"Now I don't recommend doing this, but—I started this book at 1am, and rolled into bed four hours later feeling like my worldview had fundamentally shifted. There is no hope of me being able to distill my thoughts on this book in such a way that they fit on this small card. Suffice it to say that as soon as I put the book down, the first thing I wanted to do was put it in the hands of each and every person I saw next. It's the kind of book that you actually want to read for your next book club. Full of gorgeous prose, big ideas, and small worlds."
"Tired of depressing dystopias? Step into the refreshing, post-revolution world of Pet, where a neurodivergent, Black, trans child's biggest problem is the mysterious creature emerging from her mother's latest painting. Akwaeke Emezi crafts an evocative tale of best friends on a mission to protect their community from a monster that everyone else believes is a relic of the past. Would recommend to fans of magical realism, those who enjoy both laughing and crying, or anyone in need of a taste of hope for an abolitionist future."
Publisher Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date 2021-01-19
Section Young Adult / All Staff Suggestions / Suggestions for Kids / Fiction Suggestions / Micah F. / Read D.
Format Paperback
ISBN 9780593175446
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER
“[A] beautiful, genre-expanding debut…. Pet is a nesting doll of creative possibilities.” -The New York Times
The award-winning, genre-defying novel by the New York Times bestselling author of THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI that explores themes of identity and justice and asks: How do you share the truth when the world around you is in denial?
Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look?
There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with the lesson that the city is safe for everyone. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature who some might call monstrous but, in reality, is anything but, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has emerged from one of her mother’s paintings to hunt a true monster—and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. No one has encountered monsters in years, though, and Jam’s quest to protect her best friend and uncover the truth is met with doubt and disbelief.
This award-winning novel from a rising-star author asks: What really makes a monster, and how do you save the world from something if no one will admit it exists?
“Like [Madeleine] L’Engle, Akwaeke Emezi asks questions of good and evil and agency, all wrapped up in the terrifying and glorious spectacle of fantastical theology.” -NPR
