Prequel to the amazing novel Pet, but unfortunately I think it’s not as strong or as focused. Narrator Bitter has survived trauma to find solace in art, but finds it hard to justify being an artist in a world full of injustice, corporate greed, and police brutality, especially when practically all of her friends have joined an implausibly well-organized resistance movement in which teens demonstrate against societal racism. Much of the book is spent on Bitter’s self-doubt; it makes the otherworldly spirits and fast-paced action that dominate the last quarter of the book seem jarring. Lots of really piercing commentary on social injustice and human nature, but unfortunately the book doesn’t come together smoothly for me.