I’ve been chasing the high I felt after reading Small Favors by Erin A. Craig last year ever since I finished that beautifully dreadful prairie Gothic, and I think I’ve finally found something I can compare it to: What We Harvest by Ann Fraistat.

While this book takes place (presumably) in the modern day, and there’s no confusion of “is this a cult or a homesteading settlement,” the story does center around a community of farm families who are facing an unexplained horror that is devastating their crops.

The founding families of Hollow’s End have been farming the land there for generations. The family’s all have their own specialties that tourists call “miracle crops,” including the iridescent wheat that the main character’s family grows. But one day they begin to notice something strange: a silver-tinged mercury blight begins taking over the crops, people go missing, and slowly but surely, the farms start to fade and the town is put under a strict quarantine.

Then, infected animals begin to reappear at night, coming out from the fog-covered forest. A curfew is put in place to protect the remaining residents from whatever these creatures are, and no one is allowed to enter or leave the town.

If this sounds like a nightmare situation to you, you’re absolutely right. The main character, Wren, knows that these horrors are not natural, and only something sinister could cause her loved ones to stalk the town at night, taking whatever living things they can find back into the woods.

What We Harvest is a story of survival and hope, and doing whatever you can to save the people and places you love. There are secrets hiding in the forest, in cold, dark basements, and locked away in the past, but nothing stays hidden forever.

I found this book to be incredibly fast paced, dark, eerie, mysterious, and a little gory at times, with the perfect amount of teenage love and angst sprinkled in as well. If you’re a fan of YA horror be sure to pick this one up.

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen Canada, for sending me a digital copy to read and review.

5 bright and beaming stars for this horrific beauty! Warnings for violence, gore, body trauma.

Wren grew up in the ideal small town, one where everyone knows your name and the unique crops bring visitors from far and wide. At least, it was ideal until the blight came. It began with the rotting of crops and zombified animals, but quickly spread to the townsfolk. When Wren's parents don't come home one evening from helping out on another blighted farm what horrors await Wren in a quest to find her parents? And what sins of the past will be brought to light about the blight?

This story has it ALL. A captivating plot, flawed characters, and plot twists you absolutely won't see coming. Just when I thought I could see what was coming next everything was turned on its head. Wren and her fellow cast of characters make you root for them(sometime to be devoured, just because of how cool the blight was). Derek (her love interest/ex boyfriend) brought actual flavor to the story which can be hard to find in today's young adult novels, as well as his entire family. This can't be considered a true review without talking about the Blight. No spoilers here, but woooow! The author put in the work to bring the ultimate of Zombiesk viruses. No plot holes or loose threads in that strain, and the history shines like the silvery goo the blight is made of.

If you love horror, a good zombie tale, or even a tale of family secrets returning to haunt future generations then look no further than What We Harvest. Recommended for ages 14+ as the gore can be graphic at times(but in the coolest way!). I can't wait to see what this author has in store for us next, I just know it'll be a wild ride!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"No one was watching, but these days the forest had eyes."

What We Harvest follows our main character, Wren, on a mission to save her town from the blight destroying everything in its path. Set out to save her family's wheat farm and her town, Hollow's End, she reconnects with her ex, Derek, to save what is important to them. With a flip of the page, we dive into this interesting story to uncover the secrets of the town.

"It wasn't just in the plants. It was in the soil. How deep did it already run?"

The cover of this book, drew me in and piqued my interest. This story has a mystery that our characters are trying to solve while also trying to stay alive. With family, zombies, and strength throughout, this book has a lot to offer.

Thank you to Delacorte Press (Random House Children's) and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

Preview: The cover drew me in, and this sounds really intriguing!

I devoured this ARC within a few days, because it's so tense and atmospheric and compulsively readable. It's character-driven small-town horror with strange twists and awesome sci-fantasy elements. I'm too much of a wimp for horror films, but this book was right on my threshold of creepy.

It's a fresh twist on rotting zombies, with Stranger Things vibes. Highly recommended for fans of YA horror!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book wasn't at all what I thought it would be. I'm not fan of zombie like stories so I didn't like What We Harvest. Maybe this'll be a great read for someone else.

Solid horror novel! I enjoyed the cursed town angle, and felt the author did a good job of creating a historic but current cursed town.

