We Are the Beasts by Gigi Griffis

Title: We are the Beasts

Author: Gigi Griffis

Genre: Fantasy

Series: N/A, Standalone

Hardcover, 352 Pages 

Publication: December 10, 2024

Source: I received a review copy in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you, Penguin Random House!

Buy|AMAZON|BN|

When a series of brutal, mysterious deaths start plaguing the countryside and whispers of a beast in the mountains reach the quiet French hamlet of Mende, most people believe it’s a curse—God’s punishment for their sins.

But to sixteen-year-old Joséphine and her best friend, Clara, the beast isn’t a curse. It’s an opportunity.

For years, the girls of Mende have been living in a nightmare—fathers who drink, brothers who punch, homes that feel like prisons—and this is a chance to get them out.

Using the creature’s attacks as cover, Joséphine and Clara set out to fake their friends’ deaths and hide them away until it’s safe to run. But escape is harder than they thought. If they can’t brave a harsh winter with little food… If the villagers discover what they’re doing… If the beast finds them first...

Those fake deaths might just become real ones.

MY THOUGHTS

We Are the Beasts takes place in 1765 in the French countryside. The town of Gévaudan is plagued by brutal animal attacks, and the townspeople believe it to be some sort of curse. Amidst this turmoil, the tragic death of a young man sparks an unexpected opportunity for the women and girls of Gévaudan to reclaim their power.

Based on real-life events, We Are the Beasts explores the historical mystery of the Beast of Gévaudan, a creature that terrorized the region. I hadn’t heard of this event before reading the book, but I found it fascinating. Even today, the true identity of the beast remains uncertain. It was described as wolf-like but not quite a wolf. The novel begins with a violent killing, but as the story unfolds, it becomes a narrative of women’s empowerment and rage, breaking societal rules, sisterhood, and finding family in unexpected places. The themes and messages are something I'm sure resonate deeply with many women and girls' experiences.

What I loved most was how Griffis wove an important message into a well-known historical event. She captured the essence of what it means to be a woman or girl in a patriarchal world. Whether it’s hundreds of years ago or today in 2024, the feelings and experiences remain strikingly similar. At its core, We Are the Beasts delves into those shared experiences: being surrounded by men—fathers, brothers, uncles, priests, friends, or authority figures—who are meant to protect, but instead often inflict harm. These men, through toxic dominance, verbal abuse, and physical violence, devalue the feminine. It’s a literal perversion of the masculine archetypes.

On the other hand, the novel celebrates women’s empowerment and sisterhood. I loved seeing the girls' band together to help each other escape the "beasts" in their lives, whether those beasts took the form of unsolicited advances, abusive family members, or the oppressive forces stifling their dreams. The journey evolves from saving one girl to saving a group, culminating in Josephine’s powerful realization that she, too, needed to save herself. One of the most poignant lessons I took away from this story is that power; real or perceived, is only what we allow others to have. Without our consent or acknowledgment, they are powerless.

We Are the Beasts is a powerful and thought-provoking YA novel that fills a much-needed space in the genre. It’s a book every young woman should read. I enjoyed it far more than I expected and highly recommend it to anyone who loves historical fantasy with a meaningful message.

In Her Boots by K.J. Dell'Antonia

Title: In Her Boots

Author: K.J. Dell'Antonia

Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Series: N/A

Trade Paperback, 384 pages 

Publication: July 5, 2022 by  G.P. Putnam's Sons

Source: I received a review copy in exchange for honest review.
Buy|Amazon|B&N|

Filling these boots is harder than it looks.

Rhett Gallagher’s adventurous life is imploding. Just as she turns the big 4-0, her long-term relationship collapses, and news of a tragedy forces her to return to the family farm. The only silver lining is that Rhett’s inspirational book, The Modern Pioneer Girl—written under a pseudonym—has become a wild success, so much so that in a moment of panic, self-doubting Rhett persuades her best friend Jasmine to step into the limelight as the famed author.

But their prank turns into something more when the controlling mother Rhett hasn’t seen in two decades announces her intent to sell the farm Rhett loves and expected to make her own. To Rhett’s dismay, her mother is far more impressed by the fake author than she's ever been by Rhett. To save her inheritance—and her identity—Rhett must concoct a scheme that will save the farm, and prove to her mother, and to herself, that she can stand on her own two feet.

. . . she is not the hero.

 

MY THOUGHTS

In Her Boots tells the story of Rhett Gallagher, an independent almost forty-year-old living the nomad lifestyle. By day she’s your small town gal living out the dream of the farm life and by night she moonlights under the pseudonym of Maggie Strong, a social media influencer and Best-Selling Author of The Modern Pioneer Girl; a book teaching women how to live and embrace their best authentic self and life. Rhett’s two worlds collide when she return home and a one-time stunt spirals into an endless web of lies.

This is my first time reading a book by K.J. Dell'Antonia and it certainly didn’t disappoint. In Her Boots was filled with so many gems and touched on a wide range of topics. I was amazed at how much Dell’Antonia packed into the story. At the core, this is a story of self discovery and acceptance. It doesn’t matter if one is eighteen, twenty-five or in Rhett’s case at the cusp of forty; its a journey we’d all make in our life one time or another. I love that Dell’Antonia incorporated the social media aspect. In this day and age, people are caught between the person they present to the world and their personal life, and in most causes its always different…premeditated and groomed. And the consequences of that is many times people lose themselves along the way and don’t know what is real or not. That is the gist of Rhett’s dilemma.

Relationships, especially female relationships also played a key component in this book. Relationships between friends, family, and the community. But don’t fret, there’s a little romance but its a minor plot thread in comparison to the other themes and relationships in the story. I enjoyed seeing Rhett’s complex relationship with her best friend Jasmine and her mother Margaret. Jasmine hands down is the epitome of a ride or die friend and I loved that! Rhett and her mother’s relationship while complex, its also the clear case of miscommunication or lack thereof.

All in all In Her Boots was an unexpected funny and heartfelt read. There were a lot of tears shed while reading it! I enjoyed it very much. It kind of reminded me of those cozy feel-good Lifetime/Hallmark Channel special…minus the cheese! In Her Boots wasn’t just a great read but it had amazing messages…whether someone needs to hear it or be reminded. I highly recommend checking this book out!