Pet

by Akwaeke Emezi

Paperback, 2021

Status

Available

Call number

823.92

Publication

Random House Children's Books (2021), Edition: Reprint, 224 pages

Description

In a near-future society that claims to have gotten rid of all monstrous people, a creature emerges from a painting seventeen-year-old Jam's mother created, a hunter from another world seeking a real-life monster.

User reviews

LibraryThing member lycomayflower

I wanted to like this YA novel so much better than I did (especially since it features a trans girl but is not about being trans). It started out pretty wonderful, and I still think the premise and theme are pretty cool. The book is set in Lucille, a near-future city where all the monsters (that

is, people who hurt other people, especially those who hurt others based on their race) are gone and the angels (leaders) who led the revolution are revered. But in a world with no monsters, who will recognize any new monsters who come among us?

Jam, the seventeen-year-old girl at the center of the story, lives a happy life with her parents and hanging out with her best friend Redemption. Until one day Pet, a monster (angel?) in one of her mother's paintings, steps out of the painting and tells Jam there is a monster (person) in her community who must be dealt with. Jam has to deal with deciding whether to believe Pet, what to tell Redemption (whose family Pet claims is harboring the monster Pet's after), and what to do with the monster she and Redemption find in his home. Okay, good stuff, with some compelling, if not *super* nuanced metaphors going on. But then it falls apart when the monster Pet is hunting is revealed.

It turns out that Redemption's uncle has been sexually abusing Redemption's younger brother. And that is for sure one of the most monstrous things that humans do to other humans. But the thing is, it *isn't* "monstrous," which isn't to say that it isn't horrific and appalling. Sexual abuse is *human*, in that it is a thing that humans do to humans. And the book just doesn't grapple enough with that for me. It calls what the uncle does "evil," and it *is*, but that doesn't make it not also *human.* When you set aside some human behavior as "monstrous," you fail to recognize that that monstrous behavior is part of humanity. This is fundamentally human evil, and I don't think Pet deals enough with the fact that the monsters in the book (all our monsters) are *us.* At least it didn't read as such to me. The uncle is tortured, and there's some talk of rehabilitation (for all the monsters), but *that* is what I really wanted to hear more about. What do you do when you find the monster (us)? How do you reconcile the fact that some people are monstrous, but still people? For a book that is so much about how we must look at what is evil in order to continue to *be able* to see what is evil, I was expecting more about what we do when we realize that what we see when we see evil is not some othered monster but the very humanity we're all a part of.

This won many awards, and I did so love the beginning. So I wonder if I missed something. It brings up such a tough, tough subject, one I think most of us do shy away from looking at because it is *so* awful, but then the treatment of that subject left me feeling unsatisfied with the book's whole treatment of human evil.

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LibraryThing member rdwhitenack

This could have been a story that was really drawn out and extended to 500+ pages, even multiple volumes, and it wasn’t and I appreciate that. That’s not a criticism of the book, it’s a compliment to the author. Book deals with the complexities we face in identifying the monsters in our

society that don’t make themselves clear. Involves a black transgendered teen female, her friend (a boy) and an angel come-to-life from her mom’s painting, hell bent on rooting out an evil infecting their small town.

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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian

There are no monsters in Lucille, or at least that is what Jam has learned growing up. During the revolution angels removed the monsters in power, and changed Lucille’s laws and structures. Kids learned that angels changed the world and to be like the angels. But “forgetting is how the monsters

come back.” Jam inadvertently brings to life her mother’s painting of a feathered goat-like creature, named Pet. Pet tells Jam it is there to hunt a monster, specifically one close to her best friend Redemption. Jam can’t imagine what monster that would be and is reluctant to let Redemption know what she’s learned, wishing the knowledge would just go away. But Pet warns her of the importance of seeing the unseen and Jam knows she must save Redemption. An allegory for our troubled times, reflecting our current monsters (ex. Larry Nasser, mass shooters, terrorists, Trump, white supremacists) and angels (ex. Greta Thurnburg, Emma Gonzales, Malala, #timesup, #metoo, #blacklivesmatter, Aly Raisman). The

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LibraryThing member rivkat

In a future that has supposedly eliminated human monsters, Jam has grown up with few barriers or worries, once her parents understood that she was a girl. But when her mother’s painting comes to life and says that there’s a monster in town, she and her friend Redemption have to confront the

question of whether the adults are right after all. Trying a lot of things; it was interesting although it wasn’t exactly for me.

