Although there were stories I very much enjoyed reading and Paul Tremblay's writing was often clever and weird and wonderful in his unique style, I prefer his work in full novel form. I gave this a 3.5 rounded up.

The Beast You Are is a collection of inventive, and (mostly) engrossing short stories. I was particularly struck by "Ice Cold Lemonade: 25c Haunted House Tour: 1 Per Person", "I Know You're There" (heartbreaking), and "The Blog at the End of the World" (sadly, very relatable). The novella at the end, "The Beast You Are", is a bit long, and was the least engaging to me. Overall, a good collection for those who like Tremblay's unique style.

3 Stars!

I have been reading more Paul Tremblay lately and I enjoy his somewhat understated style of storytelling. I had not read any of his short work, however, so I was excited to jump into The Beast You Are and see how he crafts a short story in comparison to his novels.

The collection starts off with "Haunted House Tour" and this may be my favorite story of the book. When a teenager gets a chance to enter his crush's home for the first time, he is going to jump at the opportunity. This was not a social invite, though, but a paid tour of the girls haunted house. Whether or not the house is haunted is somewhat ambiguous, but Tremblay knows that all of us are haunted by our memories and this makes for a very powerful story.

The rest of the collection is fairly strong although diverse group of stories. It is the difference in tone and content that may not appeal to all readers and, while this is a collection filled with dark fiction, it is not really a horror collection at all. There are some horror stories like "The Dead Thing," but there are a lot of other genres represented in this collection including some stories that seem to be unclassifiable (and maybe even incomprehensible) like "House of Windows." Overall, this is a fairly strong collection and I enjoyed most of the stories, so it seemed like the book was cruising toward a 4-star rating. Then came the final, and longest tale.

The collection finishes with the novella bearing the same title as the book and, quite honestly, it was a total dud. While most of the stories in this collection have appeared elsewhere, the novella, which is actually a long, free verse poem, is original to this book. It is the story of political corruption and murder in a world inhabited only by animals. It is kind of like Zootopia, just a little more adult-oriented and lot less interesting but stunningly close in content. I guess the story can generously be given a 2-star rating with its ambition and attempt at something different raising it from a 1-star level, but no matter how you look at it, it just does not work.

The short stories in this collection were all good to excellent and the collection was well on the way to a 4-Star review. The problem, though, is that the novella at the end was the centerpiece of the book and it just was not good. Overall, I would give The Beast You Are a 2.5 to 3-star review, although I would suggest just skipping the titular novella to make it a much better reading experience.

I would like to thank William Morrow and NetGalley for this review copy. The Beast You Are is available now.

I really wanted to like this since Paul Tremblay's books are a favorite of mine. The first half of the book was enjoyable and creepy, but I wouldn't classify them as horror. They were more subtle and thoughtful than a monster jumping out of a closet. The last half of the book was a struggle for me and took me a long time to finish the book. I think there is a certain type of reader who will love this, but this wasn't my jam.

I will never not be excited for a Paul Tremblay book. Everything that this man puts out is amazing. Tremblay is a master of short stories.

Overall, I felt like this was an interesting collection. It's quite a mix of topics, which made every new story feel fresh and unique. Additionally, I think it's a great example of Tremblay's creativity and speculative style of storytelling.

Requested this arc to flip through in preparation for a "books I'm excited about this summer" feature -- horror is not really my thing, so it's probably a good sign for actual horror readers that it was too scary for me to keep reading!

Fifteen stories, fifteen beasts. Fifteen doorways, fifteen heartbeats.

Paul Tremblay's THE BEAST YOU ARE is tough to pin down. It resists traditional genre, structure, & form, while still remaining cohesive. In fact, I'd say its unpindownableness (?) is entirely the point. Because although these stories are cobwebbed in genre fiction, their significance lies with the characters, the sentiments, & the resulting impact. Many of these stories are experimental, yes - a blog, a magazine, a free verse poem - but these presentations only serve to stoke their narrative flames even higher.

The prose is often heartfelt, corked in a bottle of some strange, slithering substance labeled "TOTALLY HARMLESS". There's an intimacy to its emotions & a bleakness to its terror that balances out brilliantly. It's effective. It's affecting.

This is not just "the latest psychological/literary/horror/suspense/thriller from Paul Tremblay". It's a beautiful, haunting achievement of short fiction storytelling. & when you look past the Beast's claws, past its teeth, & down into its atria of blood work, what you find is something entirely & tenderly human.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. There were monster stories and emotional stories and I really just loved them all.

