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allyyb00 's review for:
New Animal
by Ella Baxter
I devoured this book, and for good reason, it was difficult to put down. This book was exactly what I needed, without even knowing it. This read was captivating, emotional, raw, shocking, and brilliant. I am in awe that this was a debut, and I look forward to reading Woo in December.
Amelia, cares for the deceased in a mortuary, where she specializes in makeup. Amelia copes with her daily life in dating apps and hookups with various men. She has a sex addiction.
After losing her mother unexpectedly, Amelia spirals and tries to outrun her grief by skipping out on the funeral; traveling several days to be with her birth Father in Tasmania. It is there where she falls into experimenting with BDSM.
Amelia goes through such a powerful journey going through the trenches of grief— sadness, anger, bargaining, denial, depression, acceptance. (And self acceptance.) Insight is shared on how she feels inside, even outside of grief. The author did such a beautiful job of tying it all together at the end…. Demonstrating how death truly does bring people together, even when it is too late.
A lesson is learned in honoring our bodies- since that is all we are for a short time. Our “casings,” as Ella Baker puts it, carries us even through our darkest days. Our body is ours, to have and to hold, to change, to honor, to loathe. It carries us through grief and joy. With it: we can be gentle, honor others, tend to ourselves… even sometimes mistreat it.
This was beautiful. I am grateful to have read it, and it will definitely be in my top 5 for 2024.
PS- as someone who lost their mother young and unexpectedly, I believe this was written just right. It seems like 90% of the books I pick up these days… the main character has a dead mom. I guess that’s part of being a strong lead? Ha.
Amelia, cares for the deceased in a mortuary, where she specializes in makeup. Amelia copes with her daily life in dating apps and hookups with various men. She has a sex addiction.
After losing her mother unexpectedly, Amelia spirals and tries to outrun her grief by skipping out on the funeral; traveling several days to be with her birth Father in Tasmania. It is there where she falls into experimenting with BDSM.
Amelia goes through such a powerful journey going through the trenches of grief— sadness, anger, bargaining, denial, depression, acceptance. (And self acceptance.) Insight is shared on how she feels inside, even outside of grief. The author did such a beautiful job of tying it all together at the end…. Demonstrating how death truly does bring people together, even when it is too late.
A lesson is learned in honoring our bodies- since that is all we are for a short time. Our “casings,” as Ella Baker puts it, carries us even through our darkest days. Our body is ours, to have and to hold, to change, to honor, to loathe. It carries us through grief and joy. With it: we can be gentle, honor others, tend to ourselves… even sometimes mistreat it.
This was beautiful. I am grateful to have read it, and it will definitely be in my top 5 for 2024.
PS- as someone who lost their mother young and unexpectedly, I believe this was written just right. It seems like 90% of the books I pick up these days… the main character has a dead mom. I guess that’s part of being a strong lead? Ha.