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LibraryThing member electrascaife

Jam lives in a city where, a generation ago, the "angels" (members of the community who fought for the greater good) called out and brought to justice all the "monsters" (billionaires who exploited their workers, murderers, rapists, corrupt politicians,...). Lucille is now a city free of monsters

and free from the fear of them. Or so everyone thinks. But relaxing into the feeling of safety in such a utopia can be problematic, and Jam, who is just a kid, comes face to face with the reality of seeing what others do not see, and with hidden monsters.
Oooh, this is a good one, folks. A fantasy in which utopia and dystopia are on a sliding scale and you never really feel that you can get your footing, where monsters and angels are difficult to discern with your eyes, and it's all told in a beautifully strange way. I also love love love the wonderfully nonchalant way in which multiple characters represent various LGBTQ+ identities; they are intricate parts of the story, but their identities aren't the story itself. Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member CarrieWuj

YA Wow! This is a little mind-blowing. Lots of issues here and an amazing flight of imagination. In a future world where abuse, addiction, violence, prejudice and other societal ills ("monsters") no longer exist, 14-year old Jam and her parents Aloe and Bitter have to confont a new challenge to

this reality in their town of Lucille. Bitter is an artist and she has created a painting that comes to life with Jam's blood. The creature that emerges is frightful and appears to be a monster, but is actually a monster hunter that tells Jam it is here for the house of Redemption, Jam's best friend. Because she brought it to life, it is her "pet" and answers to her, but it is 'hungry' to 'hunt.' Since Jam is young and scared and working behind her parents' back, she urges caution, and wants to move slowly. All the 'monster' removing took place at the hands of 'angels' before she was born, so she doesn't fully understand the process or the cost. Pet urges her to "see the unseen" but she doesn't even know what she is looking for. Is someone hurting her best friend? Is his household in danger? This is so foreign to her current reality where the community anthemn is words from Gwendolyn Brooks' poetry: "We are each other's harvest. We are each other's business. We are each other's magnitude and bond." Wouldn't that be a great way to live? Jam is definitely in over her head. "When realities diverged and you found yourself on a different path from the people you used to share a path with.....well. Masks were useful then; not quite lies, not quite truths. Just decision about what to be and what to show. Curation." As fearsome as Pet looks, can it really be an angel? How is it possible for monsters to rise again? When we stop paying attention is the answer. When we become complacent and let our guard down or begin accepting in small doses what we know to be wrong, then monsters re-appear. The contemporary analogy is not hard to miss, but it is creatively and subtly crafted. Ultimately the right thing wins out, even though it is the hard thing and the consequences are dire. So much to think about and discuss here - young teens are a good target audience.

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LibraryThing member quondame

Once the monsters have been eliminated is more comfortable to live without worrying about them That can be a problem.

LibraryThing member whatsmacksaid

Holy sh*t, this book. It’s like opening a small wooden box and finding a supernova inside.

LibraryThing member fromthecomfychair

I don't usually go for fantasy novels, but this allegorical tale of Jam, a transgender teen girl and the creature, Pet, who pops out of a painting one day to warn Jam about monsters, is fantastic. You could also call this speculative fiction: the town Jam lives in, called Lucille, is supposedly a

safe place purged of monsters. The adults all seem kind, loving, helpful. But someone is hiding behind a mask and Pet, who actually looks like a monster, has come to help Jam bring the real monster out in the open.

I would say this short novel is appropriate for grade 7 and above. The deeds of the monster are never actually named, just hinted at.

Jam herself is an unusual character: a transgender girl who is also selectively mute. Her parents teach her to sign and she communicates mostly by signing with people who have learned how to sign. One thing I wondered about was why she was mute? She was able to talk, which she calls voicing. But most of the time she doesn't choose to. I would have liked to know more about that. Perhaps it is just the author's way of showing how accepting and kind the town is, that everyone accepts not only Jam's transgender-ness, but the mutism as well.

There is also a polyamorous couple that includes one transgender person.

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LibraryThing member clrichm

Things I loved about this book: the main character is a selectively mute trans girl and the plot is NOT ABOUT THAT; another character has three parents, which also isn't given further explanation or attention; the cultural details--food, clothing, music, language--that are part of the protagonist's

life. My only real criticism is that other people I know who communicate via sign language have been adamant that sign language should not be presented in italicized text, as it is a real language and should be treated as ordinary dialogue. I realize that might not be a widely known position, though.

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LibraryThing member reader1009

diverse teen fiction (magical realism, social justice? with incidentally lgbtqai characters; author is nonbinary gender)

SO. GOOD! This was amazingly good, and I also appreciate Jam being incidentally trans, and Redemption's third parent being nonbinary, and the librarian being a hunky man in a

wheelchair. The story was suspenseful and relevant and thoughtful and unlike anything I'd ever read before and I pretty much finished this in two sittings. A You can bet I'll be looking forward to more from the author and reading everything else that they've written so far.

I'm not a person who regularly collects quotes from books (of the hundreds of titles I read every year, this would be maybe the second or third time I've done so in my LIFE), but I can't stop myself here:

"Bitter knew her name was heavy, but she hadn't minded, because it was honest. That was something she'd taught Jam--that a lot of things were manageable as long as they were honest." -p. 7
"The truth doesn't change whether it is seen or unseen, it whispered in her mind. A thing that is happening happens whether you look at it or not. And yes, maybe it is easier not to look. Maybe it is easier to say you do not see it, it is not happening. Maybe you can pull the stone out of the pool and put the moon back together." p. 95

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LibraryThing member ftbooklover

Jam lives in Lucille with her mother, Bitter, and her father Aloe. Her best friend is named Redemption. The town of Lucille has been rid of monsters for a long time, but when Jam accidentally bleeds on one of Bitter's paintings, Pet, comes out of it to hunt a new monster in Lucille. Pet says the

new monster is in Redemption's house, and Jam must help him figure out who it is.

