Title: What We Harvest

Author: Ann Fraistat

Publication Year: 2022

Summary: Wren is a teenage girl in an idyllic town, which has become a disaster zone because of a mysterious Blight that has spread among its supernaturally unique farms. The Blight behaves curiously like quicksilver, but turns its victims into vicious, rotting creatures. She’s desperately trying to save everything and everyone she’s ever known and loved, but how?

What I Liked:

• This book had nothing extraneous in it. Every single detail came back around into importance, and all the loose ends were tied up by the conclusion. Not a single word was out of place. It was expertly plotted and I am very impressed.
• The central romance! It was straight, but it was really sweet. It didn’t feel like other romances that are contrived or fundamentally incompatible. You can tell that the characters really care about each other because they prove it through their actions. Side note: there IS another, gayer relationship in the book that I also really liked.
• It dealt with the themes of climate change and white supremacy without ever explicitly mentioning either of those things AND without creating an allegory that was too heavy-handed. I felt the handling of the themes was masterfully done!
• It was definitely YA horror, but it was not nihilistic and therefore a very enjoyable read. The romance and Wren’s ceaseless work towards ending the Blight both provided a much-needed measure of hope amid the horror.
• It’s not a series! I love speculative fiction but I am so over waiting for the next book to come out and forgetting all the details in the process. This title wraps up completely at the end, which was refreshing!
• The exposition was handled deftly. Because the book starts in the middle of the action, readers have to rely on flashbacks to understand the plot and also the central romance. However, these flashbacks were sprinkled in delicately and with discernment.
• Claudette! I don’t want to spoil anything, but she was my favorite character.
• The cover is absolutely gorgeous.

What I Didn’t Like:

• The pacing made sense, as the book takes place in a disaster zone within two days, but it was really ceaseless in its intensity. This is not a good choice for bedtime reading. If you don’t mind that, then you should definitely pick up this book.
• I found the ending to be a little rushed and confusing, but maybe I was just so on-the-edge-of-my-seat that I was the one rushing.

Star Rating: 4/5 STARS