I saw this meme recently and if that doesn’t perfectly describe my reading!
Image credit: Library Fines
The books below aren’t all literary fiction, or necessarily depressing, but they are quite heavy though there are some uplifting moments too!
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Genre: YA Fiction
Own voices: Black MC
A thought-provoking and haunting novel about a creature that escapes from an artist’s canvas, whose talent is sniffing out monsters in a world that claims they don’t exist anymore.
I’ve talked about this one a bit before and of course so have many in the book world. It’s the first I’ve read by Emezi and I’m glad to have finally checked out this well-loved author.
This book has an interesting premise in that it takes place after all the ‘monsters’ have been driven out of the town. Kids are taught about how the ‘angels’ of the city led this revolution to drive out evil but many folks avoid directly talking about the kinds of crimes and societal issues that this community has supposedly moved past.
It’s something that feels very recognizable in our present day, with people increasingly calling for awareness and reform regarding issues impacting minoritized groups. Emezi bases the story around an important question, “How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?“, and it’s one that challenges the way we think of our own interactions with our communities.
There are some beautiful lessons here in the importance of community care and the strength people have when they all come together.
Spines in a Line 