Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish who is a monster and who is an angel. Because looks can be deceiving, and our interpretation and perception is always influenced by the world and people around us. 

In this story, Jam accidentally brings a creature to life from her mom’s painting. A monstrous looking creature not of this world. And its name is Pet. By looks alone, it is something we would be told to fear. Something we would be told is a monster. But Pet came to hunt monsters. The monsters the world doesn’t realize still exist. Monsters that don’t look monstrous. I loved the juxtaposition of these things in the story, the way Emezi took concepts of monsters and angels and presented them in this unexpected way. It really got me thinking about things like transphobia and homophobia, namely the “phobia” parts of those words. And how trans* and queer people have been painted by the world as something to be feared, while the real monsters remain hidden, protected by power, privilege, and politics.

Emezi poignantly addressed heavy topics in this book. Using magical realism, they crafted a story that speaks to the nature and reality of our world, to the existence of monsters hidden in plain sight, to what it takes to uncover the truth, and to take those monsters down. It was an absolutely brilliant book and we need more stories like this in our world! 

I am also very glad I listened to the audiobook of this because Christopher Myers did a phenomenal job bringing this story and all these characters to life!

🏳️‍🌈✊🏿Rep: black trans FMC with selective mutism, black SCs