The Young Adult genre has never been as full of such powerful, beautiful, and intriguing stories as it is today. While the genre certainly gives readers a multitude of choices, it can be overwhelming to chose which book on your TBR will catch your eye next. TAC is here to help with that through our newly reinstated book club! Join us on February 10th to read Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, a book that has made a huge impact on the YA world since its debut in 2019. You can find both hardcover and paperback editions at Bookmarks!
Pet follows Jam, a young girl living in Lucille, a city where all the evil people— simply referred to as monsters— have been weeded out through a long and powerful revolution. The revolution was followed by harsh punishment, rehabilitation, and system reforms, until monsters were not only defeated, they were eradicated. At least, that’s what Lucille’s citizens wanted to believe. When Pet, a frightening creature from another world and calling itself a monster hunter, emerges from Jam’s mother’s painting, Jam has to face a truth she and the rest of Lucille don’t want to believe: monsters aren’t truly gone, and they can easily hide behind a familiar face.
Pet challenges your perception of the truth, the good, and the evil. Emezi’s use of monsters to represent the evil people of the world takes on real-world problems with enough fantasy to make it easier for readers to process and understand, while still threading truth throughout each page. Emezi pushes reader’s boundaries, their story a tangible reminder that believing something isn’t happening doesn’t keep it from happening, but rather keeps us from solving the issue.
Our book club will discuss some of the questions Emezi raises, such as where truth comes from, and how our own experience can cloud our judgment of the truth. We’ll also discuss the importance of Emezi’s diverse and inclusive cast of characters, and what a book like Pet can teach us about life, change, and the truth we cannot always see.
Pet is a book filled with gentle discovery of difficult truths, the power of art to fight injustice, and the importance of seeing what’s real, not what you want to believe. It’s not an easy book, but it’s important, and we hope you’ll join us at TAC on February 10th to dive deeper into the lessons Akwaeke Emezi has to teach.