A review by eggcatsreads
Overgrowth by Mira Grant

4.75

 

‘I am the vanguard of an invading species of alien plant people.’

Overgrowth is the story of what happens when your friend, who’s a bit strange and has been insisting on being an alien plant instead of a human since childhood - has been telling the truth this entire time. 

Something I found fascinating was the fact that - until the actual invasion began - we can read Stasia as simply an autistic who has latched onto not being human to understand her life. I found myself relating to her and her struggles with not fitting in - being bullied her entire life leaving her anti-social with only a small group of friends who accept her as she is. In many ways, this novel almost works as a commentary on what it means to be human when you don’t understand, or are liked by, your peers. 

Of course, this novel is also about invasive meat-eating alien plants here to ‘harvest’ the people of Earth. We can’t forget that part.

Told as a countdown to the actual invasion from our main ‘non-human’ character Stasia’s point of view, we learn how she came to be - and how the invasion actually occurred. The invasion has already happened, we’re just learning about it after the dust has settled on the battlefield.

‘This is a story. It can’t hurt you anymore.’

The start of this novel is so shocking and visceral that when we fast-forward 30 years and begin to slowly meander throughout Stasia’s life - we can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop the entire time. Kept in a kind of limbo - similar to our main character who knows she’s an alien plant here to invade Earth, but has no proof of such a claim - we can only watch in anticipated horror as the foretold invasion date slowly creeps closer. 

With Stasia finally evolving into her botanical roots, she has to decide whether to fight for humanity - who has rejected her her entire life, or her biological family who she has never before met. Are the bonds, friendships, and relationships she’s forged enough to make her forget 30+ years of hardship? Are these bonds strong enough to last even while she begins losing her humanity entirely?

Humanity has been warned for over 30 years about this upcoming invasion - and yet no one is prepared for when it finally arrives. Even Stasia’s friends and boyfriend, who claimed to believe her, are left wrong-footed when their reality suddenly changes to reflect what she’s been saying will happen this entire time. With the timeline of life on Earth slowly ticking down, relationships are put to the test and sides are chosen. 

To prevent the invasion, humanity had to do only one single thing - believe her when she warned them about it. They made their choice by making a mockery of her. And now, Stasia has to make hers.

‘Are we isolated because something - some great, predatory force - is using the space around us as a hunting ground, picking off our neighbors before they have the chance to find us?’

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Tor Nightfire for providing this e-ARC.