The Ravenous

August 1, 2017

Gr 10 Up-The Cane sisters-Juliet, Taylor, Anya, Mona, and Rose-seem to be a loving, tight-knit group. However, their home life is far from perfect. Their dad, an army colonel, is away most of the time, their mom struggles with alcoholism and depression, Juliet rules the house in their mother's absence with an iron fist, and each sister has her own issue. Taylor is a mini-clone of Juliet, Anya smokes weed and spends most of her time texting her girlfriend while ignoring the family, and Mona copes with anxiety by hitting the bottle. The one thing keeping the fragile family together is Rose, the youngest and sweetest sister. After a freak accident kills Rose, the family threatens to disintegrate, but then Rose is mysteriously brought back to life-with a craving for human flesh. Lukavics splatters the pages with blood, guts, and mature language, but underneath there are stark commentaries on addiction, mental health, and just how far people are willing to go to protect the ones they love. The narrative is told from the perspective of Mona as she watches Juliet crumbles under the pressure of keeping Rose alive and descend into madness while her family relentlessly falls apart. Sisterhood dynamics are laid bare under extreme circumstances in this story, which makes for an ultimately nerve-fraying read. A shocking, albeit somewhat rushed ending concludes a harrowing and truly frightening text. VERDICT A must-have for horror collections. Future fans of Stephen King will devour this one.-Tyler Hixson, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 The five Cane sisters, Juliet, Taylor, Anya, Mona, and Rose, seem to have it all: big house, good looks, prestigious father. But there are fissures in the Cane house, which grow when the beloved youngest, Rose, is killed in a freak accident, and their erratic, alcoholic mother goes to unscrupulous lengths to bring her back to life. But there are consequences to their mother's decision to resurrect Roseconsequences that leave their basement bloodied and threaten to shatter the already tenuous relationship among the sisters. In Mona's first-person narrative, Lukavics employs horror movielike pacing to trace the gradual dissolution of the Cane household. A slow-burn build-up leads to abrupt, shocking acts of violence, described in vivid, often grotesque language perfectly befitting the tone of the novel. Meanwhile, Mona's observations of her sisters' characters and her anxieties about her own isolation add a nice amount of emotion depth to the gory proceedings. While seasoned horror movie vets might see plot twists coming, Lukavics' eerie, chilly delivery and just the right amount of gore will satisfy nonetheless.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)