Pet by akwaeke emezi

How I Heard About It:

*During an email conversation with a friend who works in the publishing industry, she mentioned this young-adult title to me.  I haven't been very good at fitting in the young-adult titles as I have been with middle-grade and novels published for adults.  She raved about it so I ordered it, read it, and now I will share my thoughts with you here on the blog.


What It Is About - FIVE Things You Need to Know:

1.  *The story takes place in the city of Lucille where the residents have gotten rid of the "monsters".



2.  *Jam lives with her parents and her mother is an artist.

3.  *One day while observing a piece of art work her mother has created, Jam leaves a drop of blood on the painting and a creature from the work comes to life.  The creature's name is Pet.

4.  *Pet has come to Lucille to hunt for a "monster" that shouldn't be in their town.

5.  *Along with her friend, Redemption, they begin a search for the monster that Pet is after, but are torn because they have been taught there are no longer any monsters remaining.


What I Thought Of It - Five Observations/Reflections:
1.  *First of all, this was one of the most different stories I've read in a very long time.

2.  *I think it is the type of story the reader needs to read slowly, pause, ponder, and reread passages.  There is a lot packed into this almost two hundred page story.

3.  *The young-adult story tackles some serious issues and they are presented in quite a unique way.

4.  *The character names and some of the topics were confusing and I wasn't always sure of what was going on.

5.  *I didn't love the story as much as some readers, but I'm probably not the target audience.  I may come back to the book someday and give it another try.


Who Should Read It:
*The target audience is the young adult reader and I do think they would relate to Jam and everything she experienced.  Based on the reviews, most readers do LOVE this story.  Happy Reading!


Rating:   3 STARS out of 5 Stars