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The Monsters We Defy, by Leslye Penelope
Apr. 2nd, 2023 11:34 amI 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:
( cut for a mild spoiler for the ending )
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:
( cut for a mild spoiler for the ending )
