Book Review: We Shall Be Monsters by Tara Sim

I have a feeling that some people are really going to like We Shall Be Monsters by Tara Sim, but I am not one of those people. This book wasn’t really a bad read for me, just another among this year’s many “eh, it was fine” reads.

Before we get into the full review, does anyone else keep finding themself reading what they thought was a stand-alone, but it turns out it’s the first book in a duology/trilogy/series? This is at least the third book I’ve read this year where this has happened (see also Remedial Magic), and I’m starting to wonder if publishers are holding back on announcing that a book is a series-starter until they’ve gotten enough pre-orders and early buzz.

We Shall Be Monsters is what, the fifth Frankenstein-inspired book I’ve read in the past year or two? Unlike all the others, this one is only mildly queer, in that the main character is bi, and there’s a non-binary secondary character, but it doesn’t seem to really be using the Frankenstein story as a way of exploring queerness and related concepts, so much as it’s using it to set up a typical bit of YA adventure, angst, and romance (and to be fair, also exploring a bit about the nature of good and evil).

Side note: I think I could save myself a lot of hassle if I just no longer put a library hold on any book that mentions a prince in the description.

The unique thing about We Shall Be Monsters is that it is inspired by Indian religions, mythology, and cosmology, and I feel like it’s drawing much more on that than on the storyline of Frankenstein (but it does involve a lot of raising of the dead). I think if these two things were combined in an adult novel I’d be all over it, especially if it was a stand-alone, but as a start of a series with YA tropes, I just wasn’t won over.

That said, Tara Sim can write. There were a lot of beautiful turns of phrase in this book, each character felt unique and consistent, and the pacing only dragged occasionally. I can see why she has her fans, and I think anyone who has enjoyed her previous work, or who enjoys YA in general, will like this. From a craft perspective, it’s a pretty well put-together book, with a couple of exceptions:

1. There’s a “big reveal” near the end of the book that I saw coming from a hundred pages away. Again, for younger readers, this might not be a big deal. And I’m not saying kids aren’t smart enough to see things coming, I’m saying they haven’t read as many books as I have and thus don’t have as much experience predicting things. They see the world with fresher eyes and I love that for them. I’m old and jaded.
2. There’s also a sudden POV switch near the end of the book in the form of a flashback, which to me felt like a kind of forced way to provide some additional information and added a trope I don’t particularly like, which was when I decided I definitely wasn’t going to continue the series.

In conclusion, if you’re an avid YA reader, you might enjoy this. But if you only dabble or generally avoid the age category entirely, I think you can skip this. There are plenty of other Frankenstein pastiches out there waiting for you.

CWs and TWs: Death, violence, warfare, discrimination and violence against “witches” which is generally violence against women.

Source and Format: I read this as an ebook from Sno-Isle Libraries.

Book Bingo Prompts

SAL/SPL Adult Summer Reading: Fantastical. Frankenstein-inspired books can go in a number of directions. Sometimes they’re sci-fi. Often they’re horror. But this one is marketed as and reads like a dark fantasy, and so it was a good pick for this square (and saved me from having to write a review of Mirrored Heavens, who wants to review the third book in a trilogy?).

Book Bingo Progress

Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 17 out of 25 prompts complete. 2 bingos.

Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 15 out of 25 prompts complete. 1 bingo.

SAL/SPL Adult Summer Reading: 13 out of 23 prompts complete, 1 bingo.

SBTB Summer Romance: 2 out of 24 prompts complete, 0 bingos.