Pet is a unique story about people who harm others; they are described as monsters. There is a great deal of symbolism and societal commentary in the story that most young people reading it wouldn't pick up on right away. Overall, a simplistic story with a deeper message, but not really my type of story.

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LibraryThing member gismcxc

As I was reading this I was thinking "this is one of the best books I've ever read". I couldn't put it down. Loved the artistry/imagery of it. And the mind-stretching thoughts about what we call "ugly" and fear, and what we don't want to see. It was also kind of heart-pounding pacing. So. Good.

LibraryThing member xaverie

Though an extremely short 200 pages, Pet managed to blow me away, the beauty of the story working on multiple levels.

Let's start with the plot: Jam is everything a parent wants their teenager to be: sweet, kind, inquisitive, and naive in the way of someone who has never truly had to face hardship.

Jam lives with her parents, paramedic Aloe and painter Bitter, in Lucille, a town so loosely drawn that could be anywhere in the world. Jam is Black, trans, and selectively mute, using sign language to communicate - but the world she lives in is very different from ours. Jam is safe, happy, and healthy, and so is everybody else she knows, because before she was born, the avenging angel of revolution wiped the monsters from her town.

After Bitter finishes her latest painting, Jam sneaks up to her art studio to catch a glimpse of the finished work. However, Jam falls, cutting herself and spilling her blood on the painting. And thus Jam has accidentally summoned a large, inhuman beast named 'Pet' who claims to be there to hunt a monster at the house of Jam's best friend Redemption.

I didn't know what to expect with this story and I was so delightfully surprised that it was so thoughtful, clever, and bright. Despite being a middle grade book, I think it can be read as an adult fiction as well because though Jam and Redemption are young and discovering monsters for the first time, adults equally need to be reminded of the things they ignore.

I absolutely loved Jam. She's a great protagonist, filled with desire and feeling, and I loved her relationships with her parents, as well as with her best friend Redemption. And, more than anything, I liked the conceit that even in the most utopian of worlds, we still need to be careful, to see beyond what is on the surface.

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LibraryThing member KallieGrace

A strange, quick, impactful story full of wonderful representation for so many diverse identities. The dangers of thinking your family/community is immune from monsters, and the need to always have your eyes of open.

LibraryThing member BarnesBookshelf

Emezi's writing is beautiful. The world they created that Pet takes place in is so similar yet so different from ours, I had some trouble settling into it and understanding it. To me, it's a hopeful book, one that shows us what our future could be, if only we could root out the monsters in our

world. I love that the monsters were given help rather than just killed off, at least the majority. That's what our society needs to heal, isn't it? On top of that, I love that Jam is steadfast in her humanness, and how even though she's scared, she's strong enough to let her empathy win. This is a relatively short book, but it covers a lot. It's one that I feel would go well in college literature courses, feminist courses, and psychology courses, and anywhere else it could fit. It's also one that you need to chew on for a little bit and let it stick to your teeth and tongue before you can truly swallow everything you need to from it. I hope I will come back to it and understand even more on my next read through.

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LibraryThing member ewyatt

World building is lush in this short fantasy that offers much commentary on contemporary society. It imagines a place where current monsters have been defeated. Jam is a trans girl whose loved and adored by her parents. Her mom, an artist, has spent weeks on a painting full of mystery. When the

creature from the painting emerges, Jam's parents aren't overly surprised but demand that Jam send it back to its world. The creature, Pet, comes with a warning that it in this reality to hunt for a Monster at her best friend, Redemption's house, With rich allusions to black women writers and the Bible, the story poses the question about how one recognizes a monster and what to do with them?
Christopher Myers narrated the audiobook and his booming baritone sets the tone for Pet's fierce voice.

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LibraryThing member caedocyon

I wouldn't say it's a new favorite, but interesting and thoughtful. What it takes to build and maintain a utopia is sometimes scary and harsh---that's given verbal acknowledgement at the beginning of the book, and then shown in practice through the rest.

The writing is a little young for the

characters' ages (they're supposed to be what, 16?). On the other hand, part of the story is about the dangers of enforced naivety, so maybe it does fit. The theme of coming into adulthood as a person separate from your parents and making your own decisions is very appropriately teenager, though maybe expressed in the story with more clarity than most teenagers would be able to muster.

Every character had a really different voice---vocabulary, grammar, accent, method of speaking---which, come to think of it, is an interesting artistic choice! I particularly liked Pet's longer bits of dialogue, repetitive and poetic.

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