First and foremost, this would be an excellent novel for a dystopian unit in a class. I did not read PET, but even without reading it, I was fully immersed in Bitter’s story. This novel was fast paced, enthralling, and sometimes overwhelming (in the best way possible). Lucille is a town in distress. A true dystopian society with corruption and a group of rebels already fighting back. Bitter lives at Eucalyptus, a school for child artists. After being jostled around from foster home to foster home, Bitter feels safe at Eucalyptus. She even has a secret talent that no one knows about. If she sheds blood on her drawings, they come to life.
Now I think anyone with any concept of story arcs can figure out that this will turn into a problem. This novel swallows you up and spits you out better off than you were before. Even monsters need to be heard.

Bitter is the prequel to Pet. Bitter focuses on Jam's mother, an artist whose paintings summoned an angel to defeat monsters. Here we see her back in the troubled times. The community of Lucille is corrupt. Children march in the streets for their rights only to be killed regularly in protests. Bitter is an orphan who finds her way to Eurydice, a school for orphaned children serving as a haven, while the other children march in the streets. Can Bitter find her place with her hope crushed with her only ability art?

This story is far more elaborate than Pet. We see the community in strife. We see the violence in the streets and the hopelessness in the community. A desperate act by Bitter summons the first angel. But will this development lead to change or more murder and destruction?

I enjoyed the conflict and hard decisions in this book. Pet seemed to glass over this part, but it is wonderfully elaborated here. She still seems to pull punches with peace coming along quickly with the angels. We don't see how this new world is built, but we can see the first steps.

Bitter feels like a more mature and decidedly YA prequel that explains how we arrived at the quasi-utopian world in Pet. I love the use of moral nuance even with the deus ex-machina, the well-developed characterizations, strong narrator voice, gentle understanding of trauma, and the look inside a revolution. Highly recommended for all libraries.

Bitter is a companion novel to Pet! it’s a prequel to Pet that gives insight towards Bitter, Jam's (the main character of Pet) mom and her life before the events of Pet. Bitter’s past was somewhat mentioned in Pet so it was really nice to actually read all about it in this book and see how Bitter met Jam’s father too! It was also nice to see how the world of Lucille in the book Pet differed from the Lucille in the book Bitter and how the ending of Bitter shows how the world that we see in Pet came to be!

I really enjoyed reading this and getting that insight but I also enjoyed reading about Bitter and seeing and understanding her as the main character in her life. I really related to her struggles and fears and was amazed that the author was able to capture the essence of Bitter and show us the world of Lucille in such a tiny book.

Read if you like: YA fantasy
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A prequel to the best selling book Pet, we get the backstory of Jam's parents and how her mother learned that her paintings can come to life.
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I loved this one as much as Pet. The writing is brilliant and Emezi really brings to life what is on the page. Was interesting to read about different levels of participation in a revolution and how the citizens dealt with police brutality.
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CW: violence, police brutality.

I loved Pet and this prequel was a great glimpse into the world that existed beforehand. However, it felt disjointed at times and pulled in various directions

Well done prequel to one of my favorites. Loved getting to know Bitter before she became Jam’s mom. Excited to hand it to readers who loved Pet.

This is an amazing follow up/prequel to Emezi's first YA novel 'Pet.' In some ways, it's much more hard-hitting (though in some ways 'Pet' was pretty hard hitting too, so there's that), and it has a host of content warnings readers should check out before diving in.

While I loved Pet, this book was harder to get into. I am not sure why. The characters were interesting but for some reason I couldn’t get into the plot. I liked the themes and issues discussed with regards to art and activism. I might have to go back and re-read at some point because maybe I just wasn’t in the right space. I love the writing style and the way Emezi develops characters, though.

'm fast becoming a HUGE fan of Akwaeke Emezi. They know how to write and their story of PET, which I read and ADORED, was one of my favorites last year. Lo and behold, there's a companion novel about Jam's mother, Bitter?! **GRABBY HANDS**
This is basically a prequel to PET, where we get to learn how the world we meet in PET comes about. And I did so lovingly love learning more about Bitter. Emezi does a fantastic job throwing in some levity while tackling some serious subjects. Not only do we talk about the expected art within the book, but what it stands for in activism, different types of protests and my favorite part - SELF CARE and taking care of mental health. There are many different ways to contribute and many different ways to help others. Just make sure you're taking care of yourself within the process!!

This can absolutely be read as a standalone and if you haven't read PET yet, I'd probably encourage you to read this first, BUT it's not necessary. And for those who have read PET already, definitely pick this up as well. Note that it has a very different feel and atmosphere as it tackles different themes. While we get Bitter as a young adult, this reads more "adult" than its companion.

Shout out to the narrator who did an amazing job with the audiobook. Shout out to Akwaeke for bringing us another wonderful story.

Emezi has done it again! I loved their first book Pet so I was so excited to get to read this book and I was not disappointed. I flew through this book and I was so glad to see this was a longer book. Emezi had definitely made it to autobuy status.

I was not ready for Akwaeke Emezi's prequal to Pet and nothing could have prepared me for it. This reads more like YA than Pet, which was pretty standard middle grade, with the focus on Jam's mom in a specialized art program for high schoolers. Unfortunately, Bitter is incredibly relevant. The themes around activism, and what role an activist can play, are all to real in our society. Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for an early read.

Bitter

Thank you PRH Audio for my advance listening copy.

After reading and loving “Pet” last year, I couldn’t wait to read about Bitter. This story discusses protesting and the roles everyone plays. Everyone isn’t meant for the front lines and that’s okay. Some people are better using social media. Some folks are better pounding the pavement. Some folks are better at using artwork as activism.

“In order to fight we must know when to rest”

All of this!!!!

