feminist horror | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: Nightingale by Amy Lukavics

Nightingale by Amy Lukavics

Harlequin Teen, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1335012340

1951 isn’t the best time to be a teenage girl, especially one who doesn’t want to conform to society’s expectations. Talk about horror! Amy Lukavics, author of frightening and gruesome YA titles Daughters Unto Devils, The Women in the Walls, and The Ravenous, has another terrifying tale in Nightingale, which this reader feels is on par with Sarah Pinborough’s work, with a plot that twists and turns, constricting like a snake in the shadows.

It’s 1951, not the greatest time to be a teenage girl, especially one who doesn’t conform to society’s expectations of becoming another June Cleaver. Despite the same first name, though, June Hardie is an unconventional girl. She doesn’t fit in: in fact, even her family doesn’t seem to like her very much. The only time anyone pays attention to her is when stripping her of any self-confidence, or training her to fill a stereotypical role. Her happiness exists in the form of her science fiction stories, an escape that she prays will become a reality. One morning, her mother calls her “Nightingale” and suddenly displays a sweet side that doesn’t quite fit… and June snaps.

She wakes up at Burrow Place Asylum, a place that resembles a mix between the mental institution in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and the psychiatric institution in Shutter Island. The nurses and doctors shatter any remaining hold on reality June held onto, feeding her medication and eliciting visions that she knows can’t be real. Her fellow patients, or captives, warn her to keep a low profile and avoid severe “treatment” that has caused others to disappear. Her roommate, Eleanor, believes herself to be dead but might be the closest thing to a friend in the world.

What starts off as a teen book about a girl seeking to develop her unique identity morphs into a story for any age or gender as the plot drives the reader through unpredictable pathways. When the ride comes to a sudden end, “shocking” is an understatement as a descriptor.

This is definitely a breath of fresh air for YA thrillers. Lukavics knows how to snare readers, pin them down, and scare the living crap out of them– not a simple task these days. Adult readers, especially those who are fans of Sarah Pinborough, shouldn’t let the YA label stop them from picking up this outstanding novel. Highly recommended for mature teen readers ages 15+ and adults.

Contains: gore, violence, mature language.

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Women In Horror Month Is (Almost) Here!

February is Women in Horror Month, and that means it’s a great time to promote and celebrate the incredible women who write and create in the horror genre, and really throw open the doors of the library to an audience that is nearly invisible to the rest of the world- women who unapologetically read, watch, review, and LOVE the horror genre. To find out a little more about it, you can check out this manifesto (warning, it’s R-rated) on the importance of reccognizing women and horror, by Hannah Neurotica, of the feminist horror zine Ax Wound. This year, one of the online events that will be part of WiHM is a “Women of Horror” series of blog posts at Darkeva’s Dark Delights. where she’ll be writing about her top twenty writers, editors, and journalists in the horror community.

Looking for a few writers to showcase? You can always start with the classics, like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Check out the doings of the Horror Writers Association, which nominated Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s Hotel Transylvania and Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire as possibilities for Vampire Novel of the Century. Lisa Morton, the current treasurer of HWA, is an incredibly talented writer who made our Top Picks list for 2011 with her book The Samhanach. And that’s just a beginning. I challenge you to do something different this month in your library display case- celebrate the creative talents of women in the horror genre.