SOME KIND OF ANIMAL

Fifteen-year-old Jo’s already strange world is upended when her history begins to unravel around her.

Jo never actually knew Jolene, the mother she was named after, having been raised mostly by her tough but caring Aunt Aggie in their economically depressed, opiate-ravaged Ohio town. Years ago, Aggie left her own religiously devout, abusive mother’s home, taking her niece with her. Jo learned early on not to talk about her sister, a feral girl whom she calls Lee and with whom she spends most nights running in the woods. Lee first appeared to her at the edge of the woods when Jo was 5, but no one else believes she is real. The novel weaves a complex first-person narrative that incorporates Jo’s family trauma with the secrets of the past and her current difficult experiences as she and her best friend, Savannah, navigate adolescence, all the while meditating heavily on themes of feminism and religious and societal judgement. The gritty realism of the propulsive mystery at times gives way to elements that feel both horrific and unrelentingly grim, but its winding path will hold the rapt attention of readers who favor the macabre. All main characters seem to be white. Jo’s and Savannah’s feelings for one another at times move beyond friendship, and they’ve dealt with some homophobic harassment.

A compelling, unpredictable, and uncompromisingly dark debut.