Originally published: 2 October 2018

Author: Claire Legrand

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: YA Fantasy

Length: 464 pages

Reading dates: 3-10 October 2018

Star Rating: 4/5

The Blurb:

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: The newbie. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: The pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: The queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives; a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight…until now.

My thoughts:

This was one of those highly anticipated reads for me.  As soon as I started seeing pictures of it on Twitter and read the description (A YA Horror Fantasy) I was sold.  And it didn’t disappoint.

The story begins with Marion, her sister Charlotte and mum arriving on Sawkill – her father has recently died and the family are broken.  Marion sees herself as the strong one in the family and is trying to keep it all together.  Next we meet Zoe who lives on the island with her dad who is the local police chief.  Her best friend Thora has recently disappeared and Zoe is heartbroken and lonely.  Before she disappeared, Thora had started hanging out with Val, a popular and rich Sawkill girl, born and bred and Zoe hates her, convinced she had something to do with Thora’s disappearance.  The book tells the story from all 3 girls points of view

This was a perfect YA book.  Marion, Zoe and Val all have the typical problems teenage girls have (love, relationships, family and friendships) but with the added bonus of a monster who wants them all dead.  The book handles LGBT themes with sensitivity and  I loved the strong female leads. The plot moves along swiftly and there is plenty of gore to keep the horror fans entertained.  I think fans of Stranger Things and X-Men would really enjoy this book.

Thanks to Harper Collins for sending me an ARC of this.

About the author:

Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she realized she couldn’t stop thinking about the stories in her head. A native Texan, she is now a writer and librarian living in central New Jersey.

 

Website: http://www.claire-legrand.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/clairelegrand