I have such mixed emotions on this book. On the one hand, the marketing is all wrong. This is being spun as a crime fiction based on the Chillicothe Six and really it just isn't. I see where there are very small parts that could be crime fiction, I think this book will be widely loved in the literary fiction category where it truly belongs.

This book takes place mainly in the the 1980s ans 1990s while the Chillicothe Murders happened not even 10 years ago in 2013-2015. While I can see how this string of murders inspired this book, I think this should have been in the dedication instead of stating this book is based off the Chillicothe Six. It just isn't.

I loved getting to read about Daffy and Arcs coming of age story. I loved the premise of trying to show that people are more than their addictions, more than their professions, and that just because you don't live the life that society deems "ideal" does not make you less of a person and that you matter.

This book is so heavy. It took me two weeks to read because I would have to stop and put it down to protect my own mental health. I highly reccomend reading through trigger warnings prior to reading,

this book honestly has most of them including: death, child death, pregnancy loss, drugs, descriptive talk of needles, domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual assault, molestation, and murder.

Despite my feelings of dread and heaviness reading this book, it will live in my head for a long time. Not all stories are meant to be pretty, and this one gets a 5 star rating from me.

Betty was one of my favorite novels of 2020, and I knew Tiffany McDaniels would deliver a stellar follow up.

Betty and On the Savage Side both took inspiration from real events. Betty, from the life of the author’s mother, and On the Savage Side from the Chillicothe Six, a series of unsolved murders in Appalachian Ohio.

Arc, the narrator of the novel, and her twin sister Daffy are being raised by their mother and aunt and are left to more or less fend for themselves after their grandmother dies. The women are heroin addicts and sex workers. As the story progresses, the narrative goes back and forth in time to round out a gorgeously written, emotionally devastating portrayal of generational addiction and wretchedness.

“We humans have always been in pain. History tells Us that in the artifacts civilizations have left behind. Pain is there in the broken vases, the fractured poetry, the overwhelming music we have played for centuries. We belong to grief until the engine goes out. Then we belong to the dirt, our bodies identical to other fallen things."

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This book was very hard for me to read and finish. I know that because it was written of so positively in the NYT we will most likely add it to our collection, but the content was definitely not for me and my disinterest in graphic descriptions of violence. Thank you for the chance to preview this ARC, my opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher who provided the ARC via Netgalley. Unfortunately, I DNF after 50 pages. I could not get into this at all. The dialogue was very strange to me - both as children and as adults - because nobody talks like that. I get they are on drugs, but it seemed too far out and unrealistic that it took me out of the story.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. This book has left me pretty much speechless. I read Betty by the same author last year, and I thought going into this that it couldn’t possibly be as emotional and beautiful as that book. But I was wrong. On The Savage Side is a compelling, lyrical, stunning, and absolutely heartbreaking novel. It has broke me. I won’t ever forget it. Just so gorgeous and yet so utterly moving.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for gifting me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review of On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel - 5 stars!

Inspired by the still unsolved mystery of the Chillicothe Six, Arc (short for Arcade) and Daffy (short for Daffodil) are twins born one minute apart into a family full of addiction, abuse, neglect, poverty, and mental illness. Their grandmother helps keep them on track and stable, but when she is killed, things fall apart farther and the girls escape into their fantasy worlds. As young adults, Arc does her best to keep her sister on the right track, but they soon follow their parents' tracks. The river always calls and one by one her friends disappear.

This book left me gutted. It is full of pain and horror but the writing is so beautiful that you can't put it down. I loved Chillicothe's issues mirror so many small towns, the jobs dry up, poverty is generational, and prostitution and drugs are there for escape. It's a commentary on how disposable society feels the underprivileged and addicted are, not worthy of police time or investigation when they disappear. The girls' grandma tried so hard to keep the girls safe, to show how to make the savage side beautiful - a good lesson to all of us how we can be a force in others' lives. This is a must read book.

Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. What a book, what a story, what a devastating narrative to read, made much more devastating by the fact that it is inspired by true events.

There are a lot of trigger warnings for this one: prostitution, child sex abuse, drug use, parental abandonment, murder, rape, I could truly go on and on. But please don't let that scare you. This is a book that I feel is incredibly important to read, if you can soldier through the difficult parts.

This book will not make you happy, but it will make you desperate to help and understand and learn. Written with a poetic bent that serves to show you how some of our smartest girls are finding themselves in the worst kinds of trouble, it is both beautiful and stark. Read with caution, but READ.

I want to thank the author and NetGalley for the advanced e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I want to start this review by saying to check all TWs before getting into this book. This book will not be for everyone, and that is okay.

On the Savage Side is based on real life events following the case of missing women in Ohio. Going into this book, I thought I was going to get a true-crime type book, and that is not what it was at all.

