inkychaotics 's review for:

The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste

5.0

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The Rust Maidens is easily one of my favorite books I have read this year. Kiste's prose is as beautiful as the overall story she weaves. The whole concept behind the book offers an original idea that I found myself quickly falling into, desperate to know more. Yet, there is familiarity here within Phoebe's story (I adored this character by the way), and within the town where rust has come to consume the residents. Beneath the surface of the decay lingers even more powerful stories -- stories about girls seeking their identity in a town that doesn't want them to understand how much power they may truly hold, a town that represses young women so deeply that they literally rust inside. Kiste has not only crafted a dark and gorgeous story, she has offered up some incredible writing that holds strong literary merits. One of the reasons I love horror so much is because it can be quiet, creeping horror like the rust growing over the girls, and because horror offers such deep commentary on societal and cultural values. Kiste has captured this side of horror in a phenomenal way. I really cannot recommend this book enough. I will be thinking about it for a long time!