First book of 2025 was SO good. It felt very much in the school of Octavia Butler, where there are monsters and magic, but at the core of it is the truth and our real history. This novella throws you in fast alongside the characters and you really feel like you're trying to figure things out at the same time the MC is. I loved the way Clark had me guessing what would become of the characters, especially with this book set in the 1920s and knowing what's to come if it's not a totally alternate history. It's a story of resistance in so many ways, a giant snarling metaphor of what hatred does to people. I won't say more because it's short and I don't want to ruin the reveal but like read it, it's so good and so timely.