A review by greeneggsandsam
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 Sawkill Girls is a YA horror with a bit of a fantasy element to it. Marion's mother and sister have just lost their father, and they move to an island called Sawkill Rock to live in a cottage on the Mortimer's property and become their maids. This novel follows Marion's persepctive, as well as Val and Zoey who already lived on the island. Young girls have been going missing for decades, and when the killing rate increases drastically, these three girls find themselves tangled up in a dangerous world of monsters they never knew existed. 
 This is the first horror novel I've ever read, so I didn't know what to expect. I'm happy to say I was VERY happy with this book. While being a horror, there was some fantastically developed parts of the book, and that made me like it even more as a fantasy lover. Legrand also did a good job at writing something scary, because I had to put the book down at times from being so spooked out (and reading in a basement by myself at 2 am). Despite being something I'm not used to reading, I flew through this book and didn't want to put it down. Sawkill Girls is also queer and Sapphic. I feel like the relationships in the book are well developed, and Zoey's love interest makes me absolutely swoon!
 I am definitely interested in reading more horror, and I am stoked that this is the one I started the genre with because it's amazing. 
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