Fantasy fangirls, this IS the book you’ve been looking for!
Every person I tell about this book (and it’s been A LOT of people), I give them the same overview –
Quick Synopsis
Alice in Wonderland meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer, set in Atlanta.
My Review
If the synopsis isn’t enough to get you I don’t know what to say. This book was perfect. Be forewarned, the sequel to this book isn’t coming out until September 2019, so if you like the book and can’t wait to read the next one, wait to read the first one.
One of the main reasons I liked this book so much aside from the action/fantasy aspect, is it’s one of the few books I’ve read so far where the protagonist is a middle-class Black American girl. A lot of the YA I’ve read and reviewed this month deals with class and socioeconomic issues as told from the perspective of a first or second generation immigrant. While I loved those stories as well, this one was the first that I immediately saw my youth represented (minus the demon slaying and multi-dimensional travel). I mean, the scene where she’s grounded and her mom leaves her a note to take the meat out the freezer to defrost, I was so anxious/angry with her, because she did everything BUT defrost the meat. That’s “So You Got in Trouble 101”! Do the random thing your momma told you to do BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, so you can cover your tracks when you continue to do what got you in trouble in the first place.
I just (and I mean, literally as I am typing this) found out there are some who have issues with the author due to her comments on diversity and privilege in the publishing industry and IRL. I’ve come to terms with the fact that all my faves are problematic one one way or another (sigh, looking at you JK), but I’m choosing not to go down that rabbit hole (pun unintended but cherished) because 90% of required reading when I was growing up was at best problematic and at worst downright offensive.
As it stands right now, I love this book. I can’t wait for the next one. I really want you to read it too.
My Rating (stars out of 5):
