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crookeddustjacket 's review for:
Overgrowth
by Mira Grant
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
From the moment I read the blurb for Overgrowth, I was intrigued. An invasion by sentient alien plants from the point of view of an alien? Sign me up.
The story follows Anastasia (Stasia) Miller, who is not-so-secretly a vanguard of an alien species disguised as a human, and a group of rag-tag friends and reluctant acquaintances as they navigate the impending invasion. We quickly learn that Stasia doesn’t actually know what’s going on with the invasion and whether it’s in peace or not, but one thing she is certain of is that it is inevitable.
The character development has to be one of my favourite parts of this story, particularly Stasia’s conflict between choosing her species and humans, as well as the growth of her friends, specifically Graham, Mandy, and Toni (whose chaotic personality and jokes were a highlight). I did find some of the other characters to be a bit bland, and it seemed like some of them were just there to serve as a way to further the plot (i.e., Thalia, the senator, Liam, and Jeff). I also enjoyed the commentary around colonialism, immigration, identity, and belonging from an alien’s perspective and how it was contrasted with the human experiences.
I liked story telling aspect of the epilogue chapter and thought it was the perfect way to set the scene. However, I didn’t love how the pacing slowed down after the first third of the book; it got painfully slow and mundane in parts, and the repetition of Stasia's inner monologue started to get to me, to the point where I was considering taking a break. Luckily, it picked back up for the final third and didn’t stop until the end.
While Overgrowth is both Sci-Fi and Horror, it errs more towards sci-fi than horror for the majority of the book, but there are some horrifying parts peppered throughout, especially towards the end.
Thank you to Mira Grant, NetGalley, and Daphne Press for gifting me an eARC!
The story follows Anastasia (Stasia) Miller, who is not-so-secretly a vanguard of an alien species disguised as a human, and a group of rag-tag friends and reluctant acquaintances as they navigate the impending invasion. We quickly learn that Stasia doesn’t actually know what’s going on with the invasion and whether it’s in peace or not, but one thing she is certain of is that it is inevitable.
The character development has to be one of my favourite parts of this story, particularly Stasia’s conflict between choosing her species and humans, as well as the growth of her friends, specifically Graham, Mandy, and Toni (whose chaotic personality and jokes were a highlight). I did find some of the other characters to be a bit bland, and it seemed like some of them were just there to serve as a way to further the plot (i.e., Thalia, the senator, Liam, and Jeff). I also enjoyed the commentary around colonialism, immigration, identity, and belonging from an alien’s perspective and how it was contrasted with the human experiences.
I liked story telling aspect of the epilogue chapter and thought it was the perfect way to set the scene. However, I didn’t love how the pacing slowed down after the first third of the book; it got painfully slow and mundane in parts, and the repetition of Stasia's inner monologue started to get to me, to the point where I was considering taking a break. Luckily, it picked back up for the final third and didn’t stop until the end.
While Overgrowth is both Sci-Fi and Horror, it errs more towards sci-fi than horror for the majority of the book, but there are some horrifying parts peppered throughout, especially towards the end.
Thank you to Mira Grant, NetGalley, and Daphne Press for gifting me an eARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Medical content
Moderate: Confinement