Book Review:
Title: The Wicked Unseen
Author: Gigi Griffis
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

Audre and her family move to a rural town in Pennsylvania that seems to practice extremely religious lifestyles. Citizens of this town are involved in a "Satanic Panic," believing that there are cults practicing rituals in the woods. Audre and her family themselves seemed to immediately get lumped into this stereotype based on looks and interests like nose rings and horror movies. Things start to ramp up when the preachers daughter, Elle, goes missing over Halloween weekend. Audre happens to have a crush on Elle, and she is determined to find her and what has happened involving her disappearance. The town is hiding secrets, and they are very sinister.

Published: June 20th, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley and @randomhousechildrens, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is an incredible YA LGBTQ+ horror book that pulled at my heart strings with its appreciation for '90s nostalgia and mention of Satanic Panic. It would definitely appeal to adults too with it's thrilling story and complex characters.

The Wicked Unseen is a YA horror/suspense novel that deals with the satanic panic of the 80s and 90s. It's set in the mid-90s, an era I know a bit about having graduated in 99 and grown up in the 90s era of fundamentalist Christian churches taking a very deep root in many small town regions like my own. This book does a great job of expressing how all consuming the family and church environments could be under these ideals and how those ideals could easily be used to create toxic home and social lives for the kids who grew up in them- as it often did for many of the folks that grew up in that era and beyond. Gender, race, and sexuality were all heavily limited in destructive ways and both exclusion and social pressures were encouraged to be intense to underline the need to fit an idealized example of what it was to be "a good Christian".

Wicked Unseen takes these elements and discusses them through the eyes of two young women, one who grew up under this type of faith structure named Elle, and another who is an outsider to the experience who has recently moved there and lived a secular life with parents who offered a comfortably accepting family structure named Audre. We learn at the beginning of the book that Audre is lesbian and attracted to Elle, who she has invited to her bonfire in an effort to make a connection to her and some of the other local kids as the new kid who is well aware she stands out as the child of a mom who is a mortician and a father who researches the occult. Uncomfortable with the uptight religious overtones she's encountered in her new town (she was sent home from school for wearing purple nail polish before the story begins), Audre is still making an effort because she's an easy going kid who'd like to make the best of a complex situation. Elle, an already engaging figure in her yellow sweater dress, becomes all the more mysterious at the bonfire where Audre observes her uncomfortable interaction with the boy she brought along, Ryan, who seems to be her boyfriend or someone who may be obsessed with her.

Is Elle ok? Audre playfully observes the group and decides Elle would be the first to disappear at the beginning of a horror movie because she's such an ideal female figure in her community and seems so uncomfortable even in her natural sweetness and grace. This first gathering is followed by an uncomfortable and triggering experience at the local church's 'Hell House' for Audre and an uncertain conversation between the two girls afterward, sometime after which Elle disappears- just like in a creepy horror movie.

Audre throws herself into trying to search for Elle, her new friend David in tow, but everyone in town seems to think their search is illogical and even harmful compared to their gatherings to pray and- to Audre's horror and confusion- seemingly go about their lives as if nothing has happened. Things only become more bizarre and horrific as the police start to come down on her and David and even her little family- her dad arrested, her mother locked in a battle to get him released, and her little sister Volga having nightmares about the demons her friend at school tells her affect her family because they are 'Satanists'. What really happened to Elle and why is the town so locked into blaming her family? Audre doesn't know, but she's determined not to get pushed into joining the church in their uncomfortable form of faith and never stop trying to find out what happened to Elle.

Most of the book centers around Audre and her search for the truth but it also gives us some clues about Elle and snippets of her experience in the days leading up to her disappearance, this is a great way to underline how much this sort of community can harm people locked into it and how little these things become evident to outsiders until their experiences are openly expressed.

The Wicked Unseen is a safe horror story for young adults and a bit of a retro callback to the 90s for adults who lived the era themselves and might feel troubled about the links between this era of religious abuse and modern day fundamental churches who have expanded into doctrines that involve and dictate political outlooks as well as daily life. You won't find any gory extremity in this book (there is some violence toward the end of the book but even these scenes are light on detail to help reduce the severity for readers), and the horror is more of the psychological sort suited to the intended reading age of about 12-17, largely centered on topics of abuse, toxic religious beliefs, and teen social groups and grounded with a fun family who accepts themselves and stands up for others.

I absolutely love, love, love cult books. I was hoping to enjoy this one more, but I did enjoy it overall!

An engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed! Highly recommend and will purchase several physical and digital copies for library collections. Thank you!!

I really loved the Wicked Unseen. It's set in the 90s, which is when I was a teenager, and it has a weird religious group and a missing girl. Everything you could want in a thriller. It's very creepy!

I loved this book, I read it a long time ago and now I'm here to say it was great and scary and had lots of commentary about religion.

Thank you for this ARC. I adored Audre's character and I loved being able to follow and read her story. I definitely would categorize this book as young adult.

QUEER HORROR!! I love it. I'm such a scared cat and this is my kind of horror. It's not anything crazy scary but it's also the most terrifying because it's so realistic. This kinda stuff really happened in the 80s and 90s and it's wild.

