Half of my September books fit in a very specific subgenre. These are not those. Though in fairness, they are all still kind of horror-adjacent, which is weird, is it not? Anyway, this is a pretty good batch! Stay tuned for the rest of my definitely thriller-y, definitely monstrous September fare!

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
To the Bone by Alena Bruzas
At the End of the River Styx by Michelle Kulwicki
This World Is Not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir, translated by Mary Robinette Kowal

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
Published by Peachtree Teen on September 3, 2024
Pages: 384
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

Bestselling and award-winning author Andrew Joseph White returns with a queer Appalachian thriller, that pulls no punches, for teens who see the failures in our world and are pushing for radical change.

A gut-wrenching story following a trans autistic teen who survives an attempted murder, only to be drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them.

On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident” that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him.

The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners’ rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement. Now, Miles becomes the feud’s latest victim as the sheriff’s son and his friends sniff out the evidence, follow him through the woods, and beat him nearly to death.

In the hospital, the ghost of a soot-covered man hovers over Miles’s bedside while Sheriff Davies threatens Miles into silence. But when Miles accidently kills one of the boys who hurt him, he learns of other folks in Twist Creek who want out from under the sheriff’s heel. To free their families from this cycle of cruelty, they’re willing to put everything on the line—is Miles?

A visceral, unabashedly political page-turner that won’t let you go until you’ve reached the end, Compound Fracture is not for the faint of heart, but it is for every reader who is ready to fight for a better world.

TW via author’s note: “So please note that we’re going to deal with some difficult topics: graphic violence including police violence, transphobia, opioid use and withdrawal, and disturbing images.”

Whew, this was a hell of a ride. And a pretty brutal one at times, too. But also, hopeful, even in the darkest of places. I appreciated that balance, frankly. We meet Miles, a trans teen who also has some undiagnosed autism. He lives in West Virginia, in a very rural community, so you can imagine that it might be extra hard for him. He’s come out to his parents, and he has found some information on the (extra shitty) sheriff that implicates him in a ton of bad stuff. But as you can imagine, it isn’t that easy when the “good ol’ boys” run everything.

The story has several components: one, of course, being the corrupt local government and Miles’s determination to hold them accountable. The other is Miles’s relationships with his family, his friends, and his path of self discovery. He learns a lot about who he is and what he can do over the course of the story, and it is great to read about. He meets some people along the way who he really needed to meet, and I loved that for him. I don’t want to say too much about any of these folks/entities for fear of spoilers, but I felt like every character introduced had a big impact on the story, which I love.

It did start off a little slower for me- I kind of thought parts of the first third could have been pared down a tad, but when it got going, I was absolutely hooked. Of course at that point, I was also super invested in Miles as a character, which helped! Anyway, things got really intense at certain points, and maybe it required just a touch of suspension of disbelief, but I didn’t struggle to do so.

I found the commentary here really thought provoking. As much as Miles has gone through it in his community, he still loves living there. I have always wondered how people who live in such red areas (especially those who face hate because of who they are in such places) can stand it, and I loved that this book shed a light on that.

Bottom Line: Another hit from Andrew Joseph White, who continues to write incredible commentary with the most wonderfully messed up plots like no other.

To the Bone by Alena Bruzas
Published by Rocky Pond Books on September 10, 2024
Pages: 256
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

This moving and tragic love story is also a starkly honest look at Colonial America, set during the “Starving Time” in Jamestown.

It’s 1609 at James Fort, and Ellis has recently arrived from England with Henry Collins and his wife, who she serves as their indentured help. To orphaned Ellis, James Fort is an opportunity – a fresh start in a new world. And now that she has fallen for the bold and glorious Jane Eddowes, she feels even more hopeful about her future. Foolishly hopeful, for soon she comes to understand the horrible realities of her home: the crimes that her fellow settlers have committed against the Native Americans there, the terrible shortage of food they are facing as winter draws near, and the cruelty of her employer, both to her and to his pregnant wife. Ellis will call upon all her fortitude, but will it be enough? Gripping, shocking, and exquisitely told, this is crucial U.S. history seen through the eyes of an extraordinary fictional teenager.

Content note at start: “Please be advised that this novel includes depictions of domestic abuse, cannibalism, and self-harm.” (Author adds more here)

To the Bone is a dark, dark historical fiction novel. Did I mention that it was dark? If you’re looking for cheery fare, look elsewhere. But as I have always been endlessly fascinated with this time period, I devoured this one. It takes place during “The Starving Time” at Jamestown in 1609, and I have really always felt such a curiosity at those early, pre-Mayflower era colonists, especially their thought process. The records are few and far between, and always from the perspective of the white colonizer, of course, so to read a book (even a fictional one!) from the point of view of a young girl was quite thought provoking. Also, it led me down quite an interesting rabbit hole, which is always fun!

