may return to this at a later date - I loved Kyrie McCauley's "All the Dead Lie Down" but idk about this one.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Quick read with compelling characters. Felt a bit rushed at times and wanted some more development and I thought the Shakespeare allusions were not well fleshed out. Enjoyed the horror aspect and the suspense. Would recommend!

This book follows 6 girls who find themselves trapped on an island together. Throughout their experience, they begin healing from traumas that they have experienced previously and growing and healing together. This book explores how societal rules limit potential growth and healing while also trapping us in our trauma. Kyrie doesn't shy away from using language that accurately describes the trauma of each of the 6 girls and how they overcome expectations, whether that be their own or others.

I enjoyed the concept of this book, but I do wish it was longer to allow for greater character development. I also wish we spent a little more time with each of the girls individually to learn their previous lives a little bit more so we could connect to their healing a little more. With that, I'm giving it 4 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Bad Graces is deeply atmospheric with a great writing style. I could not put it down. I recommend it for fans of Yellowjackets, atmospheric horror, queer characters, and thrillers.

I think I might have been expecting something a little different than what I actually got here, but that's not to say it was bad. I think if anything this book was perhaps just a little too short. I wanted slightly more than what I ended up getting because on the one had it seemed to take a little while to get going while also wrapping up a little too quickly. It was a fascinating idea though, and there were some elements I really appreciated. The discussion around women/girls and how the world views and treats them was spot on, and I appreciate McCauley taking this story there. I'll admit that it's been a few weeks since I finished this title and it's already starting to fade from my mind, but I certainly don't regret taking the time to read it. If someone asks me about this book I wouldn't be afraid to encourage them to pick it up for themselves, and I'll be curious to see what McCauley comes up with for her next book, it just wasn't a favorite of mine this year, but I'm still not upset I took the time to read it.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄
📜 Shakespeare Retellings
👭 Sapphic Romance
🍄 Body Horror
🔪 Survivalist Stories

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓
Liv is desperate to escape her current life and try to reinvent herself. When she discovers a writing contest for a film internship, she uses her sister’s identity to make her look more favorable. After winning the contest, she joins the director and actresses on a yacht as they head to the filming location in Alaska. During a storm, a rogue wave hits the ship, causing them to wreck on a deserted island. In the days and weeks that follow, they realize that they are not actually alone on the island and that a strange illness is forcing them to evolve.

𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
I went into this book pretty blind and I am so glad that I did. The story reminded me a lot of Wilder Girls, but was definitely unique in its own way. My one complaint is that so much happened and parts of the story felt rushed. I flew through the book very quickly and would have loved another 100 pages just to go more in depth. Overall, this was a captivating story about how far people will go to survive. 4.25/5⭐

I really enjoyed this book and it was very different from what I usually read. It had an eerie, horror vibe to it and was really gripping and kept me hooked the whole way through.
The book evokes some strong feminist messages with well developed female characters who are engaging and have lots of depth. I thought the pacing was very good and kept me on the edge of my seat. It's also not a very long book which I felt was another strength.
Overall a really good book that I would recommend reading, especially if you like horror or books with lots of mystery and suspense

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

This was a fun and twisty supernatural adventure story. The beginning is a bit slower paced because there is a lot of exposition, but once the shipwreck occurs, the story really takes off. The writing is atmospheric and very spooky. I was definitely holding my breath at times, especially when it came to the discussion of how they are used to feeling preyed upon around men--definitely stressed for them. Tonally, this story definitely definitely hits a sweet spot in YA wherein it talks about relevant issues that affect a lot of teens, especially women, but it still packs an interesting punch plot-wise. I also really love the cover for this book! We just got our physical copies in the other day, so I'm really excited to get them out to the branches and hopefully into the hands of our YA readers!

Oh, how I devoured this book! I was hooked from the start, and it ended up taking a very different road than I expected but in the best possible way. And there is so little I can say about it without giving stuff away so... I will tread carefully and keep it brief.

