature of the world around him that so few actually acknowledge—the world of cryptids and the study of them, known as cryptonaturalism.

After his not-death, something in Green changes. He’s left with a lingering memory of a huge crow and an acorn that he keeps with him at all times. Since he doesn’t know the meaning of these experiences, readers are allowed to experience the journey towards understanding alongside Green. He begins to devalue all the things that he has devoted his life to, and feels an increasing urge to leave everything behind and head into the wilderness. Which is exactly what he does after some research into destinations. He packs up his Prius full of camping gear, and finds himself in a strange campground in the Appalachian Mountains, in the range known as the Catskills in upstate New York. 

It was tough to watch Green head out into the wilderness without anything even remotely resembling a plan, only to discover a gas station with two locals that direct him to Candle-Fly Camp, a bare bones campground run by an unusual woman known as Dancer. Unprepared to set up his camping gear upon arrival, he decides to sleep in the car, only to be accosted by a terrifying cryptid. Dancer directs him to the property of a permanent resident of the camp—Valentina Blackwood. 

Valentina is a unique and tough character that gives off the vibe of a tough Eastern European grandmother, and she’s a wonderful teacher of the world of cryptonaturalists. Once she heard about Green’s experience, she takes him on as a student, and it was fascinating to watch her teach him about this hidden world he is only now privy to. She’s gruff and a little grumpy, but Green is ready to learn and willing to absorb and process everything that is thrown at him, which is great, because things hit the fan pretty quickly. 

A big part of the story is devoted to cryptids and the study of various types of them, and it was one of my favorite parts of the story. Learning more about the dangerous and wild and connected nature of this world makes me want to leave everything behind and head upstate with a sleeping bag. But another part of the story is the connections that Green builds when he leaves all the meaningless fluff of his life behind—in his isolation, he discovers more about himself than he ever realized, but also discovers a found family that offers a sense of acceptance that he never found in ‘civilization,’ aka a major city in which he lives. 

The bonds that form between Green, Dancer, and Valentina, as well as Alf and Jerome to a lesser extent, are heartwarming and make this feel like a cozy fantasy in some ways. Along with learning more about cryptids, Green learns the circumstances that contributed to the path to his current situation, and while it broke my brain a little to understand, I really enjoyed how it was presented. 

Overall, this was an outstanding read and one of my favorites of the year so far. It was a slower-paced mix of character-driven and plot-driven. I usually gravitate strongly towards the plot-driven aspects, but I found myself loving everything about this book. This was the kind of book I had to savor, which is why my review is so late, but it was an enjoyable ride and makes me want to get back in contact with nature, even if I’m not quite sure that I want to encounter any cryptids of my own. However, it was an enjoyable read, written beautifully and so vividly that I had no trouble visualizing any of it and felt like I was walking right alongside Green and Valentina. It’s a fantastically creative story, and I can confidently say I will be looking forward to whatever else Anderson puts out.

Bottom line: A heartwarming, unique, and creative meander through one man’s journey into the world of cryptids, along with the found family and insights about himself that he gains along the way.

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