At first, I found the writing to be very simplistic, but as I read on, it absolutely made sense- someone of Ellis’s age and place in society would be fairly uneducated, and frankly, not known much about the world around her at all. Add to it that she was kept quite sequestered by the crappy dude who held her indenture, and you can see why she’d feel a bit pedestrian. She wanted more, though. It was clear she had some deep feelings for her friend Jane, and not just friendship feelings, though it was hard for Ellis to articulate. She also had hope that she could find her father, who came to the continent years before Ellis herself made the journey.

But things took a turn when people started starving and getting sick, and when winter kicked in. Add to it, her indenturer’s wife is pregnant, and has spent the entire pregnancy very ill- both physically and mentally, adding to the toll on the house. And when you think things can’t get a ton worse, they manage. Like I said, this is a bleak one. But even though it most definitely is somber, I was glad to have read it. If you have read it, I have a question, but it’s very spoilery so please only look if you have read it! [View post to see spoiler]

A sidenote, this book is not directly about the wrongness of colonialism in general (though perhaps you can argue that it is indirectly- after all, their decisions absolutely had consequences, at least in this story), but the author does discuss it in her author’s note. We don’t see a lot of interaction between indigenous people and the intruders, but a young indentured woman wouldn’t have had much opportunity to, either. There are some subtle nods, but Ellis is, by definition of her station, kept quite in the dark.

Bottom Line: Dark, but also very fascinating and readable.

At the End of the River Styx by Michelle Kulwicki
Published by Page Street YA on September 24, 2024
Pages: 384
Format:ARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review

Before he can be reborn, Zan has spent 499 years bound in a 500-year curse to process souls for the monstrous Ferryman―and if he fails he dies.

In Portland, Bastian is grieving. He survived a car accident that took his mother and impulse-purchased a crumbling bookstore with the life insurance money.
But in sleep, death’s mark keeps dragging Bastian into Zan’s office. It shouldn’t be a problem to log his soul and forget he ever existed. But when Zan follows Bastian through his memories of grief and hope, Zan realizes that he is not ready for Bastian to die.

The boys borrow time hiding in the memories of the dead while the Ferryman hunts them, and Zan must decide if he’s willing to give up his chance at life to save Bastian―and Bastian must decide if he’s willing to keep living if it means losing Zan.

This was a lovely story about grief and friendship and family and ultimately, hope and healing. Bastian has lost his mom in an awful car accident, and he is still reeling. He and his twin brother are mainly left to their own devices, since they are eighteen, and honestly it broke my heart. They have an aunt but she was more peripheral than anything, and the boys mainly had to find their way on their own. Luckily, they did have a very strong friend group who cared, which did help.

Meanwhile, on the River Styx, Zan has spent 499 years guiding lost souls to the Ferryman (who is The Worst, by the way) in exchange for saving his mother’s life nearly half a millennium ago. He exists on the memories of those he’s guided, and the end is in sight- until he meets Bastian, who somehow survived the accident, but still is on the Ferryman’s list.

The two worlds collide in a dream-like state for Bastian, who has bought a bookstore with his inheritance, and is isolating himself from his brother and friends. They’re trying to help him cope, but he’s not doing well. The whole tone of the book is incredibly melancholic, which of course makes sense given the content. There is hope though, so it isn’t all gloomy, but it’s still quite a sad story. I also like that the author brought up therapy in a positive, healing way.

My only real qualm with the story is that it felt a bit longer than it needed at times, and I struggled with that pacing a bit. Especially considering that it is a sadder (and therefore more emotionally taxing), it feels a bit more significant than if a lighter book had extra length. But still, it is a very lovely book, and I definitely shed more than a few tears!

Bottom Line: It’s heartbreaking, but it’s got some hope, showing the power of grief, but also the power of healing.

This World Is Not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Published by Tor Nightfire on September 10, 2024
Pages: 176
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

This World is Not Yours by USA Today bestseller Kemi Ashing-Giwa is the perfect blend of S.A. Barnes' space horror and Cassandra Khaw's beautiful but macabre worlds. An action-packed, inventive novella about a toxic polycule consumed by jealousy and their attempts to survive on a hostile planet.

After fleeing her controlling and murderous family with her fiancée Vinh, Amara embarks on a colonization project, New Belaforme, along with her childhood friend, Jesse.

