Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Pet

Hmm I have mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, NPR compared it to Wrinkle in Time (my fav) and I very much think it's a readalike. It has biblical undertones, kids having to handle things with the adults help, and this overall feeling of doom.

As another reviewer wrote, "Pet is the gorgeous story of a young black trans woman taking it into her own hands to see the unseen, and to protect the vulnerable, even when it means upsetting the balance of her life.".

I loved the first half; watching Pet come out of the painting, getting to know Jam, seeing them interact with other characters through sign language, it was all fantastic.

But I had no idea this story was explicitly about child abuse. The emotions in this book were heartbreaking and big and messy and raw and HEAVY. I don't know if the message was clear and helpful for a middle grade reader...

I thought the "perfect world can still be impect, need to grow, and have hidden flaws" was another sad part of the book. The story deserves the accolades it has received for its originality, representation, and heart.

But overall, it made me feel hopeless...

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abbyluvsfrogs444's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am in complete awe. What a brilliant novel. I will be thinking about this book until the end of time. Perfect. Just perfect.

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some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

That was really well done and the execution was splendid. However, the theme about monsters not looking different fell a little flat since

the monster got mutilated

during the finale

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dustghosts's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This is the first book by Akwaeke Emezi I’ve read/listened to (though I also have Freshwater on the docket when my attention span is ready for it) and what. A. Treat! Listen, the Tiktok girlies (gender neutral) aren’t always on the ball— in fact they frequently are not— but this book? Rules.

So far this year, I’ve been reading a lot of shorter books. One thing I find with works this brief, and with this much plot, is that it can be hard for authors to balance building an emotional connection and moving quickly enough that everything happens as it needs to. Emezi masterfully balances these things: we’re gently thrust into Jam’s world, an adverb and verb that don’t usually go together, and we’re kept there with heart and action both.

There’s a lot of respect for the reader inherent in this book— Emezi trusts the audience to make inferences and draw lines, both in the context of the book and as far as wider themes go. We’re allowed to be partners in the worldbuilding. It’s ambitious, this horror-fantasy-utopia-YA romp, and it pays off wonderfully. What could feel heavy-handed instead is weightless, and Emezi’s lyrical turns of phrase feel like dessert for the well-woven plot and complicated sort of allegories at the core of the book. Going back to respect: I really love a YA book that treats its intended audience like the emotionally-intelligent, sharp-witted, curious readers they can be, and this one does exactly that.

Not a lot of flaws to list here— I wish that we saw, maybe, a teeny bit more depth to Jam’s character, a fuller view of her life on the day-to-day in Lucille. But that’s about it. Pet is bite-sized and keeps the scope (in time, cast, and conflict) pretty limited as a result, but you get a sense of scale of the wider world that feels satisfying and appetite-whetting all at once. I’ll be excited to read more, in this universe and the next that Emezi has to offer.

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