Scan barcode
A review by yourfavavery
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
So this one, was a fun, quick YA read that kept me from a slump! So that automatically gets a boost in my book. I discovered this book after seeing Leslye Penelope at an author's panel at Awesome-Con in DC, where she was explaining the research she did for her heist novel set on Black Broadway in DC. I was hooked.
The story follows Clara Johnson, a woman who lives off U Street in DC in the Jim Crow era. Penelope based the character on a real woman who was held in jail after the 1919 race riots, where Johnson shot a white police officer in self-defense and so because a minor celebrity/legal cause for the Black community before she was ultimately released and faded into history. The book imagines that she made a deal with an Enigma from the spirit world to get out, and now the Enigma wants her to clear her debt by stealing a ring from the most powerful Black woman in DC.
The Pros: THE SETTING. Maybe I'm biased, but I read about a certain intersection of U Street while I was riding a bus through that intersection, and it was magical. A few main landmarks of U Street either still exist (Howard, LeDroit Park) or were reopened recently (The Howard Theatre), and reading a story set in a familiar location was a treat. You can tell Penelope did a lot of research and combined with her experiences at Howard it made the story come to life.
The Cons: The characters and plot felt a bit thin, but I think that mostly has to do with the genre. This is squarely a YA novel, which is by no means a bad thing. I just don't read YA all that often and so it didn't quite hit me where I needed it to. That said, I've been reading a lot of heavy horror books lately and this was a nice, uncomplicated book to break that up and keep me from falling into a slump.
Overall, it was a fun read that sparked joy through its shining setting and historical detail. If that's not usually your jam, pick it up when you need to mix things up!
The story follows Clara Johnson, a woman who lives off U Street in DC in the Jim Crow era. Penelope based the character on a real woman who was held in jail after the 1919 race riots, where Johnson shot a white police officer in self-defense and so because a minor celebrity/legal cause for the Black community before she was ultimately released and faded into history. The book imagines that she made a deal with an Enigma from the spirit world to get out, and now the Enigma wants her to clear her debt by stealing a ring from the most powerful Black woman in DC.
The Pros: THE SETTING. Maybe I'm biased, but I read about a certain intersection of U Street while I was riding a bus through that intersection, and it was magical. A few main landmarks of U Street either still exist (Howard, LeDroit Park) or were reopened recently (The Howard Theatre), and reading a story set in a familiar location was a treat. You can tell Penelope did a lot of research and combined with her experiences at Howard it made the story come to life.
The Cons: The characters and plot felt a bit thin, but I think that mostly has to do with the genre. This is squarely a YA novel, which is by no means a bad thing. I just don't read YA all that often and so it didn't quite hit me where I needed it to. That said, I've been reading a lot of heavy horror books lately and this was a nice, uncomplicated book to break that up and keep me from falling into a slump.
Overall, it was a fun read that sparked joy through its shining setting and historical detail. If that's not usually your jam, pick it up when you need to mix things up!