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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
“Her memory was not of her as a victim or a woman, but as a horror.” (48)
Belinda Alvarez is disillusioned with her life. In fact, she feels buried beneath the weight of her life. How can emptiness be so heavy? She doesn’t know but she can’t imagine continuing on like that. Belinda kind of wants to die but also feels like she’s already dead.
If her life had a point, she believes, it’s gone now.
At least, that’s what she thought until she went on a trip and experienced a memory from her past. While in Alice, Texas for her best friend’s wedding, Belinda is confronted with the memory of an old story — that of The Queen of Cicadas.
In the 1950s, a young migrant worker from Mexico named Milagros is brutally murdered on the farm in a racist, hate-fueled attack. The murder is ignored by the town, dismissed as a crime committed by other migrants rather than homegrown racists.
The murder is not ignored by the Aztec goddess of the death.
With her dying breath, Milagros demands vengeance and the Queen hears her plea. Milagros’s murder, her sacrifice, will not be in vain. Everyone who hurt her will pay dearly, will die afraid and begging for a mercy they never showed her.
Their blood, the Queen promises, will pay for Milagros’ rebirth. She will be born again. The right woman to giver her back her life just needed to appear.
Enter Belinda. A receptacle yearning to be filled with purpose.
This is such a cruel and gory story of righteous and relentless vengeance in the wake of hideous and hungry hatred. This book really expands what the horror genre has to offer, providing both reflection on colonial practice and in scathing condemnation of its last effects on indigenous and non-white bodies.
I highly recommend this book! 4.5 stars for me! It’s truly a unique work from a new voice! Hope to hear more of this work!
Belinda Alvarez is disillusioned with her life. In fact, she feels buried beneath the weight of her life. How can emptiness be so heavy? She doesn’t know but she can’t imagine continuing on like that. Belinda kind of wants to die but also feels like she’s already dead.
If her life had a point, she believes, it’s gone now.
At least, that’s what she thought until she went on a trip and experienced a memory from her past. While in Alice, Texas for her best friend’s wedding, Belinda is confronted with the memory of an old story — that of The Queen of Cicadas.
In the 1950s, a young migrant worker from Mexico named Milagros is brutally murdered on the farm in a racist, hate-fueled attack. The murder is ignored by the town, dismissed as a crime committed by other migrants rather than homegrown racists.
The murder is not ignored by the Aztec goddess of the death.
With her dying breath, Milagros demands vengeance and the Queen hears her plea. Milagros’s murder, her sacrifice, will not be in vain. Everyone who hurt her will pay dearly, will die afraid and begging for a mercy they never showed her.
Their blood, the Queen promises, will pay for Milagros’ rebirth. She will be born again. The right woman to giver her back her life just needed to appear.
Enter Belinda. A receptacle yearning to be filled with purpose.
This is such a cruel and gory story of righteous and relentless vengeance in the wake of hideous and hungry hatred. This book really expands what the horror genre has to offer, providing both reflection on colonial practice and in scathing condemnation of its last effects on indigenous and non-white bodies.
I highly recommend this book! 4.5 stars for me! It’s truly a unique work from a new voice! Hope to hear more of this work!
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is very eerie throughout and has some fantastic creepy moments. It's a little heavy handed with its messages, but I liked the themes. The characters are complicated and nuanced, and the atmosphere is well-built, but the pacing was really off. I felt the ending dragged on, and it made the book lose all tension. Still, I really enjoyed this book despite that.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That's really all that's going through my head right now. This book consumed my heart and soul, in all the best and worst ways. Do yourself a favor and read this, it is absolutely glorious.
Mexican folklore as a ghost story gave this book a great fresh horror feel with a foundation of history and myth. Found families and vengeance, injustice and a yearning to make things right. Looking forward to more by V. Castro!
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
V. Castro does horror so incredibly well because while there tends to be a cosmic horror element, the most terrible monsters are always the people, and in this one, the biggest villain is white supremacy.
This story is haunting in every aspect of the word.
This story is haunting in every aspect of the word.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was really out there. I have the strange sensation of not really knowing what I was reading but still somehow enjoying it.