It's comped as Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow, and while I don't know what the latter is, there is definitely the YJ vibe I was hoping for but another very big vibe I got was The Wilds, which um, yes please! Let's just say that the atmosphere and overall feel was a complete win, yeah? The whole book is full of mysteries and excitement and trying to survive. Main character Liv is even a mystery in her own right, as she is not who the others think she is. She is, however, a character you will definitely root for- all the girls really are, which I found refreshing. Even though some are famous and they obviously have flaws, they weren't the stereotypical "rich kids". The author did a great job of fleshing them all out and giving them their own stories.

There is a big survival element too, which I am always a fan of. The stakes are immeasurably high, and while I didn't fully understand the "why" behind some of the potentially more paranormal parts, I still loved the story so much that it didn't matter. There were twists upon twists, secrets and mysteries to unfurl, and I could not put the book down.

Bottom Line: Bad Graces feels like such a fresh take on YA Horror, and I absolutely loved every second.

BAD GRACES is a fun adventure story with a twist of the supernatural; I can definitely see where the Yellowjackets and House of Hollow comps come from. The pacing is a bit uneven particularly towards the beginning when all the characters are getting introduced, but once they shipwreck onto a deserted island, I had a lot of fun watching the girls figure out how to survive this strange, not-quite-uninhabited island. This does read solidly YA - my main issues are with the very in-your-face mentions of how girls are used to being prey around men, and with how the story resolved, but both of these are probably less relevant/less of an issue for the target ya auidence.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Tegen Books, and HarperCollins Children's Books for this advanced copy! You can pick up Bad Graces on June 18, 2024.

What an eerie, thrilling book. This was a new genre for me (survival? thriller? suspense? speculative fiction?) and it was really fascinating! I loved our main six girls and the various relationships developed between them. I almost wish the book had been longer so we could've seen the relationships go through more tumult, as I would expect to happen when you're marooned on a dangerous island for months. But overall, I really loved the writing and the way the characters were fleshed out! It definitely left me feeling unsettled, and I'm curious to explore more books in this genre now!

Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow in this story about a group of young women who get stranded on an island off the coast of North America and begin experiencing new transformations... and trying to survive a predator that lurks in the island. Liv Whitlock was a problem child, she was volatile, a lone wolf, and she yearns for escape. When she takes her sister's identity and uses it to apply for a prestigious scholarship on a movie set to film in Alaska, she wins and finds herself on a luxury yacht alongside Paris Grace, actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight, Olympic gymnast Rosalind Torres, and social media influencer Celia Jones. Liv tries to befriend the girls and then they are suddenly ship wrecked due to a violent storm, leaving them stranded on an island in North America. While trying to survive starvation, exposure, and the deadly predator that lurks on the island... something else is in the water that is beginning to change the girl's bodies... from growing gills to wings... can they survive and make it back or will they die there? This was definitely a quick easy read that captures a bit of body horror and the fun of Yellowjackets. The body horror was fun and the threat of a deadly creature on the island was a fun twist to the story, I wish there was a bit more and it dived into the girls' time on the island rather then just go with the "oh she's dead, oh no she's actually alive" thing that kept happening. Overall its an easy read and if you enjoy stranded island stories give this one a go!

Release Date: June 18,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Katherine Tegen Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

This was the first book I've read by Kyrie McCauley but will not be my last! I really enjoyed this book and thought the writing was so compelling and strong.

6 girls were traveling to Alaska on a yacht to film a movie, which of course crashes and they are all alone on an island with seemingly no hope of rescue. Will they survive? Read to find out!

I thought the setting and atmospheric writing were great, the characters were well-developed and interesting (though of course uneven, which I was fine with), and the survivalist-horror paired with some magic and mythology worked better than I ever would have guessed. I also really appreciated how the author incorporated the various traumas experienced by the girls as well as the healing they were able to do--very powerful and something I think will resonate with many teen readers.

I'd recommend this to any readers who also enjoyed YellowJackets (the show) and Wilder Girls.

Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once I started this book I absolutely devoured it. Of course the main question I had after reading it is “why are men?”

Bad Graces follows a group of teenage girls plus a thirty-something former teen heartthrob traveling on a yacht to the set of their new movie being filmed in Alaska.

Of course, disaster strikes and the girls are left to survive being stranded on a mysterious island on their own. During their stay they face multiple injuries that cause the girls to adapt in new ways and creepy encounters with an ominous presence on the island.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-ARC!