I became so engrossed in this book. I felt so bad for all of the women, despite their circumstances. Who are we to judge one's life? I feel like they never stood a chance, and there was evil all around them, with no means to escape.

There really isn't a whole lot to say about this book without giving away many of the details. I thought I knew how it was going to end, but I didn't have it quite right. Early on, I had my thoughts about what was happening.

Some parts of the book did drag a bit, but those moments didn't last long at all. There was one chapter that I personally could have done without...I see how those events played into the storyline, but it was very hard to get through.

I didn't go into this book thinking I would love it, but I was very surprised. This is my first book by Tiffany McDaniel, and I will be checking out her previous books.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a murder mystery/thriller based on real events. Do not go into this thinking you are getting a play by play of how everything went down.

For me, this was an easy 4/4.5 out of 5 stars.

I know it is only February, but Tiffany McDaniel's On The Savage Side is certainly going to be on my best of the year list. This book blew me away. It is brutal, but so well-written with a main character that has such a voice she became real to me. It was not just her, it was every character Momma, Aunt Clover, Mamaw Milkweed, Sage Nell, Thursday, Violet. I heard them all and I cant stop thinking about them.

This book is about how heroin infests itself into a family unit and a community. Daffy and Arc are twins who live in poverty in Chillicothe, Ohio in a home plagued by addiction. From very early on, they are on their own and are forced to cope. They are all the kids who society has let down. The book tells their story and that of their friends in a poor community that offers little hope. It is so much easier to look the other way when these things don't impact you on your day-to-day life. This book forces you to look it straight on. It is not an easy read, but it is worth your time.

All the trigger warnings apply here. While it is a hard book to read, it was one that I read in a day and had trouble putting down.

On the Savage Side is a poetically dark and twisted story. This is not your average novel. The entire time I was reading it, I could not stop thinking about what the authors headspace must have been like while writing it. I read a lot of books with darkness, murder, harrowing tales, etc. But this is one of the roughest ones I’ve ever read.

The writing is amazing, engaging, and I loved the plot. Not to mention the illustrations and the physical book itself, which was so beautiful and creative! I’ll be honest, the only reason I removed a star was because this book was truly so heartbreaking that I did not always enjoy reading it, even if I really did like the work itself.
On the Savage Side does not shy away from the gruesome realities of addiction and prostitution, and knowing that it’s inspired by a true story makes it feel even more real.

If you can handle these kinds of dark and potentially triggering subject matters and you don’t mind having your heart broken, this one’s for you.

Absolutely chilling.

It’s there in the title and you should take it as a warning: This book is savage. It’s a painful, visceral, heartbreaking read that reached right into my stomach, womb, heart, and brain with long fingers filled with beautiful words, ugly secrets, horrific scenes, and nauseating characters in a way no book has for a good long time now.

I don’t get book hangovers that often, but I’m telling you that after I closed this book I felt like a deflated balloon, a crushed soda can, or maybe even a flattened cardboard box. I feel drained, dried out, and just worn at the seams.

Tiffany McDaniel has weaved a spell on this book that I don’t think will allow any reader to escape unscathed. You might try your hardest to harden your heart, but I can guarantee that between all the dark, dirty, sad, and desperate things that occur during this book you will definitely find yourself feeling something, and McDaniel’s writing will pierce you deeply.

I found myself thinking of my review for Erin Kate Ryan’s release from last year, Quantum Girl Theory, where I said: “Is every missing girl the same as every other missing girl, or do some missing girls count for more?…When do people just give up on missing girls, and when does a missing girl stop being just a missing girl and becomes more of a distant memory?” This book’s thesis is rightfully on the side of some missing girls counting for more, but the book is also clear in pointing out that no one cares about missing girls much at all, no matter who they are or what they do for a living–not as long as men make all the rules and enforce them. As long as men hold the reins, we will be under their hooves.

McDaniel’s prose is bewitchingly beautiful, even when what’s happening is horrible and depraved. This book has the most melancholy and lovely passages told from the POV of the river, and even as the river describes matters such as the decomposition of the human body, there’s something poetic and naturally calming about these passages, like the river is trying to reassure us readers that she is taking care of the bodies that find their way into her waters, that the breaking down of their physical bodies is something natural and nothing to be afraid of. It was what happened before those bodies entered her currents that’s to be feared. What’s simultaneously gutting and healing are these quasi autopsy reports that crop up periodically throughout the book, which you would have to see for yourself to understand what I’m talking about.

There is not a single character in this book who is even close to whole. They’re all broken into pieces, but how many pieces differ from character to character, and varies depending on where each character is in their life as the book goes on. The way McDaniel writes them, though, you could think that even the most shattered people are the most lovely and the people who seem like they might actually be living a more complete life are carrying the ugliest secrets.

A special toast to McDaniels for the courage she showed not only in writing this book, but in the way she chose to write it. It couldn’t have been easy to make the choices she did, but she made them all the same. Not only was I close to gobsmacked, but I couldn’t think of a more perfect ending.

