Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Rating:
Goodreads Synopsis:
Neurodivergent high school student CeeCee Harper has a temper, and a reputation for trouble. Angry at the rumors and afraid she’ll never fit in, she makes a wrong move—and lands in the Byways, a world of alleys, magic, and forgotten people . . . some that aren’t even human. And if she doesn’t escape quickly, CeeCee learns, she’ll be trapped for good.
Searching for a way out, she gets lost among monsters, drug pushers, the homeless, and political upheaval, and soon finds there are those who will stop at nothing to keep her from leaving. But the Byways pull people in for a reason. CeeCee must figure out why she got stuck in the first place—before her loved ones are put in danger and she loses them forever.
A dark retelling of Alice in Wonderland meets Neverwhere, this contemporary fantasy will enchant Neil Gaiman and Christina Henry fans.
Review:
This book felt like a fever-dream, it is so strange. The Byways follows CeeCee, who is struggling with being labeled and her school and friends only seeing her as those labels. She is neurodivergent, has anger issues, and is seen as a troublemaker and so when things at school start going more out of her control she snaps and storms off, suddenly buying into the labels everyone has placed on her.
I found CeeCee to be difficult. Throughout the book she was really focused on what people thought about her. I know as a high school student, that is where your thoughts are often focused, but it ended up making her fairly unlikable. I found her to be a pretty problematic main character. She often asked the wrong questions and her desire to get out of the Byways was often interrupted by her being impulsive.
The world-building in this book is so strange and all over the place. Much like Wonderland, the Byways, are a strange in-between/a different world, but this one is not full of whimsical cute things, but creepy, sometimes scary ones. There is a worm-man, a girl that produces dirt from her mouth, and other creatures along the way. CeeCee has to learn about this strange realm in order to escape it. There is a Queen, much like Wonderland, and she is just as bipolar in her rage. The Byways are a place were people go to hide, flee, fall into if they are forgotten, or end up if they are unseen or want to be unseen. It is full of the odd, strange, and problematic. There were a number of drug users and addicted, and the whole place read like a homeless encampment.
When you are first introduced to the Byways, the author uses a lot of shock-value to pull you in, but after that it becomes more fantastical and I enjoyed it better once CeeCee understands that she is in another place and needs to leave it. It is only at the 50% mark that we get a really good explanation of the world and how it is there. There is also more explanation of how the people are there and what they are like. I was interested to learn how some of the nicer people ended up there and why they stayed in this situation. I felt like the book switched at this halfway point - from a dialogue around liking yourself to a romance of sorts and CeeCee was only able to like herself once other people told her that she could.
The overall story was an interesting one. It was grittier than I expected, creepy in the right ways, but the story lost me by the halfway mark. I finished the book and it was ok, but I think you will only enjoy this book if you really like the creepy-whimsy that it projects and don't mind waiting a bit for it to all come together.
On a completely seperate note, I do not think that this cover does it justice.
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