Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

*Minor spoilers*

Who are the Sawkill Girls? Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find. Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is. Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies. Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now.

I finished a whole audiobook! I never really thought I’d get into them, but I’m actually really enjoying them. I’ve been meaning to read Sawkill Girls, but I’ve just never gotten around to it. But I’m really glad that I finally got the chance to experience this story. Lauren Ezzo is an amazing voice actor! Trigger warnings: gore, acephobia (it’s challenged, but it’s still there)

This book is seeping in emotion. It’s one of the reasons that I didn’t pick up my physical copy sooner, since I tend to feel whatever emotion the book is trying to get across very strongly. And this one is sad and angry and frustration. It was easier for me to listen to, since it was kinda like a step removed? I dunno if that makes any sense haha. But I also think I would have gotten more of the creepiness if I had read a physical copy!

I went into this book expecting a lot of girls feeling lots of emotions, with some months, and a monster. I think this book delivers on all of that haha. It jumps right into plot in the first chapter. It introduces the characters in a spectacular way. I feel like I got to know Zoe, Marion, and Val really quickly, but their first couple of chapters also set up their entire characters arcs. Looking back, I can really see and feel the foreshadowing which is amazing.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about the monster. I know there were three scenes that completely took my breath away. They were creepy and horrifying and I feel like they felt the heart of the book. Though, I wasn’t a huge fan how the monsters were all over the world. I think it ruined the “small town” vibe it was going for and I think the isolation factor would have added to the creepiness. And I think it just opened up more finicking plot devices that I didn’t love the answers to. I did really like the jerk of a character that this brought in though. He was gross and I’m glad he got what he deserved.

I’m not sure how I feel about the romantic relationship in this book. It is f/f, which I love, but it’s also complicated considering the monster and everything that one character did. I think that’s the point that it’s complicated though. It’s messy and rough and there is not right answer. You just have to try to move forward.

This book feels like it’s a mix of a contemporary, horror, and fantasy. And they all mix together really well. I didn’t expect a lot of things that happened in this book. And a lot of things I didn’t think I would like, I actually did end up liking. The heart of this book really shines through and I think that’s what me made me like it so much. It truly is about girls, girls loving girls, girls being angry, and girls being girls.

You can add Sawkill Girls on Goodreads and order a copy of your own!

Thank you for reading!