Pet

Locations
Call Number: Teen Fiction / Emezi, Akwaeke, Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Emezi, Akwaeke
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Teen Fiction / Emezi, Akwaeke	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Teen Fiction / Emezi, Akwaeke	4-week checkout	Due 05-14-2024
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Teen Fiction / Emezi, Akwaeke	4-week checkout	Due 05-05-2024
Pittsfield Teen Books 4-week checkout	Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Emezi, Akwaeke	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Teen Books 4-week checkout	Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Emezi, Akwaeke	4-week checkout	Due 05-19-2024

In a near-future society that claims to have gotten rid of all monstrous people, a creature emerges from a painting seventeen-year-old Jam's mother created, a hunter from another world seeking a real-life monster.
There are no monsters anymore. In the city of Lucille, Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. Then 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. Pet has come to hunt a monster-- and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist? -- adapted from jacket

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Weird, magical, and beautiful submitted by TeacherN on July 13, 2021, 9:02am This book was weird and magical and beautiful, but somehow the last third of the book felt different - like an editor jumped in and said it needed to be more "typical YA." Even so, it's definitely worth a read. I especially loved that the main character was a trans girl, but that was not at all what the story was about.

Pet submitted by nemiller on July 17, 2021, 6:34pm A beautiful, heavy, and ultimately affirming book.

Emezi spends exactly the right amount of time on world building. Not everything is explained; some fantastical elements are simply what are, no explanation needed. The same goes for less-fantastical elements, like the social structures, and the characters' intersectional identities. There is definitely a place for books that address homophobia, etc, but it is also very refreshing to read a book where queer people simply are who they are. That said, some readers may want to check the trigger warnings.

While the book is categorized as YA, I'd recommend it for adult readers too.

Hits a lot of marks submitted by Xris on March 16, 2022, 12:04am I dream of the day that our society will be like Lucille. I hope we're moving that way, but wish it would speed up. Jam is a great black trans character, (though I kept thinking she was younger than she was), and she uses sign language! Interesting concept of how Pet came to our world too. Would be great to hunt our monsters too!

Beautiful, hopeful book by an awesome author submitted by journeyhawthorne on July 5, 2022, 6:52pm I loved this book so much, I don't have the right words for it. I'd love to see a book about the revolution of Angels and the work they did to remove monsters from their society, because it would be a great playbook for our own world. This book touches on childhood abuse, but handles it with care, grace, and ultimately, hope that we too will be able to defeat our own monsters of humanity.

5 stars submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on August 1, 2023, 3:25am What a clever, creative, and though-provoking book! What happens in the aftermath of a world where we actually fix everything? Where all the monsters are actually rounded up and gone? This story explores what children are brought up to learn in that world… and what happens when just maybe one girl is called on to see that which is no longer acknowledged or seen.

Screen before giving to mature middle schoolers, and would create great discussion for high schoolers. Just a good, thought provoking read for college and up.