ANIMAL CONTROL

In Miller’s novel, a disaffected teenager receives a bizarre power that may be the key to changing her grim reality.

Shay Garner is a 17-year-old living in a hostile world. At home, she must contend with her abusive, alcohol-addictedmother, who hurls insults but never offers love or support. At school, with her two best friends, Opal and Santana,she has joined an after-school group to work on community service, but all three girls agree that petitions and picking up garbage will do nothing to reverse the environmental disasters and extreme poverty around their home of San Jose, California. “Every single moment, even this one, is a gift,” Shay thinks, adding, “No part of her believes that statement fully.” However, an unbelievable gift does, in fact, come Shay’s way. An odd figure named Corvus P. Capra with mechanical pincers for hands saves her from a man harassing her in the street; he then wordlessly offers her a black clamshell, which displays messages so that he can communicate with her. The item also gives its new owner the ability to control animals with her mind. Shay’s disbelief quickly gives way to amazement, and then a flurry of questions, as she realizes that she can compel cockroaches, spiders, cats, and dogs to follow her orders with merely a thought. Shay trains with Corvus at night, but he remains aloof about the power’s ultimate purpose: “Time is little,” he tells her. “Few questions, fine, okay. Many, not good. It is pesky.” As her abilities grow, she finds herself able to manipulate zoo animals and even people. Shay withdraws from the people close to her, just as Corvus finally reveals his intentions to use the power to stave off an environmental disaster. However, before long, she and her friends set off down a strange path to understanding what it really means to change the world.

Miller’s heavily philosophical approach doesn’t shy away from dark themes, violence, or language. The novel’s detached tone quickly alerts readers to the deadly serious stakes, even as some wacky plot elements emerge; the reveal of what Corvus truly is, for example, seems too bizarre to be believed, but somehow feels logical. Shay’s sheer intelligence will win readers over early; the probing questions she asks about her new powers make her feel genuine, while also pushing at the limits of the unusual situation. There’s a pervasive sense of despair that Miller renders beautifully, and it places readers squarely into the mindset of young people who feel powerless to fix problems, either at home or in the world at large. The novel’s excellent twist is that when they get power, it only creates more perplexing questions with unclear solutions: “There is a growing hollowness beneath it,” Shay thinks after one victory, “a sense of incompletion.” The protagonist’s story feels light-years from the typical hero’s journey, consistently focusing on more existential themes—and the result is something unusually unsettling and unforgettable.

A strange, inventive tale that evolves into a challenging and rewarding odyssey.