Pet

Starred review from June 17, 2019
Carnegie Medal–nominee Emezi (Freshwater for adults) makes their young adult debut in this story of a transgender, selectively nonverbal girl named Jam, and the monster that finds its way into their universe. Jam’s hometown, Lucille, is portrayed as a utopia—a world that is post-bigotry and -violence, where “angels” named after those in religious texts have eradicated “monsters.” But after Jam accidently bleeds onto her artist mother’s painting, the image—a figure with ram’s horns, metallic feathers, and metal claws—pulls itself out of the canvas. Pet, as it tells Jam to call it, has come to her realm to hunt a human monster––one that threatens peace in the home of Jam’s best friend, Redemption. Together, Jam, Pet, and Redemption embark on a quest to discover the crime and vanquish the monster. Jam’s language is alternatingly voiced and signed, the latter conveyed in italic text, and Igbo phrases pepper the family’s loving interactions. Emezi’s direct but tacit story of injustice, unconditional acceptance, and the evil perpetuated by humankind forms a compelling, nuanced tale that fans of speculative horror will quickly devour. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jacqueline Ko, Wylie Agency.

Akwaeke Emezi makes their young adult debut with a gut-wrenching story on audio. Narrator Christopher Myers leads the listener through the serene town of Lucille, where teenage Jam lives in a world supposedly purged of evil. In this idealized future, Jam's generation is raised to believe that the social problems of the past have been eradicated and bad people--"monsters"--are no more, run out by the revolutionary "angels." Myers skillfully inhabits the story's different characters, infusing his voice with subtle but distinct differences in pacing, tone, and cadence. Myers shines as Pet, a strange creature arrived in Lucille to hunt a monster. She infuses Pet's resonant voice with a fierce and visceral protectiveness and hunger for justice that will lead Jam to the truth. H.C. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine