Looking For a Good Book

At three years old, Anastasia Miller began to tell anyone who would listen that she was an alien that had taken over Anastasia’s body and that her ‘people’ were going to return to take her to her true home. That was more than three decades ago and for more than three decades no one listened. Not listened and believed.

Now, scientists have picked up signals from outer space – signals too specific to be anything natural – and suddenly people are beginning to believe Anastasia, but now it might be too late. It also becomes clear that travelers from space aren’t coming back just for one child – there are many across the world who’ve known they are not of Earth, only Anastasia has been so vocal about it.

With the arrival of what appears to be an invasion, Anastasia begins to change, shedding her earthly skin and revealing the plant-like nature of her true being. And with her shedding, is taken by a government ‘alphabet’ agency to be studied – hoping a defense against the invaders can be found. Only Anastasia’s human friends can help her before the invasions arrives, but as they are doomed they have no reason to help her. Nothing but their humanity.

I am such a huge fan of Mira Grant (and her other name, Seanan McGuire). Her darker fiction is so powerful, providing not just a good, frightening read, but a deep examination of humanity and what it is capable of in the face of abject horror (as well as the horror that humans can inflict on one another).

What Grant does exceptionally well is make us like Anastasia. Despite being told, just like everyone she knows, that she’s not human, we’re drawn to her and we like her. There’s likely a part of us that isn’t entirely sure she’s telling the truth – she seems a more likeable human than most! And it’s because of this that we are angry when she’s taken and experimented on. Are humans more frightening than an unknown, alien species?

I had such a recall to the 1978 movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the 1963 film The Day the Triffids, while reading this, for some pretty obvious reasons. but this definitely stands out for Anastasia’s struggle – long knowing that she isn’t human but trying to reconcile with the fact that her being alive meant a 3 year old died.

This is Mira Grant, not Seanan McGuire, so expect it to be darker and more gruesome, and also expect to enjoy the hell out of it.

Looking for a good book? Overgrowth by Mira Grant is a dark tale, anticipating the end of the world, with one young woman standing between humanity and an alien species.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Overgrowth

author: Mira Grant

publisher: Tor Nightfire

ISBN: 9781250768230

hardcover, 480 pages