Book Review: They Bloom At Night By Trang Thanh Tran 5/5 Stars

   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!) 

Book Review : The First Thousand Trees by Premee Mohamed 4/5 stars

 I'm starting to be a big fan of Premee Mohamed. It's not often that I feel like there's a book written specifically "for ME"  but this entire trilogy seems like it might be. 

   I expected this novel to follow Reid as she returned to her campus, but instead we follow Henryk on his journey to  his Uncle's more Northern community. 

Short No Spoiler ( I hope!) synopsis:

Feeling bereft after Reid's departure, Henryk sets out on a wild adventure, traveling with a makeshift map to find his Uncle. With more luck than skill, he's able to find the community. Henryk is taken in conditionally and really does give it his all to fit in and be visibly productive in a vastly different community than the one he left. He struggles much in the same way he struggled at home, making some poor decisions, and being, in general, not very welcome. Much like his past, as series of disasters follows him, and while none are notable his "fault" dystopian communities seem to have no time for accidental blunders.  After a particularly spectacular error Henryk somewhat redeems himself and makes a choice to move on. 

For me, I wanted Henryk to desperately have sort of a hero's arc of redemption, but that does not occur, and to be honest, this seems so realistic as so many of us work very hard at being in community with others, and despite our efforts we aren't always successful. 

In the end, the message I took away again was that people often survive better together, and no one really wins unless everyone can share in the winning.  I love this message as it's one I believe in whole heartedly. 

The writing again is precise and story construction is on point. These novellas are great for book club as there's so much to discuss- themes of belonging, community, class systems, the environment, poverty and wealth, community building and more! 

The First Thousand Trees comes out September 30th!  I am grateful to ECW press for the opportunity to read the novella as an Advanced copy! 

STATS

First Published : September 2025

Pages: 136

Available as an Audio Book : not currently, but maybe soon? 

Trigger Warnings: Climate crisis, Death of child, death of parent, blood, medical situation, violence, weaponry,   (not a complete list- be responsible!)