Book Review: SawKill Girls by Claire Legrand | Following Psychic Moths and Throwing Delicious Casseroles at Paranormal Monsters for Feminism
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.
Discussion:
⭐⭐⭐.5
[The Collector] will try to rule your life, your every breath, your every choice, with fear...And for the most part, he will succeed. Every scrap of dread he senses in your blood is his fuel. He will use your panic to grow his power. Close every door to your heart. Keep your fear close and quiet.
The Abominable Snowman, Bigfoot, the Boogeyman, Casper the Ghost, and Frankenstein's monster. These spooky literary figures have paved the way for legends, preventing children (and some adults) from doing silly, stupid actions. Although they are only the stuff of paranormal fictions, there may be some unmistakable truth to them.
This brings us to the small island of Sawkill, home to the infamous Collector who is given as much credit as the Boogeyman and Frankenstein's monster - only real in movies and usually is the substance of poor, sludgy nightmares. However, after Zoey's best friend Thora disappears without a trace, Zoey's obsession with several other disappearances of Sawkill's girls grows. Attempting to overthrow a century of injustice and befriending newly arrived Marion, Zoey begins to wonder if this Collector tale has more substance than a whipped meringue. Along with Marion and Zoey's queen-bee, archnemesis Val, these three young ladies are ready to dishevel the myths of the Collector while also saving Sawkill from the inevitable end of life.
Receiving this book in 2018, I was thoroughly excited to furiously race my way through another Legrand masterpiece until all my fictional casseroles were mixed, baked, and served with a side of sass; then, school got in the way of my reviewing time and I needed to read it once more. For the most part, this paranormal mystery was frighteningly good: Legrand's timing was well-done, her prose was eerie and mysterious, and her world-building was multi-dimensional.
My favorite part of this book was that Legrand utilized each perspective of the three girls to progress the story, and this was particularly useful since each main character had a different role. Interestingly, each of them, besides their shared connection with The Collector and their single-parent homes, had unique character arcs.
Daughter of the town's sheriff, Zoey's grief for her friend Thora fueled her mission to forever blame Val Mortimer and her family for all of the terrible deaths of Sawkill's girls. Although Zoey's character was intelligent, honest and extremely brave, her actions were often inconsiderate to others and quite erratic at some points. Particularly, for someone who was literally hunted by a monster, Zoey, while exploring her father's secret basement and survival bunker, finds an assortment of weapons and guns to which she expresses her disappointment that her father owns them in the first place. First, there is a time and a place for gun safety instructions, and this book is not the time or the place. Second, if I were put in a similar instance to Zoey and had no knowledge of what could potentially rid the world of a murdering, shape-shifting monster with terrible fashion sense, I would be grabbing all the possible weapons I can. At least, Zoey took inspiration from Harley Quinn and carried a baseball bat though.
Furthermore, Zoey is the definition of a feminist and is in her "girls rule, dudes drool" phase of life. Frequently, Legrand's questionable idea of feminism is featured. However, instead of including examples of these empowering young women working alongside equally strong, capable men, she reminds readers that today's men must apologize for all the actions of men everywhere and anytime. When Grayson, Zoey's ex-boyfriend, joins the gang of ladies and helps them research the Collector and the monster's abilities or when Zoey's dad helps the gang with their injuries, these could be great examples of teamwork. But, then Legrand transitions it into another nightmare:
"Yes but..." Grayson scrubbed a hand through his hair, then paused, and looked sheepishly first at Zoey, then Marion, then Zoey again. "I feel sort of weird doing this. Like I'm some asshole professor mansplaining the situation at you."
Even for someone who was asked to explain his findings...
"Can I once again apologize on the behalf of men everywhere?" Grayson offered. "Because we can really fucking suck sometimes."
Okay, we get it. 2018 was Legrand's "beat down men until they relentlessly apologize" era; however, there were no instances in this book of Grayson being anything other than as sensitive and forgiving as a delectably soft bread pudding. Plus, here he is keeping everyone well fed with warm cookies, and the only thanks he gets from Zoey is a condescending "he's the best".
Second, Marion, another of our protagonists, was ready to begin her life at Sawkill after her father recently passed away. Alongside her sister Charlotte and their mother, she quickly became entangled in the lives of the Mortimer family, especially the teenager Val. Once Charlotte disappeared though, the reader gets to see the development of Marion's character from a very shy, cautious girl to one that is incredibly brave and confident. I especially enjoyed reading from Marion's perspective due to her insight and curiosity that eventually allows the story unfold, and who cannot forget that she has psychic moths leaving her clues.
Legrand also included a variety of LGBTQ representation in the folds of these pages. For example, Zoey is asexual and Marion and Val attempt to have a relationship while slaying demons and evil men. Although Val and Marion's romance added many scenes that left me near in tears, the pacing of the book was majorly slowed down when the book should have had a pulse of over 400 beats/minute. Also, the book itself could have been shorter if Legrand didn't want to add so much detail and secret outings, but what good are teenagers for anyway?
Lastly, Val Mortimer's character began as the ideal embodiment of a rich teenage girl with lots of friends and weekly parties. However, her family's perfect life is just a facade for the real monster that is terrorizing Sawkill, particularly as all Mortimer women cater to the needs of the Collector and his feedings through which he grows more powerful by. I was most interested in reading Val's perspective due to her character growth and her internal conflict concerning her family’s legacy with the Collector and her desires to be a "normal" girl. Of the three main protagonists, she had the most extensive character arc, and all of her interactions with the Collector allows the reader to learn more about what makes this monster so terrifying.
If you love paranormal ghost stories and you have been asking to add a cup of forbidden romance, an overly filled bucket of physics-defying scenes, and half a teaspoon of feminism, then you are in for a treat! Legrand created a ghost story that is perfect for Halloween time and spooky season but is not a story for feminists. Maybe petty feminists, but if you're looking for empowering females who support the well-being of a community, I would recommended reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or The Grace Year by Kim Liggett.
*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of Sawkill Girls in exchange for a honest review.
Love,
newbookcats
What did you think of Legrand's Sawkill Girls? Was the Collector as scary as the Boogeyman, or were you more afraid of the moths that read Marion's mind? Should I re-read Legrand's young-adult fantasy Furyborn? (I first read it in 2018 but now I don't remember anything about it.) Do you have any good casserole recipes for the upcoming holidays? What books will you be reading before 2023 ends? Converse with me in the comments below or via any social media!
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