A heart-wrenching, magnificent. post-apocalyptic tale about the monsters we make. I wondered why I had never heard a succinct summary of what this book was about; even the back cover was vague. But it's because this book is about EVERYTHING, every haunting situation you can possibly imagine:
- Being hunted by the creepy myths of urban legend.
- Reliving trauma.
- Abusive family.
- Religious zealots.
- Living under war-torn or post-nuclear-fallout conditions, and feeling the violence and grief alive inside you even when the immediate threat has subsided.
- Having a compulsion which takes on a life of its own.
- Feeling demonized by those who don't understand neurodivergence, while simultaneously feeling distant from other people because it's a struggle to parse sensory/emotional information.
- Class disparity or gang warfare dehumanizing the opposition, on both sides of the divide. And, sub-bullet point in the case of the lower class, fighting to survive when there are even more obstacles to overcome, and lamenting how much is lost (peace of mind, time for art, resources, time for human connection) when every minute is Survival Mode.

While all of the monstrous situations were compounded in this book, the story still made time to show how effective therapy and human connection can be. It's a small glimmer of hope, a twinkling star in the vastness of space, but life does have its little sources of peace: Music, nature, pets, and occasionally another person who Sees you.

This book does a lot of heavy lifting, and it's amazing that V.E. Schwab is able to represent so many different people with only Kate and August. It should feel messy and overstretched, but it absolutely doesn't. I think that says something beautiful about the human condition, how we all have different inner demons, but we're in more company than we know, and can relate more than our surface differences would suggest. And, I think it says something immeasurable about V.E. Schwab's flawless writing, that she can weave so much together AND still tell a gripping post-apocalyptic/monster survival story. The monsters in this book are very familiar, but still unique. The Sunai especially, the way they seem to be a mix of siren and fallen angel, are mesmerizing!!! Hats off once again to V.E.S. for giving us a book that is new and classic, adventurous and thoughtful, angsty and hopeful - human and monstrous!