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summerthelibrarian 's review for:
Overgrowth
by Mira Grant
dark
emotional
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
what a glorious day to have visited Netgalley! I didn't know this existed, and no i didn't read the description but i am SO glad the benevolent Netgalley gods have me auto-approved for TOR titles.
and LOOK at the cover look at it omg.
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Actual review.
5 stars, is anyone surprised? truthfully, this is more like a 4.5 but i am definitely rounding up because everyone knows i am a seanan / mira stan and this book is no exception.
Overgrowth is told from the point of view of Anastasia, who is an alien that has been raised as a human since age three. She has been telling everyone that she is an alien and the invasion is coming, and people react as you would expect - by ignoring her, at best. Turns out, she was right, oopsies, and now the armada is here, and everyone is fucked.
At it's core, this is a Body Snatchers type story that draws a lot of inspiration from War of the Worlds. It's also a cautionary tale about climate change, and like a lot of scifi it contains a certain amount of proselytizing and commentary on the subject. Neither is undeserved nor innacurate, and I appreciate the clear amount of research that Grant put into her scifi novels. i always feel like learn something whilst in the grips of ajbect horror; it's nice.
Without spoiling anything, this was such a ride, and one of the least predictable books i have had the pleasure of reading. I wasn't sure if I was rooting for humanity or the aliens until very close to the end. We also have some really excellent diversity in the supporting characters which is a breath of fresh air in a publishing landscape where generic LGBT / POC archetypes are shoehorned into every novel ever.
Warning: This book has some intense and graphic body horror. There's also a pretty rough scene, right in the beginning, involving the death of a child that was really hard to read, and i'm typically a person who pointedly ignores trigger warnings.
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Audio notes:
I was recently given access to the audio version of this, and while I will say I didn't listen to the entire book, I did listen to the first 10 minutes, and then jumped around for another 20 minutes for a total of 30 minutes listening time. I think the narrator is fine. She does not, in my opinion, add or subtract anything from this story. If your preferred method of reading is audio, this is a good one, but I woudln't go out of my way to recommend this on audio over the print version. That being said this is still probably my favorite book i've read so far this year.
and LOOK at the cover look at it omg.
--------------------
Actual review.
5 stars, is anyone surprised? truthfully, this is more like a 4.5 but i am definitely rounding up because everyone knows i am a seanan / mira stan and this book is no exception.
Overgrowth is told from the point of view of Anastasia, who is an alien that has been raised as a human since age three. She has been telling everyone that she is an alien and the invasion is coming, and people react as you would expect - by ignoring her, at best. Turns out, she was right, oopsies, and now the armada is here, and everyone is fucked.
At it's core, this is a Body Snatchers type story that draws a lot of inspiration from War of the Worlds. It's also a cautionary tale about climate change, and like a lot of scifi it contains a certain amount of proselytizing and commentary on the subject. Neither is undeserved nor innacurate, and I appreciate the clear amount of research that Grant put into her scifi novels. i always feel like learn something whilst in the grips of ajbect horror; it's nice.
Without spoiling anything, this was such a ride, and one of the least predictable books i have had the pleasure of reading. I wasn't sure if I was rooting for humanity or the aliens until very close to the end. We also have some really excellent diversity in the supporting characters which is a breath of fresh air in a publishing landscape where generic LGBT / POC archetypes are shoehorned into every novel ever.
Warning: This book has some intense and graphic body horror. There's also a pretty rough scene, right in the beginning, involving the death of a child that was really hard to read, and i'm typically a person who pointedly ignores trigger warnings.
--------
Audio notes:
I was recently given access to the audio version of this, and while I will say I didn't listen to the entire book, I did listen to the first 10 minutes, and then jumped around for another 20 minutes for a total of 30 minutes listening time. I think the narrator is fine. She does not, in my opinion, add or subtract anything from this story. If your preferred method of reading is audio, this is a good one, but I woudln't go out of my way to recommend this on audio over the print version. That being said this is still probably my favorite book i've read so far this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Homophobia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, War