A review by ps_stillreading
Antenora by Dori Lumpkin

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

5.0

 This is for the girlies who love religious horror, Southern Gothic, and girls who bite.

✨

In an isolated small town, Bethel Pentecostal holds all the influence. So what’s a religious town to do with a girl like Nora Willet? A girl who is stubborn and opinionated? A girl who in their eyes brings nothing but trouble? They try to save her, of course, even when they don’t like her. To save her is to declare their faith and the strength of their belief. And so they use snakes and prayers to expel the demons in her and bring her home. But does she really need saving?

Narrated by Abigail, she tells the story of Nora. Her best friend. Her only friend. Abigail is drawn to her even when the whole town has written Nora off as a hopeless case. The two girls find solace in each other, keep each other’s secrets, and protect each other. And then she tells us what happened when the tension surrounding Nora became too much for the town to handle.

✨

This novella is incredibly atmospheric. I really got the sense of being a bug being observed under glass with how much the town hides its judgy behavior under the guise of good Christian concern. You have all the usual suspects: male church leaders that feel more like cult leaders, creepy men in positions of power and influence, uppity young women who don’t hesitate to flaunt how perfect they are, parents who want their children to fit in even when that isn’t necessarily what’s best for them, and a sprinkling of homophobia. 

The way Dori Lumpkin wrote this made me feel like I was sitting in front of Abigail over a cup of coffee while she told me the story of her small town. And I loved it. I was being let in on a secret, or rather a version of the truth that only this person can tell. 

When you read this book (and I hope you do because it’s incredible and deserves to reach more readers) you may find that you want to know more about Nora, understand her more deeply, or unravel the mystery that is her. But I personally like that she remains a mystery. Her hometown will never understand her, and we never will either. But we will see her through Abigail’s eyes, the person she trusts most in the world. And there is no one else who can tell Nora’s story with such deep love.

This book is best read in one sitting, as one long conversation with Abigail. Thank you to Creature Publishing, Dori Lumpkin, and NetGalley for the ARC.