Gigi Griffis really taps into a timely and powerful story with this book. She hits all the markers for me of a solid and entertaining LGBT+ YA horror novel. Given the intensity of the situation presented before the characters I found the writing complimented the overall feelings I felt while reading this book. The ending wrapped up nicely. I look forward to Griffis next work.

Thank you to Random House Children and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Remember the Satanic panic of the late 80's and 90's? Gigi Griffis draws on that panic in this gripping and hard to put down YA LGBT horror mystery book. This book was both clever, riveting, and a homage to the 90's.

Sixteen-year-old Audre is the new girl in town that sticks out like a sore thumb! She has a nose ring, has her own style, loves horror films and her family has a Ouija board collection. The small town in Pennsylvania where she moved with her family, believes that there is a secret satanic cult doing rituals in the surrounding woods. Audre and her family don't believe in such things, but the town does.

She makes friends with Elle, whose father is a preacher, and David who wants to a journalist and is also gay. Audre has a crush on Elle who goes missing on Halloween night and as the police begin to point fingers at Audre's parents, Audre and David do their best to find out what happened to their friend. Are Satanic Cults responsible for Elle's disappearance or is this the mention of Satanic cults a ploy to cover up the real evil in town? Danger lurks, but does it lurk in the woods or within?

The Wicked Unseen is a unique and gripping book which grabbed my attention from the very beginning and never let go. The mystery of what happened to Elle was very well done. I also enjoyed how the plot unfolded and characters began to show their true colors. What happened to Elle? Read and find out!

This is a YA book, but all ages will enjoy this. Readers who were teens during the time frame this book takes place will also enjoy and spot the 90's references and appreciate them more than YA readers may.

Clever and gripping! A wicked good book!


#TheWickedUnseen #NetGalley #GigiGriffis

I received this book from Random House Children and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This statement is always true. I’m not given compensation to discuss a book and I’m not told how to rate a book. I am given a book in exchange for my opinions on it, and I am truthful in all my reviews whether I loved them or not.

First, I need to say that this book is an excellent read. I really loved the little known historical facts (I even looked some up) I really loved the satanic and christian tones of the book and how religion can make people act in mysterious ways.

Audre is a newcomer, at 16 years old, to a small, religious community. Growing up in Brooklyn did not prepare her for a quiet life in rural Pennsylania, or is it a quiet life? As she tries to make friends, things go horrid. The cemetary behind her house is defaced, her mother is a mortician, her father once belonged to a satanic cult. The preacher's daughter of this small town goes missing. Did the new family in town have something to do with her disappearance, or was it something more sinister and deeper than that.

This book is a wild ride. There are so many suspects with no leads and the police are not worried about finding the girl, they are more worried to blame someone. Who better than the weird family that just moved in. We see friendships form and die, we see the lengths that people will go through for someone they love. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people that are interested in occult, satanism, and christianty, as they collide in good versus evil in this book. This book did not give the feel of overly, throw it in your face religion, but just enough to keep up with the storyline and the plot.

Great writing, great plot, and great i=little known historical content. I really enjoyed it.

The Wicked Unseen Review!

Thanks so much Random House Children and Netgalley for this gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review! The Wicked Unseen comes out June 20, 2023!

I’m always down for a book set in the Satanic Panic era. The Wicked Unseen was a 3.75/5 ⭐️ for me! I loved the whole satanic panic plot in a small town in the 90s! It was very eerie and kept me guessing until pretty close to the end! You had a sense of dread right from the beginning and it just kept building. And that ending was absolutely crazy! I wasn’t a fan of a single character besides the gay best friend, so I was a little annoyed throughout. 😅 But I think that the characters were meant to be unlikable. This one stereotyped Christians into one horrible box and I had a really hard time reading it as times, being a Christian myself. I think in the end though the main character had a change of heart and realized not all Christians are judgmental jerks, so that was comforting! 😄 This did read as a ya horror and it did give me Fearstreet vibes!

Synopsis: Audre does not fit in at all in her new small town, which she unfortunately calls home. The town is very worried that there are satanists in their town and when the pastors daughter (and Audre’s crush) goes missing, people immediately blame the cult. Audre isn’t quite sure though and she’s the only one in the town to seem to want to do anything about it.

If I’m being completely honest, I came into this book without any real expectations besides the fact that the cover looked neat and the description mentioned the possibility of a Satanic cult in a small town. The book definitely lived up to its cover.

Griffif’s novel takes you on a whirlwind story of the mysterious disappearance of the town’s golden girl. When Elle, the pastor’s daughter, disappears, the small Pennsylvania town is quick to suspect the newest (and seemingly odd) family in town. For fans of Stephen Graham Jones’ My Heart is a Chainsaw, The Wicked Unseen gives off similar vibes and is a unique and thrilling experience for readers who enjoy spooky stories and nods to horror films.

The setting of a small closed-minded town adds critical depth to the story and a strong element of immersion, allowing the author to explore real-life historical themes and happenings like the satanic panic, hell houses, Dungeons & Dragons, and the power of religion. Griffif’s ability to weave together real-life events and themes with a thrilling plot and dynamic characters is truly impressive.