I was intrigued by the aspect of the blight. Derek and Wren are likable characters, and I love the twists and turns this book takes. Spanning over just a few days, follow the wild ride to see if Wren can undone a generational curse.

I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I do however think my students will love it.

4.5 stars.

I'm not typically one for zombie horror, but this was quite an enjoyable read. It's a different take on the zombie genre, blending it a little with an isolated, idyllic society that clearly goes wrong.

The writing was really good and I loved the building of the atmosphere. There were some moments of confusion as I tried to understand the world and the blight, but I feel like that was somewhat intentional and I was, in a way, learning things as Wren learned them. It was like being a visitor to the town and being taken along for this horrific trip. Hold on to your pants because this baby is a fast-paced ride.

The characters were well done, though there were a couple of emotional responses and interactions that seemed a little off kilter. Overall, things were realistic and believable. Oh, and I'm not going to lie...I had a serious soft spot for Teddy and it hurt my weak, susceptible heart every time she got mentioned.

The world of Hollow's End was awesome. I loved how magical it all felt and was kind of bummed that it was all being wrecked by this zombie apocalypse. I mean just the description of fields full of rainbow wheat and melons that basically glow-in-the-dark blue were enough to make me yearn to see it in real life.

But oh, not everything in this novel was idyllic. The horror component was smack dang full on horror. It was tense, gory, and downright creepy. Fraistat was NOT afraid to go full bore on this baby and I appreciated every disgusting, cringe-worthy moment of it. The atmospheric writing definitely did not stop at the scenery.

This was a horror rollercoaster of a ride and I really enjoyed myself. It was something totally different and it was a great read. Also, big thank you to Fraistat for giving positive power to carbs.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

Liked the premise, the atmosphere, the writing, but the pacing was a bit off for me and I didn't love the main characters. They were flawed in a way that didn't make sense to me.

Fascinating, graphic, gory, and unique. All words describe this novel and how it was gripping to read. I only rated a 4 because some of the book just seemed to be over-dramatic in the storyline that even in this fictional novel is seemed far-fetched. The way the characters handled certain situations was just odd.

Overall though, this was a very cool and different read.

This one drew me in right from the start. I loved the gradual development of character relationships. It felt more genuine and believable as they worked they're way through the story. The creepy and suspenseful imagery created the perfect eerie ambiance. Definitely unlike anything I've read before.

WHAT WE HARVEST is a love child of fantasy, horror and dystopia. With all the zombie origin stories out there, Ann brings her own version to the table. A rot Quicksilver blight that spoils the crops and if the living beings get infected, they rot too. If the protagonists are a little older, this would've been categorised as an adult
horror story!! There are creepy elements that reminded me of THE RUINS and its poisoning plants!! WWH is an young-adult book that also appeals to adults is what
I'm trying to say here. Some parts and characters' actions display the author's debut-ness, but if pictured overall, WWH stands out. I love that this book turned
out to be totally different than what I had imagined, because the idea that cover design gave was creepy poison garden, WWH is more than that!

Thank you Delacorte Press via Netgalley for the eARC.

The premise of this book reminded me a bit of Small Favors by Erin A. Craig, which initially intrigued me. The story started out a bit slow at first but eventually picked up closer to the end. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of Wren and Derek figuring out what the blight was and what caused it. However, there were a couple of elements that I wish were explored more, like the research team and their families history. I also wish that we could have got to delve more into the personalities of each the characters so that I could connect with them more. The writing style was easy to follow and did a good job of describing the urgency and scariness of the situation. It's definitely a horror/thriller as some pretty chilling stuff occurs, but I thought it was also balanced out well with scenes from the past and also some light hearted dialogue.

All in all I wish that we could have gone more in depth on some aspects but overall it was a chilling read.

What We Harvest is a take a zombie type story. It is fairly down the middle on it's execution. As someone who enjoys zombie stories, there was not much here to set it apart.

A zombie story that shines bright in a crowded genre.

Wren just wants to save her family farm from the blight. A rot, a disease that rots their crops and their bodies if they become infected. But after Wren becomes infected herself she only has so much time to solve the mystery of the blight and save herself and those she loves.

