Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves
I loved Reeves YA debut Bleeding Violet. It was original, strange and beautiful. Slice of Cherry has the same qualities, the only other thing they have in common is the setting of Portero, TX.
Kit and Fancy are sisters who do everything together. They've become even closer after their father is a convicted serial killer, known as the Bonesaw Killer. The sisters hate can't be bothered people. Kit the oldest, loves stabbing them . Fancy has a taste for violence as well. At a Juneteeth celebration, Fancy learns something very important. Soon the sisters are killing a few carefully selected victims, without leaving any evidence.
The Turner brothers, Ilan and Gabriel are able to put a little distance between Kit and Fancy. Gabriel the youngest, catches Kit's eye. Fancy finds herself being closely watched by Ilan.
When I first picked up Slice of Cherry, I'll admit I put it down a few chapters in. That was all my fault because I was expecting something like Bleeding Violet. But Slice of Cherry is its own thing, and just as out there.
When I focused solely on the Kit and Fancy's relationship, and their need for blood, I loved it. Reeves easily pulls off three dimensional serial killing sisters. Part of the beauty of this book lies in the moments when we get to see Kit and Fancy as individuals and returning to the strange city of Portero didn't hurt. The ending was unexpected and ridiculously good.
Read the first chapter
Today, Ari, Edi and I are hosting our African American Read In . We will be discussing Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves Stop by Ari's anytime today to participate. Questions are already up.
When I was a teen, all the books I read for fun featured white protagonists. When I think of some of my favourite books in the YA romance genre now, books like those of Sarah Dessen, Megan McCafferty, and Meg Cabot–I doubt that any of the authors were expected to create artful, powerful narratives about social issues. These books are allowed to be pure entertainment because there is a vast plethora of novels showing the full gamut of the white, heterosexual, able-bodied, middle/upper-middle class teen experience. In terms of racial representation, there are white characters in horror, fantasy, romance, historical, and whatever other genres exist on bookshelves, while teens of colour are offered a limited array of options.
Diversity YA is a new blog started by YA author's Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo. I did a guest post for Black History Month. My favorite part - the 10 recommendations.
Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves
