Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Published by Make Me a World on September 10, 2019
my rating: ★★★★
Goodreads avg: 4.30 (as of 2019-09-23)
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own. All quotes have been taken from the advanced copy and are subject to change upon publication.
Spoiler-free Review
Goodreads | IndieBound | Author’s Website
Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look?
There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question–How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?
After absolutely loving Freshwater, there wasn’t a question in my mind of whether or not I’d pick up Pet. I was actually lucky enough to grab a copy off Netgalley! Pet tells the story of a black trans girl named Jam, who lives in a utopian society where all “monsters” have been vanquished. The problem is, an otherworldly creature crawls out of a painting created by Jam’s mother and insists that there is a monster, and that it has come to hunt it.
But unpleasant things must be done for unpleasant purposes out of unpleasant necessity.
I found that I loved a lot about the characters in this novel. As far as I remember, none of the characters were white. Jam herself is trans, which was just a fact of life and not the source of any kind of conflict, and is also implied to have selective mutism. She speaks sign language with most of the people around her, who have learned it so that she can communicate more comfortably. Jam’s best friend Redemption also has parents who are in a polyamorous relationship, which I was thrilled to see!
I found the message of the story to be quite important: that monsters are often hiding in plain sight, and that we must be willing to look for them. The problem with this utopian society was that in believing all of the monsters were gone, they no longer kept their eyes open and were blind to the reality in front of them. While it’s scary to realize that we’re not as safe as we think, it’s important to look out for red flags and to protect everyone around us. I thought this was really well-done and hope that this story can reach children and young adults — and even adults — who need to hear this message.
One of my only complaints was that I struggled to pick apart most of Redemption’s family. They all sort of blurred together for me, save for his uncle Hibiscus and brother Moss. I think this is less that they don’t have distinct personalities and more that not enough time is spent with them for those personalities to feel fully developed. It didn’t cause much trouble for me, but did occasionally get a bit confusing.
The truth does not change whether it is seen or unseen, it whispered in her mind. A thing which is happening happens whether you look at it or not. And yes, maybe it is easier not to look. Maybe it is easier to say because you do not see it, it is not happening. Maybe you can pull the stone out of the pool and put the moon back together.
Overall, this was definitely a solid read and I’m glad that Emezi is able to spread such an important message.
Sarah Ames-Foley 
This sounds so good!
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It is! I hope the rest of the Women’s Prize Squad reads it so I can hear all your opinions as well haha.
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Do you think I would like this?? I loved Freshwater but I’m kind of on the fence about this one…
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Hmm, I’m not sure! Parts of it had very obvious “oh this is def early YA/MG writing” moments buuut it’s also very short and readable so I think it’s worth trying. I do think it is definitely intended more as a learning experience for younger readers than for older readers, though.
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Ok cool I appreciate your feedback!! I don’t think I will rush out and buy a copy but I’m open to giving it a shot!
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Great review! I’m glad you enjoyed this one! I’m determined to pick it up as it sounds absolutely excellent, but I’ve heard it leans toward the middle grade side of YA, which is… not my favorite age range to read. Would you say it’s aimed at readers that young? The characters and themes sound so fantastic that I’ll probably give it a go anyway, but would like to be prepared!
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I actually just replied to Rachel saying it falls into exactly that age group! I did categorize it as both MG and YA on goodreads I believe, but it certainly leans more towards MG. If it helps, I am usually very difficult to please with MG books and didn’t feel like the writing had been simplified tooo much or that I was being too talked down to, which is my issue with some MG books. I think older readers can appreciate the messages and plenty of elements of it, but it is definitely aimed at engaging younger readers.
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Ah good to know, thanks! I think it’ll go better for me just knowing what to expect, so that helps. Being talked down to is the WORST so I’m glad that’s not a problem here! Other than that I just have a tendency toward boredom if I don’t feel like I’m being challenged, but I think these themes sound engaging enough to balance the writing level. I’ll definitely give it a try!
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I definitely would say boredom isn’t a concern with this! The fantasy aspect makes it interesting enough to stay engaged with for sure.
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This book sounds so good?! And I love the cover! I already have Freshwater on my TBR and while I really want to pick it up this sounds much more my speed.
Great review!
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Thank you!! Pet and Freshwater are def COMPLETELY different books, so I’d recommend this for sure if you think Freshwater might be too much to start with. I hope you end up liking it if/when you get around to it!
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Freshwater never caught my attention but I definitely perked up when I heard Emezi was writing a middle grade novel. This sounds pretty wild; good to know you enjoyed it.
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It’s definitely a pretty original concept!
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Fantastic book! First read of 2020 and a tough act to follow! Important message about abuse and complacency and GORGEOUS prose. My review is here https://bookloverssanctuary.com/2020/01/16/pet-akwaeke-emezi/
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Good to hear you got along with it as well! I’m so glad the youth of today are going to get to read this.
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