A wild thing of a girl furiously protects her own against men worse than monsters in this savagely feminist YA horror tale inspired by mysterious attacks in France's history.
Sixteen-year-old Joséphine, a shepherdess in 1765 Gévaudan, lives in a village terrorized by a brutal beast. Many think it's a deadly animal, others a devil, and a dangerous few claim it's a witch. A mob of men murdered someone suspected guilty, yet the attacks continue. Joséphine, however, is more concerned with bigger threats that might take her and Clara, the best friend she loves, before any devil does: hunger, cold, and men who blame the village's "uncontrolled" women for the ravenous beast. When one such man proves violent, Joséphine and Clara stage the deaths of both of his daughters, faking a monster attack to rescue them from the vindictive man. Soon, a reward for the creature's death is announced as the impoverished town attempts to prepare for the looming winter. Joséphine, who's keeping the girls in hiding, wonders, "What will [the town] do with their fear this time?"
Spectacularly feral girls fight a breathless battle for safety in We Are the Beasts by Gigi Griffis (The Wicked Unseen). The raw and ferocious voice of Joséphine, a reckless yet fiercely protective young woman, leads friends through fearful days of choosing to brave the perilous woods over suffering the men at home. "I want to leave my teeth marks on the souls of each of those men," she says, "make them scared to put their hands on another girl." Lighter moments include queer representation, town pranksters, a cheeky macaw, and rowdy yet loyal sheep with hilariously timed bleats. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer