In season four of Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars, Aria Montgomery makes a shocking discovery that Ezra Fitz, her high school teacher and former/current flame, has been keeping a colossal secret from her. Besides regretting to inform her that he was once in a relationship with her friend Alison, he was also writing a true crime novel about her disappearance and death. The confrontation is heated and leads the audience to believe that Ezra might be the notorious “A” after all.

Although Ezra’s true crime novel is completely fictional, Ian Harding’s Odd Birds is very real. He takes the classic concept of a memoir and adds his special spin to it – tales of his life from childhood to graduating from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama to landing his role as Ezra on Pretty Little Liars, all while providing an inside on his favorite hobby of birdwatching.

The introduction starts off in the Angeles National Forest with the sighting of an American Dipper. Although the actor was attending the Teen Choice Awards 24 hours later, a quick getaway to nature was the perfect preface for what the rest of the book has to offer.

Each chapter flows from story to story with bird sightings interwoven into them, creating an overarching theme around the book as well as an overarching theme for Harding’s life. An early chapter shares the story of his family and the significance of his interest in birds. By embellishing on this literary device, Ian’s progression of home life and personal life blend well with the progression of his admiration for bird watching.

He may be sharing stories of his life as a Hollywood actor, but his stories of bird watching are where the real plot lies. Each bird, from the red-winged blackbird to the California condor, not only means something to Ian but create a literary understanding at how humble he truly is. Although audiences have seen his face on their television screen every week for the last seven years, it’s refreshing to see through his own words that the life of a successful actor hasn’t stopped him from sticking to his other passions.

30 can be considered a bit young to be writing a memoir, but Ian broke all stereotypes with Odd Birds. He takes the charm of his Pretty Little Liars character, the literary devices of a writer and combines them to present Ian Harding as a man with a story worth reading.