Sawkill Girls Spoiler Free Review

Title: Sawkill Girls

Author: Claire Legrand

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: October 2nd 2018

Number of Pages: 450

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Horror

Goodreads Synopsis

Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep.

He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.

Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now.

I have to admit when I first saw all the hype for this book last year it failed to capture my attention and I didn’t really have any desire to pick it up but a few months ago I was going through the kindle app on my phone and saw that this was being sold for around £3 and decided at that price why not at least give it a try especially when so many people seem to love it and I am so glad that I did as I highly enjoyed this.

This story takes place on Sawkill Island, an Island where girls have been disappearing without a trace for decades. The latest girl to go missing is Thora, best friend of the chief of police’s daughter Zoey and not only is Zoey determined to find out what happened to her but she believes that Val Mortimer, daughter of the richest family on the Island is somehow involved and Zoey is determined to uncover the truth with the help of the new girl Marion even if it means admitting that the Island’s most famous paranormal legend may not be such a legend after all.

This story follows three different povs the first being Zoey, who was my favourite character. She is black, asexual and attracted to both men and women. She is also strong and fierce and determined to get justice for her friend. Next we have Marion, who has moved to the Island with her mother and sister after the tragic death of her father and who is pushing her grief aside in order to be the rock for her family. She is described as plain and plus sized, she is also stated to be attracted to more than one gender and starts a relationship with a girl in this that I was living for. And lastly there is Val, who is the popular pretty girl of the island but is harbouring a dangerous secret and is determined to keep it hidden at all costs. She also has relationships with both men and women. Another important character but one that does not have their own pov is Greyson, Zoey’s ex-boyfriend and best friend and I adored him. He is such a sweetheart and we need more boys like him in YA.

This book has a very feminist feel to it and I loved reading how each of these characters stories intertwined and the friendships that grew throughout.

This is such a beautiful and atmospheric read and the writing style and world building really added to this. I also loved the setting of this book and the fact that the Island was a character in it’s own right as this really added to the story. I just felt drawn in from the very beginning and the book did not let me go till the end.

Overall, This book surprised me in a good way and I’m so glad that I picked it up. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars.

Trigger warning: death of a loved one, violence, murder, acephobia, abuse.

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts of it? What book has surprised you most recently?