Paul Tremblay shows his versatility and talent with this collection of short stories. The varied selection spotlights horror, but Tremblay can write with the best of the literary types working today as well. A solid collection of stories from one of the best working in any genre right now.

The Beast You Are is collection of different short stories. The stories are interesting. Some are better than others. Some end in cliffhangers that make you think. I like the author's novels better than these short stories. If you read other books by the author, this book is worth taking a look at.

Paul Tremblay has become an author that is very hit or miss for me. I love A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS and believe it is one of the greatest modern horror novels this century. His sophomore effort was equally tasty, though it had less hype and less rave reviews than his debut.
His previous collection of short fiction left me wanting more--and this one is no different.
I am eager to see his next novel, as I think he excels in a longer form. There are sill some standout stories here, as with his previous collection, but just know that you have to wade through a few clunkers, as well.

When I saw Paul Tremblay on the list, it was an auto request. I absolutely love this author. I am a horror enthusiast. I wasn't super excited for short stories, but figured it would be a nice easy ready that I could pick up and put down from time to time. I will say however, that I had already read some of these stories. I didn't realize it was mostly a collection of stories that had already been published. With that being said, I did really like a few of the stories (coincidentally the ones I had already read). There were a few however, that I just couldn't get into. This is kind of what you expect from a shorts collection.

I wouldn't suggest this as a first novel for someone new to Tremblay. It was not his best imo, and it seems I am not in the minority on this. I still consider him an autobuy, and I am happy to have supported him (I also purchased a copy), but will probably just consider this my least favorite of his books.

I really struggled with this book. I have read other horror short story collections and understand that each one is different. Some of them might end on a cliffhanger, others may somewhat resolve themselves in the short time it takes to tell the story. I also enjoy how horror short story collections tend to have a variety of horror styles. This left much to be desired. I felt like I was reading the roughest of rough drafts and that the "horror" was told by a youth who hasn't fully experienced the depths of horror.

This was my first Paul Tremblay book and, while it was a collection, I disliked almost every single short story. Where is the horror? I want to be drawn in, I want to feel the anxiety of the characters, the physical and the psychological strain. I want the plot to be a forked road where it may be nothing but it could also very much be something. I want to be so engrossed in the tale that I realize I have been holding my breath.

This book made me feel bored. I wanted the stories to end, not becuase I needed to know the ending, but because I wanted it to be over. To be honest, I skipped the last three stories because I was pretty much over this book. Maybe the last three were the best, maybe not, I was willing to risk not experiencing them just so I could move on to a different book.

Another outstanding entry to Tremblay's ouvre, this concise, economical, and varied collection of works is sure to tantalize, compel, and make you think.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

A great horror author. Tremblay has always had engaging books with his storyline and characters. He can do no wrong.

Tremblay has never disappointed me with his books, he knows how to write thrilling, terrifying horror books better than most authors! This is a collection of short stories, but they are terrifying and well-written!
Many of the stories in the novel were 5-star stories that are thought-provoking and have little tidbits that will stay in your thoughts long after you finish the novel! However, there were a few that the weird vague vibe was not a hit with me. I kinda of felt like this was a darker twist on tales from childhood that really show the reality of how animals really are. But definitely worth the read!
If you love Tremblay's books then this is definitely a collection of tales for you! They are long enough to enjoy but short enough stories that don't feel like they are dragged on! This is a book I am purchasing to have on my physical collection of books! Thank you, William Morrow and Netgalley for providing me with a copy to read and review!

I've read Paul Tremblay's novels, but first try on his short stories. These were enjoyable, but not quite as good as his novels. We definitely read more in the future. #TheBeastYouAre #NetGalley

These stories were great! I love Paul Tremblay's mind! I think the Haunted House Tour was my favorite, but I appreciated the experimental feel of some of the other stories - dipping into genres we don't expect from this author. Good Stuff.

This is a collection of short stories that previously appeared in other publications (magazines and anthologies). Most of them are quite short, nice little reads if you just have a short amount of time but want a complete horror story to read. I really enjoyed the title story, The Beast You Are. It felt very much like books I read growing up, like Watership Down or Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nyhm, showing us the darker side of animals. The nostalgia was strong, and it was a really solid story.

If you enjoy Paul Tremblay, you'll like this collection of stories, and I hope you enjoy the titular story as much as I did.