Reviews

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

graveyardpansy's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 — biblical angels, wonderful casual diversity, a strong friendship (without romance!!), effortless worldbuilding, and cutting themes of justice, utopia, fear, and strength. definitely needs a CW for csa/parental abuse, but the author does a good job of handling it at a YA-appropriate, non-graphic level. really nice writing for a YA imo, and the representation is refreshing. the MC is Black, trans, and partially nonverbal, the main cast is all Black I think, there’s a tri-parental family unit (with a nonbinary parent!), and a wonderful wheelchair user librarian.

stories about marginalization and the intricacies of oppression are important and deserve to be heard, but it’s also /really/ important to have worlds like this, where being trans and partly nonverbal is just a part of a character, not a “challenge” or even something that is seen as troublesome by wider society. i really hope people are able to see themselves in Pet, and i think lots of people can.

side note, i adore all the character’s names, they really add to the semi-futuristic post-revolution vibe.

riley_rose's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? N/A

4.5

hubris_and_hamartia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.0

caitlin42's review against another edition

5.0

A beautifully written, lyrical, short read that grabs you and pulls you all the way into this world that says that there aren't any monsters anymore. It does an excellent job with the question "what counts as justice?" in only 200 pages.

noveltea_dee's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

mitchiechel's review against another edition

5.0

I like the premise. I kinda want to see more of this world.

reyreads's review against another edition

4.0

I read Pet for an English course this semester. I had left it till the last possible minute but was determined to finish it in a sitting, and I did. But by the first few chapters I was hooked, and was no longer compelled to speed through it for the class, instead turning pages to Know more. The suspense in this book is cared for and crafted to a perfect atmosphere. Pet forms beautiful commentary on what is monstrous, how we perceive monstrosity and how as a community we address it. With a cast of identities that are unfortunately rare to see in YA, this book was a comforting and powerful read that left me thinking of it days later.

blackbookstasista's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I’m so glad I went in knowing very little about this book. It was so good!

rosatulipan's review against another edition

I love Awaeke Emezi.

lizco's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.0