If roaches give you the shivers … run! Or embrace it and pick up Infested, a spooky yet super earnest story.
We’re following teenage Manny, who has been dragged from Texas to the Bronx to help his annoying step-dad prepare a new luxury condo for residents. Manny is angry & resentful & just wanted to finish out his senior year with his friends. But he begrudgingly gets to know his new neighborhood and even connects a bit with the friendly old exterminator.
Then … things get weird. There are roaches absolutely everywhere, and the exterminator maybe isn’t who he says he is. Manny and his new friend Sasha (who just happen to be protesting the condo) have to investigate the infestation and protect their families.
The insect horror moments are done so well – I could feel the creepy-crawlies under my skin. It reminded me quite a bit of a Goosebumps story.
Colón also filled the pages with relatable teenage struggles: Manny navigates friendships, his Puerto Rican identity & how he fits into his new neighborhood, and challenging new family dynamics. The book also touches on gentrification (Manny learns about the potential impact of the new building from various members of the community) and racism. I would have loved a little more depth around those moments at the ending; instead, they are sort of dropped during the major horror climax.
The plot flies by, and I think this will keep any young reader hooked. I actually would have preferred to linger a bit longer in certain moments and let the characters really shine instead of rushing from location to location - but the pacing definitely kept me turning pages.
CW: death, murder, insect horror, body horror, fire/arson, gentrification, racism, animal death (bugs), classism, xenophobia, injury, vomit
(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Vomit, Racism, Animal death, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, and Death