The characters are well-developed and believable, making them either really likable or really hateable. The plot twist is also solid and keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The story builds up to an exciting climax, and readers will find themselves flying through the last quarter of the book.

Overall, The Wicked Unseen a must-read for fans of horror stories, thrillers, first loves, and towns with secrets.

The Wicked Unseen is a wicked-fun mix of mystery, horror, and modern day monsters. There are so many things I liked, beyond the twists, turns and jump-scares. It’s not just a quirky YA horror/mystery page-turner, there’s wisdom and a few lessons here too.

The writing is especially clever, and the characters are well-developed and thoughtful. It would be easy to reduce the evangelical players into caricatures, but the author keeps them believable and balanced. And even though this is a thriller-mystery, there was a good amount of humor too, which I thoroughly appreciated. I’m a fan of well-placed snark, and nobody is better at it than teenagers, especially one as intelligent and self-assured as the main character, Audre. I was rooting for her every step of the way. All in all, this was a fun and fast read, with a totally unexpected ending you won’t see coming!

“The Wicked Unseen” had me thinking of a ghost story, it left me at the end knowing that sometimes the living is scarier.

This book confused the pants off me from the very beginning: it claims to be set in 1996, but the main character talks like a VERY 2020s 'Zoomer written by a millenial,' and the focus on the Satanic Panic is very strange to have set in the '90s, rather than the '80s when it actually took place. Overall, the plot was ok, and I certainly appreciated the sapphic representation, but...this book really didn't work for me.

Being the new girl in town is tough, but it is even tougher when you’re friend/crush goes missing and nobody in the town cares about anything else besides pinning it on your family.

When a new girl moves into a community that believes there is a secret Satanic cult in the forest, things only get worse when her crush, the preacher’s daughter ends up missing and the town’s obsession with evil gets out of hand. Audre has just moved into rural Pennsylvania, and she knows she doesn’t fit in. From her nose ring to her horror movie obsession and her family’s ouija board collection.. and the fact that Audre herself is queer. In a small community obsessed with being Christianity and being free of evil, anyone who doesn’t conform to the belief or to the following of the preacher... they are considered an outsider. When the preacher’s daughter Elle, a girl who Audre has been crushing on suddenly disappears, the town is quick to blame Audre. When not even the cops will help, busier blaming her family and ignoring the fact that there is a girl missing they should be looking for rather than harassing Audre, Audre will have to figure out what actually happened to Elle leading to her disappearance and if there really is a Satanic cult in the woods... or if the real monster was inside the town all along. This was a fun read! I definitely found myself engrossed in the story and the mystery and it really was so interesting to see the real horrors that were occurring in the community. I definitely think this book is a good book to add to your list if you are a fan of queer horror stories, thrillers, and mysteries! Definitely great for fans of the Fear Street series Netflix did!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Underlined for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Are the demons real that the preacher insists are after his family,or is it all a hoax? Two teens are the only ones who seem to care that the preacher's daughter has gone missing and find a satanic alter with blood and her clothes. You are taken on a journey to find out do demons really exist or are the demons really those around us? Fast paced book that will keep you enthralled from beginning to end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Took me right back to the Satanic Panic in the 1990s. The writing was very vivid - I could feel what the characters felt, especially Audre, and absolutely picture the locations. The tension ratcheted up perfectly. And it left me guessing until the end! I look forward to more books from Gigi Griffiths!

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

This one was super fun and if you’re a fan of Fear Street you will love it! It had all the elements I like in a teen horror story and it had me turning page after page to find out what happens next!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book, provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I don't think I was the target audience for this book. It was well written, but the characters were kind one-dimensional. I mean, there was no real explanation for why Audre wanted to be friends with Elle so badly. Audre's parents were cool, tho haha. I dunno, I just think it was a bit too young for me.

I struggled with this one. I wasn't really a fan of the style of writing - overly descriptive and bordering of stream of consciousness - and that may have colored my view of the rest of the book. The focus on Spanish seemed to be so shoehorned in - I believe it was supposed to be a nod to Audre's previous life in the city and also function as a way to communicate without others understanding, but that aspect was not developed. I think this book could have benefited from more exploration of the town before jumping into the action - such as seeing Audre interact with townspeople outside of the church. It was an entertaining read, though, so don't let my outlier review sway you - it wasn't for me but it may be for you!

Absolutely loved this book! This debut novel will keep you up all night binge-reading. A religious horror that'll keep you guessing with all the twist and turns. This book is not only intriguing, but is emotional at times at well. The characters are likeable as well, and you will find yourselves rooting for them. Overall, great book and can't wait to read more from this author.

I thought the book was really good. I can’t wait for this one to be published because I will add this to my home library.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

***

Ok, wow. This is a hell of a debut novel. Drawing from the Satanic Panic, "The Wicked Unseen" is a religious horror that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. Not only is it interesting and dangerous and violent, but it has heart. Certain parts of the book, really tugged those strings.

I enjoyed the characters as well. They were varied and compelling, trying to muddle through a confusing landscape where the adults aren't always in their corner.

Though, Audre's parents kind of rock.

I'm so glad I had the chance to read this and I'll be looking for Gigi's next book.

Thank you so much for the publisher for allowing me to read this book, I thought it was really good! I am excited when this comes out and I can add this to my collection.