We Shall Be Monsters

Hoping to gain the yakshas’, or nature spirits’, favor to end the mysterious blight poisoning Dharati, the country’s leaders routinely hang single women and girls for suspected connection to malevolent beings called rakshasas. In Dharati, teens Kajal and her sister Lasya lead a hardscrabble life as itinerant workers and petty thieves. After Lasya dies in an accident, Kajal embarks on an obsessive search for a way to resurrect her. Her already seemingly impossible quest is further jeopardized by Lasya’s spirit warping into a bhuta, a hostile specter that kills indiscriminately until it’s put to rest. Then, Kajal is blackmailed by insurrectionists into reviving the crown prince, who died in battle to the Usurper King almost 20 years prior. As political plots thicken and her sister’s bhuta grows stronger, Kajal must face the consequences of her actions and decide what she’s willing to lose to reach her goals. Borrowing liberally from Hindu folklore and utilizing evocative, moody prose alongside gruesome depictions of body horror, Sim (Ravage the Dark) explores themes of systemic misogyny, superstition, and morality. Though pacing occasionally flags, Sim delivers a twisted work of fantasy horror teeming with fascinating creatures and long-buried secrets. Age 12–up. (June)