🌊🪽🦋💀🌿

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“‘But we’re teenage girls. We’ve all been prayed on before.’”

Woohoo! Second five star of the year baby! And this was just what I needed 🤩

Something about a wild, unhinged, badass, group of lesbians running about in the woods is just such a great concept! No but seriously when has any gothic, fantasy realism, sapphic book ever been the wrong choice? Never!

We start with Violet, or Liv, who has lived her whole life going from foster home to foster home, always in the perfect shadow of her sister, Everly. Never feeling at home, Liv uses Everly’s perfect persona to steal away on a once and a life time trip to see Shakespeare’s The Tempest being filmed! But something goes horribly wrong when the ship crashes into an island full of mystery. On this island crawls unspeakable things. The girls, all six of them including Liv, go through incredible magical changes through out their time on the island. But most importantly they grow and heal through their trauma.

What I loved about this book was how the author used body horror. The body horror was used to signify growth and the characters moving on and healing.

Along with the fact that this was simply written beautifully with that classic gothic vibe that I just eat up!

No whilst this book was very good, I could still seem some of its problems. I wish we had more time to get to know the characters, as some fell a little flat for me. There was this plot with Liv and self harm, or possible abuse from a parent that never got explored and felt unneeded to not do anything with. I also felt the plot was a little too fast for me but we’re also working with only 320 pages.


Overall this was a beautiful and enchanting book full of depth and what it means to heal 🫶🏼

💙🦋🩵
You’ll love this if you like…
• Sapphic stories
• Gothic writing
• Body horror with magical realism
• Mental health rep
• A good rep of girlhood

It was weird to read this at the same time as The Wilderness of Girls because they were essentially opposite takes on a really similar story. Wilderness had 4 “wild” girls and 2 “normal” girls doing “normal life” - whereas Graces had 5 celebrities and 1 “normal” (but also comparatively “wild”) girl stranded in a hostile wilderness.

Where this book is really successful is with the descriptions of the island, the changes to the girls’ bodies, and the gore (of which there is little, but it’s done well enough).

Where this book doesn’t really succeed (for me) is in the timeline (consistently showing us sequential full days and then saying “oh it’s been a few weeks”) and the complete lack of chemistry between the MC and the love interest. I also feel like there was one girl too many in the main cast, because there was always one person who was kind of ignored in any given scene (usually Rosa or Celia).

Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life … so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.

This was sooo good. The pitch of Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow was spot on and really did it for me.

"Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises." - The Tempest, Act III, Scene II

What a fascinating nod to Shakespeare's "The Tempest". I actually didn't expect it in a YA Fantasy. And it was a pleasant surprise. Well done.

"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here." - The Tempest, Act I, Scene II

Liv Whitlock doesn't exactly fit the mold in her family. She's a quirky writer and is skeptical about everyone. She's also been in and out of foster homes due to her own self-destructive behavior. In an attempt to make a change for the better, she steals her sister's identity to enter a writing contest for an internship on a movie set for a modern adaptation of "The Tempest". She doesn't have the grades or reputation to represent herself. After winning, she travels to Alaska and finds herself on a luxury yacht with an Olympic gymnast named Rosalind, a pop star named Paris Grace, a social media influencer named Celia Jones, and actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight. Reluctantly, Liv begins to form a bond with them all and then a storm hits, wrecking their boat. Now, they are stranded on a mysterious island in the North Pacific Ocean. Besides the threat of starvation and exposure, they quickly learn of a strange predator lurking in the forest. As the young women fight for survival, they attain curious injuries which cause unique changes to their bodies. These ominous forces at work challenge the women to fight for their concept of reality and freedom.

I had NO idea this would be such a nod to "The Tempest" when I requested this book as an ARC. And once the concept of shipwrecking on a deserted island was introduced, I actually thought the storyline would segue into a modern retelling of "The Tempest". Though it did not, there were definite similarities. It was quite a magical experience to encounter the unfolding of each piece to this mystery. I really loved the ominous "Ariel"-like creature living on the island. Her character was beautifully written.

A special thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and Kyrie McCauley for this magical eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb had me at Yellowjackets but the book lost me at most everything else. There was just way too much going on for me and the book itself seemed like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be.