The Monsters We Defy, by Leslye Penelope

[sophia_sol]

I always find it so funny when the cover copy on a book tells of a very different story than the one that's actually between the covers. "Clara seizes the chance, no questions asked" hahaha no Clara asks a lot of questions!

Anyway this is a book set in 1920's Washington DC in the Black community, with a main character who can see and talk to spirits, and takes on a mission on behalf of one of them in order to free herself from an agreement. Clara pulls together a team of other people who also have magical gifts, plus her friend Zelda who's not magical but used to work in a circus and isn't about to let Clara do anything dangerous without her.

I really enjoyed the depth of the setting of this book; the author clearly did her research, and it shows in the best ways. People and places and relevant issues of the time and the specific place are all integrated into the narrative, bringing it to life. Issues of classism and colourism within the Black community is a major theme in the book, and it emphasises the importance of solidarity against the bigger problems they all face.

I also loved Zelda and the way her friendship with Clara was portrayed. This is one of the important relationships in the book and I love that! Also another important relationship is between Clara and her dead grandma. Grandma ghosts best ghosts.

The aspect of the book that worked least well for me was three other members of Clara's team. They're three men named Jesse Lee, Aristotle, and Israel. And I kept getting them confused! They each have different backstories and abilities but I didn't feel like I got enough of a sense of their different personalities to be able to hold each one firm in my head as a different person. I kept having to think hard to remember which one was Clara's love interest, which one had which ability, and so on, which was fairly disorienting.

But overall it was a solidly enjoyable and interesting book. And I really appreciated one aspect of the ending, which is:

I'm really glad that Clara didn't have to use her Charm to succeed! She was firm throughout the whole book that she felt it was dangerously powerful and wrong to use, and that she did not intend to ever use it again. And she didn't have to! I was worried that it would end up being one of those situations where the character has to make a hard decision and do something they don't want to do in order to succeed. But no, she set a boundary and that boundary did not have to be sacrificed to win. I really appreciate that.

Comments

[yuuago]

You had me at "depth of setting". Love stuff with a strong sense of place. :V Onto the to-read list it goes!

[sophia_sol]

yes, I love it too, and I'm always delighted to come across another book that's interested in it!

[superborb]

Oddly difficult to set apart team members when TEAM isn't an emphasis, I suppose, without just falling into archetypes!

[lirazel]

Boy do I hate copy and/or cover art that doesn't reflect the book! I am glad you can find it funny because it just drives me crazy! (Mostly because it just seems to show a lack of effort/care on the publishers' part.)

That setting does indeed sound intriguing! Is it YA?

[sophia_sol]

yeah I think so!

[sophia_sol]

it used to drive me crazy! and I do agree that it shows a lack on the part of the publisher. But in the age of the internet when I can google for readers' summaries of what the book is about, I am no longer as dependent on what the publisher chooses for its promotional approach, and so I can find it funny instead.

It's not YA! :D

[lirazel]

But in the age of the internet when I can google for readers' summaries of what the book is about, I am no longer as dependent on what the publisher chooses for its promotional approach, and so I can find it funny instead.

This is true! I don't usual search for reader summaries if the original copy didn't grab me though. Maybe I should?

Nice! When the Angels Left the Old Country has kind of weakened my "no YA written after 2010ish" rule, but it's nice to hear this one isn't.

[lokifan]

Oh, that's so cool about the ending! Yeah, there's so much stuff where it's like "and then the hero was forced to use the dangerous/destructive power" and like... I don't mind it in itself but the pattern's kinda disturbing.

[sophia_sol]

Yeah!!! The pattern is a real thing, and seeing this subversion in this book was such an unexpected delight!