Pet

Title: Pet

Author: Akwaeke Emezi

Page Count: 208

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: September 10, 2019 by Make Me a World

Format: Hardcover

Review: After reading this book I am surprised that it is cataloged as YA Fiction.  It really read like J Fiction to me.  I had to keep reminding myself that the main character is seventeen, because her character seems much younger.

The setting is a sort of Utopia where the “monsters” have been eliminated and everyone treats each other nicely (or so they think).  From the very first chapter I could have outlined the entire plot of the story.  I can’t say much more than what is in the synopsis without completely giving everything away, but I can tell you that the story follows a very predictable path.

I admire what the author is trying to do with this book – she is revealing the dangers of complacency and denial – but it is all overly simplified.  The backstory as to how this “Utopia” setting was achieved is completely preposterous.  Basically anyone and everyone who has ever committed an atrocity has supposedly been identified and imprisoned.  Society has realized the error of their ways and all people are accepted regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, ableness, etc, etc., etc.  This book was very short, but I honestly think it could have been shorter.  This would have been a great short story for an anthology if all the repetitive filler was removed.

I generally enjoy books that employ elements of magical realism, but this one just wasn’t for me.

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