This is technically historical because it takes place in 1996 but that makes me feel super old 😂

I'm so thrilled to see a number of books lately that address religious trauma in the queer experience. While we often see how religious trauma affects a character's experiences later in life, I don't feel that we often get to witness it as it's occurring, which is what we see with Elle in this novel. I appreciated how smart this book is too. My only real criticism of the book is that the anachronisms were pretty rough. I imagine it's difficult to write a book about kids in the 90s for young people in the 2020s without relying on current slang and mannerisms, but a copy editor should have caught these things.

I went into this with pretty low expectation based reviews I'd seen from colleagues - but overall, I really liked it.

I definitely have some issues with it. My biggest is that I found it very hard to believe Audre would go to such lengths for someone she barely knows - I really could have used more world building in the beginning to that relationship more. I'm also not sure the 90s was the best setting- I don't think cell phones would have really hindered the story, or I think if it really needed to be historical to draw on the Satanic Panic it should have been in the 80s instead.

But I really like the themes in the book and think that a lot of teens who are feeling disenfranchised with religion will enjoy this one. I liked that there was a redemption ARC for some of more religious characters while still not excusing the harm perpetuated by the church.

As any YA thriller/horror worth it's merit, there are some over the top moments, but this one does feel pretty grounded in reality.

Overall, very pleasantly surprised and am looking forward to seeing what Griffis does next.

The Wicked Unseen was an incredible debut novel! Satanic Panic, cults, and an overarching mystery I think this book is great for any audience despite it's YA category.

This was a 5 SCREAM read for me all the way till the end!

Audre and her family move to a small town in Pennsylvania and this is where her life will change forever!
When she meets Elle a school mate she is instantly attracted to her and she cant tell her.....her Father is a priest and Audre is looked down upon in town because she loves horror, has a nose ring and her family has an Ouija board collection! Yes. This starts out GREAT. With Halloween coming up, and when it does, Elle ends up missing after going to a halloween party, and you guessed it.....Audre and her family are the first suspects!

I listened to the audio book of this and was blown away by Griffis's writing. This is labeled as YA and I have no idea....plus I did not care because that is how good this book is.

When the town explodes with what seems to be Satanic Cult rituals being performed in their local woods.....this book does not stop. There were some GREAT scenes of gore and murder and I would recommend this book and it's author to anyone who likes a well written horror story. Pick it up and read or listen to it! You will be glad you did.

5 Sceams!

This would be such a great resource for teaching about certain U.S. events like Satanic Panic and The Salem Witch Trials. I think this would really help students understand mass hysteria in a very tangible way.

I had the honor of chatting with Gigi for my podcast. I really appreciated that she wrote savvy teenagers who care about the world they live in, with insightful opinions on religion, social justice, the environment, etc... It's accurate. Too often, people underestimate teenagers but I was a high school librarian for 15 years, and they are absolutely aware of these things. I also appreciate that Gigi Griffis understood writing this way was a risk in these censorship times, but felt it was important to address. She also wrote a fun horror story, and one that teens will enjoy.

Recall the wave of Satanic hysteria that swept the late 80s and 90s? In her captivating YA LGBT horror mystery novel, Gigi Griffis skillfully weaves that very hysteria into a narrative that keeps you hooked from start to finish. This book masterfully combines intelligence, suspense, and a nostalgic nod to the 90s.

Meet Audre, the distinct newcomer in town who stands out like a sore thumb. With her nose ring, unique style, love for horror films, and a peculiar Ouija board collection in her family, she's the odd one out in the small Pennsylvania town they've just moved to. The locals are convinced that hidden in the nearby woods is a secret Satanic cult performing sinister rituals. Audre and her family, however, don't buy into such beliefs.

Audre forms a bond with Elle, whose father is a preacher, and David, an aspiring journalist who's also gay. Audre secretly harbors feelings for Elle, who mysteriously vanishes on Halloween night. As the police begin to cast suspicion on Audre's parents, Audre and David take it upon themselves to unravel the mystery behind their friend's disappearance. Are Satanic cults truly to blame for Elle's vanishing act, or is the mention of cults a smokescreen for something darker lurking in the town's shadows?

"The Wicked Unseen" is an exceptional and enthralling read that instantly draws you in and refuses to let go. The handling of Elle's disappearance mystery is commendable, and the gradual revelation of character complexities adds depth to the plot. What truly befell Elle? The answers lie within these pages.

While categorized as a YA novel, this story has broad appeal, transcending age brackets. Those who experienced their teenage years during the era in which the book is set will particularly relish the 90s references that add an extra layer of nostalgia and meaning to the narrative.

I love Gigi Griffis work. This was amazing and I can’t wait to get a physical copy. I recommend everyone give this a shot!

The Wicked Unseen is a creepy and eerie read perfect for spooky season. It's subtle with its horror aspects, but it it still has the ability to keep you up overnight

This was wickedly creepy and had you really thinking what goes on in those small towns! The pacing was perfect.

A great page turner that is spooky and eerie without being too in your face. I loved the cover and what's inside is just as great!