The planet, beautiful and lethal, produces the Gray, a “self-cleaning” mechanism that New Belaforme’s scientists are certain only attacks invasive organisms, consuming them. Humans have been careful to do nothing to call attention to themselves until a rival colony wakes the Gray.

As Amara, Vinh, and Jesse work to carve out a new life together, each is haunted by past betrayals that surface, expounded by the need to survive the rival colony and the planet itself.

There’s more than one way to be eaten alive.

Whew, this is a whirlwind of a book. I loved the concept, and all the ideas. I think it maybe (and I never say this!) could have stood to be a bit longer, maybe, to flesh out those ideas a bit more? Regardless, I enjoyed what I did read. The story is basically Vinh and Amara, how their relationship evolved, and how they ended up in a really messy situation on an even messier (for them, anyway) planet. The vibes are definitely on point in this story- you feel the tension of all the stressors immediately and consistently, and I loved that.

I don’t want to say too much, because this is a novella, and a thriller at that. I feel like the only thing I can really say is that I loved all the elements of the story- the complex relationship, the characters, the very intriguing and imaginative world, the survival aspect, and even the political climate. I just really wanted more of all of those things. I almost never want more pages in a book, but in this one I did. Which is, in essence, a compliment to the story, as I liked it so much that I wanted to know so many more things! I feel like there is so much potential here, and while it perhaps didn’t totally satisfy me, I liked what I did get quite a bit. And I am absolutely here for whatever the author writes next, because she definitely came up with a lot of great stuff here!

Bottom Line: A unique and thrilling adventure in a bonkers (in the best way!) world, I just would have liked more of the story!

Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
Published by Tordotcom on September 3, 2024
Pages: 176
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

On the set of a kitschy reality TV show, staged scares transform into unnerving reality in this spooky ghost story from multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Sarah Pinsker.

“Don’t talk to day about what we do at night.”

When aimless twenty-something Mara lands a job as the night-shift production assistant on her cousin’s ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show Haunt Sweet Home, she quickly determines her new role will require a healthy attitude toward duplicity. But as she hides fog machines in the woods and improvises scares to spook new homeowners, a series of unnerving incidents on set and a creepy new coworker force Mara to confront whether the person she's truly been deceiving and hiding from all along―is herself.

Eerie and empathetic, Haunt Sweet Home is a multifaceted, supernatural exploration of finding your own way into adulthood, and into yourself.

Haunt Sweet Home was a bit different than I expected. It was less horror/thriller, more… character exploration? Folksy-ghost-reality show tale? I don’t know. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, it just was different. I liked Mara, our main character. She’s in a rut, and her cousin offers her a crappy job on his haunted houses show. It’s supposed to be like House Hunters, but with ghosts, or something. Either way, it gets Mara out of her rut, as she has to navigate a bunch of new coworkers, and the demands of the job.

And that is kind of the story, right? It’s less action and adventure, more Mara trying to figure out her crap and also maybe there will be ghosts or maybe Mara and the crew will have to make them up, who can tell? So I liked it for what it was- a short, fast look into Mara trying to figure out how to find her way. And haunted house shows. Also, the cover is really pretty, which doesn’t have anything to do with anything, but there we are.

Bottom Line: If you’re looking for thrills, this isn’t it, but if you’re looking for thoughtful character exploration mixed with reality ghost shows, then it sure is!

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir, Mary Robinette Kowal
Published by Tor Nightfire on September 3, 2024
Pages: 208
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

Hildur Knutsdottir's The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.

Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

TW for animal death

Oh this was a hit. In fact, this was getting 5 stars until the end, which I don’t understand at all, can someone please explain it to me? Thanks.

I won’t say a ton about this, because it is short and exciting and very readable and you should read it for yourself and then please explain the ending to me remember. Anyway, I fell in love from the start, because we meet Iðunn, who wakes up exhausted every morning. Like, no energy, can barely drag herself out of bed. Doctors do not take her seriously, and she feels so completely defeated. And I feel this on such a level I cannot explain.

But just as she’s worried that she’s got some awful thing happening and no one will find it in time… weird stuff starts to happen. Like, her fitness watch tells her she’s walked over forty thousand steps. Look friends, I have never in my whole life walked more than 12k, and that was when I was traveling and walking literally non-stop. So. This is a lot! What does it mean? What the heck is going on with Iðunn? Well, you’re going to have to read this incredibly fast-paced, very unputdownable book to find out. (And then seriously for the love of all that is holy, tell me about it!)

Bottom Line: Legit could not put this down, read in one sitting, just wanted to understand the ending.

Have you read any of these books? Plan to? Let us chat about them!  

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