Setting boundaries and practicing self care is so important during trying times. I remember after George Floyd was murdered I reached a breaking point and my therapist had to remind me to take it easy and to make sure I practiced self care and limit my social media if needed.

You don’t have to read Pet in order to enjoy this book, but I highly recommend checking that book out as well. I listened to the audio book and as usual Bahni Turpin didn’t disappoint me at all. Highly recommend the audiobook as well.

I LOVED Pet, so when I found out there was a Pet 0.5 coming out I was so excited. First of all, the concept of 0.5 is brilliant. Second of all, this book was also brilliant. I don't often read YA, but this series feels very adult to me. It's pretty different from Pet, but just as compelling. I want everyone to read this series even though it won't be for everyone.

Bitter is a wonderfully scathing reflection of a society on the verge of political and violent turmoil. I couldn't help but see the similarities of our own society in the wake of BLM, police brutality, food insecurity, and housing crisis. It makes you sit with the uncomfortable truths of injustice through a protagonist that is uncertain about her own role in the fight for a better and just world. One of the main themes of this work is the character's relationship with the world, themselves, and their friends. It was riveting to see the care, the comfort, and the bravery associated to outwardly displaying or sharing one's feelings in complete vulnerability.

If you loved Pet, you're going to love and enjoy Bitter! So, what are you waiting for? Go and get yourself a copy!!

Bitter is a young artist living in the middle of a revolution. She, thankfully, has gained a spot at an academy where she is safe. However, her magic is a keystone to the revolution and Bitter must figure out how to control it.
Opinion
This book took control of my mind. I read it until I was falling asleep and then woke up grabbing my copy so I could finish it. This book is not good, it is a fabulous and gripping read.
I'm found of revolution books in young adult. This one takes a different spin that the others I have read. I found that spin to be quite interesting.
Seeing as this is the sequel to at least one other book, I know that I'll be keeping my eyes out for more to come. This book is a must read.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House Children's Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed Pet when it came out in 2019, so naturally I was very excited to find out that Akwaeke Emezi was working on a prequel. Bitter is the story of the generation before Pet, the generation of “angels” that eradicated the “monsters” that terrorized the city of Lucille. But as the novel illustrates, the terms “angel” and “monster” are subjective, and when tension erupts into tragedy, it’s not always easy to tell the difference between right and wrong. Bitter hits on a lot of heavy themes: inequality, mental health, social justice, good vs. evil, and folds them into a narrative that is part fable, part romance and part fantasy-horror.
As intense as the book gets, I’m impressed by Emezi’s ability to craft a story that feels accessible for a teen/young adult audience. The cast of characters, which includes the titular character, Bitter (Jam’s mother from Pet), and Bitter’s classmates and friends, are all well developed and instantly relatable: they text, they date, and they use their art and passions to help them make sense of the world they live in. Bitter is a great addition to the growing list of YA novels that refuse to shy away from the real issues that young adults face, and that create safe spaces for readers to build empathy and process tough questions.

A companion and prequel to the groundbreaking Pet, Bitter follows the revolution that changed the city of Lucille into the monster-less haven of Pet. For now, though, Lucille is violently unequal, filled with people who have nothing and those who would force them to have even less. After spending most of her life in foster care so traumatic that she refuses to think about it, Bitter now lives at the art school known as Eucalyptus, rarely straying out into the protest-filled city. Though her friends are working for change, Bitter feels too unstable to get involved, choosing to make art and hope for better times ahead. As the violence begins to engulf Lucille, Bitter discovers a hidden power that could tip the scales. Well written and engaging, and like Pet straddling the line between story for children and adults, Bitter is about the costs of complacency and the costs of change. There are no easy answers here, no pat moral, just the knowledge that everyone is capable of different things and that art is essential to revolution.

As A pre-quel to one of my favorite books “Pet” I had very high expectations for this book, and not unsurprising they were met and then even more that I could have asked for! A book about self-care, art as activism and non-violent protest in the face of a world that is unfair and not allowing others to have a voice. While it was a companion to “Pet” it was not necessary to read it to understand “Bitter” and the writing style is very different than “Pet”. As always the author pushes what a young adult novel is with an innate understanding that kids always know and process more than adults know and because of their youth their hearts and minds are often more open.

Bitter is a dark and timely story about teens of color fighting against oppression and systematic racism in a city on the brink of revolution. Bitter, the main character, has a deeply traumatic childhood and relies on the safety provided at Eucalyptus, a boarding school for artists. There Bitter has a chance to grow her skills and be a part of a loving, queer, and diverse community. But as the fight for equality and justice in Lucille brings harm to Bitter's friends, she finds that she can't keep herself separate from the struggle, and she fights back the only way she knows how -- through art. Bitter's art summons a power she doesn't understand and can't control, a being that promises to bring change through violence and vengeance.

There's so much about Bitter that I love. 1) Bitter herself. She's got a past full of pain and she feels guilty for not being on the front lines of protests. She's got love for her found family and she's willing to listen and learn. She's passionate and empathetic. 2) All of Bitter's friends are queer teens of color. Supporting characters present an intersectionality of identities, i.e. religious beliefs, physical disabilities. 3) The message that all gifts and occupations have value. Bitter learns that movements aren't all about the people protesting -- there are also people who support the movement, whether that's medical, emotional, artistic, or providing food and a place to rest. There's a lot going on in this story but it all ties together and culminates in a moment of great societal change, ending with the message that there's still so much work to be done. Throughout the story, the teens and their leaders recite the closing lines of Gwendolyn Brooks' poem, "Paul Robeson," which calls for community unity, accountability, and support. It's a powerful message and a hopeful one, and one that is at the heart of Bitter.