I loved this story. It had me hooked from the first chapter. It has so much going on in it. It's a zombie-like story with a dystopian vibe even though it's not really dystopia. It's horror, fantasy, romance, and a little bit of SciFi all in one. I love the pace that is set for learning what the blight is and how it came about. It was such an action-packed fun story and there were some super creepy parts as well. That cover too. It is really lovely and eye-catching. And not only is the title fitting for this book, but something about it just makes you want to read it before you even find out what it's about. You can really tell the author put her heart and soul into this debut and I feel honored to be one of the first to read it.

As a farm kid... this hit a very specific spooky note for me! This a really fast-faced book with a unique premise and "magic" system. Fans of the movie A Quiet Place and people who loved the spooky vibes in WILDER GIRLS will love this one.

This is a really, fun fresh take on zombies. The world building takes a bit to come full circle, but it does eventually get there and I felt like all my questions were answered, however, I think answering some of those questions earlier in the book could've improved my reading experience a little.

I really loved the characters, and I felt like they felt true to teens, and especially teens in a small community. I also thought the way the situation was treated by the government felt realistic and not far off from what would likely happen.

The book is super atmospheric and made for a really fun read.

This one was just okay to me. I think teens will enjoy this read. I like the concept but the number of flashbacks was distracting as a plot device. I do think this has a really interesting concept, but it just was overshadowed by other things.

3.5 stars

I love how the story started off. I just wish it kept the same momentum throughout the book.

What I didn’t like:

- it took way too long for the main plot to unfold. There were bits of information that I feel, should have been revealed earlier on and not at the 50% mark.

It was easy to lose momentum after having such an adrenaline rush near the beginning.

- I get the MC was a teenager. But she was so annoying. At one point is wasn’t her life I was concerned about, but the horse’s. Like OMG, is the horse ok??!!

Overall, it was an interesting read. Really enjoyed the zombies/blighted. I’m just not sure I felt the payoff was all that great.

I'm always up for a virus story, so this definitely intrigued me. It takes place in a small town, where a blight has spread over the farmlands and turned people and animals into zombie-like creatures. Wren is trying to help her parents save their land when the blight finally catches up to her and she must race against the clock if she's going to save her family and town.

Wren was sort of a wishy-washy character for me. At times I liked her, like how much she still cared for her dog and her determination to figure out the cause of the blight and save everyone. At other times, I thought she was too whiny and I hate when people hurt someone because they think it's best for them. She should have told Derek what she knew and let him decide how he felt about it, instead of abandoning him. At least she does fight for him and tries to make it right by the end.

I didn't totally understand what the blight was and how the families used it. Maybe I missed a bit or maybe it needed to be explained a bit better. Either way, the story was quick paced and I think could have delved a bit more into this world.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the copy

Hollow's End, a beautiful picturesque town where many tourists came to see the beautiful animals and miracle crops they grew; the Warrens' rainbow wheat from Wren's farm, the Pewters' silver-veined ghost melons from Derek's farm, the Murphys' golden yams, and the Harrises' prized horses and dogs. That is until the quicksilver mercury blight started killing the farms. Silver sludge bled from the earth. First it infected the crops, then the animals, and then it came for the people. White moth-eaten eyes, torn skin, and mold in their mouths smelling of rot. The government arrived in town under the pretense of helping, going door to door giving out flyers. The flyers said that if you suspected someone may have been exposed to the quicksilver blight, contact your emergency triage clinic so they could be treated for mercury exposure. People who were infected turned themselves in, but no one ever came back. But the people of Harlow's End knew the blight was than just mercury and that there wasn't any treatment.
Now the blight has come for Wren and with her parents missing, the only person she can call is her ex-boyfriend, Derek. She's been ignoring him for months since they broke up after what he did. When Derek agrees to help, they realize they don't know as much as they thought they did about their ancestors, the founders of Harlow's End, and their miracle crops. And soon find out miracles aren't free.
Told from Wren's point of view.

Well wow. That was a crazy read in a good way. I like the intricacies of the story. Plague-like story with living zombies. I love a good backstory, but man this was, well let's just say I surely didn't see that coming, AT ALL! I can tell the author put a lot of work into the story. The only thing I didn't like was Wren's attitude. She was a selfish little buttface. I mean, the dog Wren, the dog? Priorities sweet heart!

4.5 Stars