Bitter by Akwaeke Emezie, a review (Pet #0.5)

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezie is the prequel to Pet, a dystopian (utopian?) YA novel that follows a mute transgender girl named Jam who discovers that her utopian city isn’t as perfect as she was lead to believe. Bitter follows Jam’s mother, Bitter, when she was a teen and shows us how the world came to be as it was in Pet.

Bitter b Akwaeke Emezi

This book doesn’t have to be read after Pet, but I personally think that’s the better choice as we meet some of the adults in Pet as children in Bitter.

I really enjoyed how this novel tackled the trauma of dealing with racism, and how activism and rallies and marching aren’t an option for everyone. But how those people are still valid in each and every way they help. I also adored Bitter’s friends, they’re such supportive people and although they’re human and they make mistakes they always come through in the end.

This book is darker than Pet. Pet reads as young YA or older Middle Grade. Bitter, however, is firmly within the YA bracket. There’s a fair amount of violence depicted, as well as the way that topics are discussed being more in depth. Something to be aware of going in, especially if giving this book to a younger reader.

The monsters present in this book are a little darker than in Pet, but I still enjoy how they are used to demonstrate how certain people and groups react. They’re an exaggeration (mostly) but show the possible consequences and how things can go too far. But also how going too far sometimes is the only option. Emezie is able to use them to add this nuance into the narrative without distracting from the intended message by introducing complex human choices into the mix.

On CAWPILE I rated this: Characters: 9, Writing: 8, Plot: 8, Intrigue: 8, Logic: 8, and Enjoyment: 8 for an average of 8.14 and a 4.5* rating.

Highlight here for content warnings: police brutality, violence, death, blood, panic attacks, self harm, gun violence, murder, war, racism, child abuse, death of parent, abandonment, classism, ableism, mental illness, emotional abuse, homophobia, bullying, medical trauma, lesbophobia.

This is a really fantastic prequel. It tells us a lot more about the history of the characters and the political and personal climate around them, whilst still remaining very close to the individual characters and their stories. If you’ve read and enjoyed Pet then this is a worthwhile novella that you’ll be so glad you picked up.

Have you read this or Pet? Did you love them too? Let me know!

Demon Road by Derek Landy, a review (The Demon Road Trilogy, #1)

Demon Road by Derek Landy is the first in an urban fantasy trilogy set in the USA. After reading and adoring the Skulduggery Pleasant series for so many years I just had to try out his alternative series.

Demon Road by Derek Landy

We follow a 16 year old called Amber, who discovers that her parents are demons who want to eat her, because it will increase their power. And all her parents friends are in on it too, bar one. That one helps Amber to escape and she goes on the run on essentially the supernatural version of Route 66, meeting some violent and magical people along the way.

Amber, unfortunately, did feel like a knock-off Valkyrie (the main character in the Skulduggery series). She was interesting, but just felt a little 2D and lacking in dynamics. Our secondary characters, however, were pretty fleshed out and I enjoyed learning more about them! (Other than the token Irish character, who really needs some more fleshing out. Although it seems like he might get that in the next book, but right now? Glen ain’t my fave). The characters have a similar banter style that we’ve become used to in the SP series, not the same thankfully, but just as banter heavy and slightly ridiculous which makes it fun.

The instigating plotline in this one is… quite ridiculous. It almost makes Skulduggery look normal. But the actual story arc is done well and I enjoyed the road trip aspect, traveling around the US and stumbling across various deadly supernatural entities. The book leaves off with the prospect of this continuing in the the rest of the series so that could be fun. I also really enjoyed our anti-heroine-demon MC, definitely something a little different. She’s not portrayed as pure or as completely breaking away from her demon nature. If anything Landy leans into it and makes her a little worse. But that’s just what makes her seem more like a real person.

Unfortunately there did seem to be a fair amount of fatphobia towards the main character in this book, it seems to be lightly fought back against by Landy but not enough in my opinion. And Ambers overall appearance is heavily focused on (seriously Glen, you’re such a prick about this) with insults continuously flung about calling her ugly in her human form. There’s honestly no need for that and I hope it’s toned down a lot for the next books.

On CAWPILE I rated this: Characters: 7, Atmosphere: 6, Writing: 6, Plot: 7, Intrigue: 6, Logic: 7 and Enjoyment: 7 which gives an average of 6.57 and a 3.5* rating. I’m debating whether I’ll round this up or down on Goodreads.

Highlight here for trigger warnings: murder, death, blood, cannibalism, gore, violence, trafficking, child death, gun violence, kidnapping, stalking, fatphobia, emotional abuse.

Overall, this isn’t as good as the Skulduggery series. And whilst it feels rude to compare them it also is inevitable. However, separate from that series it’s still a decent book (separate from the fatphobia and Glen – but Glen might just be me) and I’d still recommend for people who think it sounds interesting to give it a shot. You should just also try out the Skulduggery series!

Have you read anything from Landy? Did I mention Skulduggery Pleasant too much? Let me know! 🤣