I was provided with a copy of this book by NetGalley and the author. All views and opinions expressed in this review are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: General Fiction/Literary Fiction/Psychological Fiction/Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Crime Thriller/Murder Thriller/OwnVoices/5 Star Reads/Crime Thriller/Genre Mashup

I was excited to read this after loving Betty, this authors previous work. This wasn’t for me though. For some reason I didn’t connect with the story or characters like I did Betty, which made it hard to get through.

This was a hard book to read for me. It was mainly about the twins and their deplorable life conditions as they grow up. The story of the missing women was what I had chosen this book for so it didn’t have what I was looking for. The writing is excellent the subject matter, even if it’s how things are in some areas, is too awful for me. I know this happens in real life and wish it didn’t. Drugs, rape and hopelessness is just too depressing for me. Tiffany McDaniel has a beautiful way of writing I’m sure another book I would enjoy more. Thank you NetGalley and Knopf and author for this eARC.

This book is extremely powerful and lyrical but also tragic, heartbreaking, and disturbing. Read with care!

This was so brutal but beautifully told.. A story that will stay with me for a long, long time.

Thank you to the publisher's for the review copy <3

On the savage side is exceptionally well written, but very dark and heartbreaking. The story goes back and forth between past and present lives of Arc and Daffy, twin daughters of addict parents left to fend for themselves at a young age, and then in their early twenties as addicts themselves in a town where their friends are turning up dead. This is inspired by the true story of the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe six. With all the brutal and disturbing parts there was also beauty and hope. This is one that will definitely stick with me.

Another outstanding book from Tiffany Mcdaniel, she REALLY knows how to write a sad story. I think this is the saddest book I have ever read, absolutely full of despair and hopelessness - not one for the faint hearted. Chilling and magnificent, Arc & Daffy will be sure to stay with me.

I’ve never read anything like this before & I’m still trying to figure out how to concisely describe it. This explored the victims who aren’t shiny & bright on the news when they go missing- but are as deserved of safety as any other woman. This was a harrowing, deeply discomforting narrative.

Thank you so much @netgalley @aaknopf & Tiffany McDaniel for the eArc!

A new entry to my TOP TEN FAVE BOOKS 👀

After falling in love with Tiffany McDaniel’s writing in BETTY, I knew I needed ON THE SAVAGE SIDE. Boyyyy - what 👏🏻 a 👏🏻 book 👏🏻 All the stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Just like BETTY, be prepared for another emotionally raw, powerful and heartbreaking read.

Set in Chillicothe, Ohio, this story is loosely inspired by the unsolved case of the “Chillicothe Six”, 4 murdered and 2 still missing women. This story follows twin sisters, Arc and Daffy who grow up surrounded by grief, addiction and abuse and how they then struggle with the same issues as parents in their own adult lives.

McDaniel is a phenomenal writer - full of folklore, magic and lyrical writing, you’re instantly drawn in by the characters and fall in love with the Appalachia rural setting, the town itself being like another main character. It’s a town full of contradictions. Beautiful yet ugly at the same time.

Just like the town it is based in, there’s so much more to this story beyond addiction, violence and generational trauma at it’s core it’s also about sisterhood and the relationships we cling on to in dark times - how these “Chillicothe Queens” show up for each other every day.

✨✨ “On The Savage Side.” Mama Milkweed explains to Arc and Daffy that knitted quilts, like life, have a beautiful side—“all the things that make you the happiest”—and a savage side—“the side kind to the mood of monsters and all the things they play with.” ✨✨

Reviewing going up next week on instagram

📖 Book Review 📖

📱 “On The Savage Side” by Tiffany McDaniel

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
published February 14, 2023

I finished this ARC (advanced reader copy- thanks @netgalley) on Tuesday when it was published, however I needed to process such a heavy read. It is a book that at times I struggled with- almost too dark, too bleak, too painful. I wanted to keep going, but I also longed to be done. Its sad themes echoed over and over and really affected me.

This read comes with an assortment of trigger warnings, and yet the writing was beautiful; full of intricate details of things we as humans tend to turn away from because we don’t like to see how hard or painful other people’s lives are.

The story is about Arc & Daffy, identical redheaded twin girls born to a way too young heroin addicted mother and father. Their future is set for failure right away. The only hope is Mamaw Milkweed, their maternal grandmother, but an accident takes her too soon as well. Never apart, the girls disappear into their imaginations and forge a world all their own. Neglected, abused, forgotten and forced into adult situations at a very young age-Arc and Daffy form a bond with a few similar young women, and end up working the streets to get their next meal, and high. They go down to the river to get high and ironically, this is the same place the bodies are found. Their friendships face a tumultuous journey through peaks and valleys and all they have to depend on is each other. But as more and more drowned bodies are found, they must become savage to survive.
 

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