This novel was a wild ride! I enjoyed it thoroughly and I think- although it's labeled as YA, it's one that can be enjoyed by adults as well. 2025 is the year for books about plant aliens and plant invasions, and so after reading Overgrowth, and Eat the Ones you Love, I suppose it's not all that odd to be jumping into this novel which heavily features algae.
There really is just SO MUCH going on in the novel that it's hard to do a spoiler free synopsis - but I'm going to give it a try!
Mercy, Louisiana is a typical small coastal town -- but since a hurricane swept through there's been a red algae bloom. Noon - our protagonist and her mom continue to trawl for shrimp and cling to their former lives (sort of) - they stay on the good side of the creepy harbor master by bringing back oddities that are bycatch in their nets. Noon's interested in leaving but her Mom is attached to the area where her father and son(Noon's brother) perished.
Noon discovers that there's some sort of "monster" on the loose- dragging folks away - and she's drafted into a search and destroy mission with Covey (the daughter of the corrupt harbormaster). As Noon and Covey work to understand what's happing in this post climate disaster time, they also work to come to terms with their identities, experiences and futures.
This is truly a creepy southern gothic type of novel, with a lot of relatable moments, mixed in with some chilling horror. Addressing themes of identity, ecology, and coming of age, the prose is easy to read and the plot moves forward with very good pacing to a satisfying, but kind of vague ending, which for once, didn't really bother me. Usually I like a solid conclusion, but in this case, Noon's conclusion is that she's continuing to grow into something unknown, and that she's going to have family and found family by her side, which is a conclusion which worked for me.
STATS
First Published : March 2025
Pages: 384
Available as an Audio Book : YES
Trigger Warnings: violence, blood, death, grief, medical situations, SA, plant concerns (not a complete list- be responsible!)
No comments:
Post a Comment