The Lottery is my favorite short story of all time and when I saw this was for fans of the lottery I was all in. This gave all the creep factor and I was all in.

Thank you #NetGalley and #henryholt for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The cover looked creepy and that's what drew me to wanting to read this book. I thought this was a great book. The entire time I was intrigued in the story and the characters. I gave this one a 5 stars.

Osira is a faithful resident of Curdle Creek, a community that follows “the old ways,” complete with the yearly Calling, Moving On and Warding off ceremonies. But after a disastrous Running of the Widows, and hearing her father’s name Called, Osira begins to question if the old ways really are good for the community. What follows is a journey that takes her outside of her home for the first time ever.

I feel like this book had so much great potential, with its unique community set up with its rules and conventions, and Osira beginning to question these things for the first time. I liked getting to see how things worked and the characters in this world.

But it seemed that there was a lot that wasn’t really explored, and just as it could’ve been delved further into, we get to the “Well Walking” part, which is so short, it also doesn’t get much exploration. There’s a lot of good bones to this part too; how other communities operate (because apparently Curdle Creek isn’t the only crazy place out there!). how Curdle Creek came to be, but then all of a sudden, it just ends.

I really wish the book would’ve had more focus, so that we got more out of one of these strands because then it could’ve been explored more. The bones of a great book are all here. It’s just fleshing out things more. I hope that all makes sense.

So, I did like this story, and it’s very interesting, but I would warn people that it feels a little incomplete.

I found this premise very unique and really wanted to like this one but I struggled fully connecting with the story. Usually I don't mind time jumps but this time it was a little too jarring. However, I would read anything else Miss Yvonne writes. Despite my inability to fully connect with this story, I did have an okay time reading this.

It's around 1960 and the residents of Curdle Creek never leave for any reason. Black residents have lived there for generations and believe that anywhere outside this small remote town is dangerous.

An exception to this that the children of our narrator, 45-year-old widow Osira Turner, left years ago, as did her brother. She has had no contact with any of them. The fact that her children left has not reflected well on Osira by the community.  Curdle Creek has strict rules and rituals that are never questioned. These rituals Include the Running of the Widows, the Calling, the Moving On, and the Warding Off. It is believed that these traditions pay for the safety and prosperity of the town, including a bountiful harvest.

The Moving On follows the “one in, one out” rule. Since the number of births is usually greater than the number of deaths, it must be made up somehow. Essentially the residents vote for who will die and afterwards, they engage in the Warding Off to make sure that their spirits don’t return.

It is believed that without The Moving On and Warding off, the town would be lawless and filled with grudge-bearing ghosts. Osira never questioned the ritual, until it was her father who was chosen to be killed.

The plot is both captivating and unpredictable. Just when you think you understand where the story is headed, it twists in unexpected ways, with mystical elements seamlessly woven into the fabric of the narrative. The rituals underscore the eerie normalcy of these acts for the townsfolk. The supporting characters add depth and complexity, offering glimpses into the psychology of a community trapped by fear and tradition.

My only disappointment was the ending. It felt too abrupt and left many questions unanswered. Maybe that was intentional, and hopefully a sequel is in the works.

Still, if you are looking for an eclectic, unsettling read with horror, magic and a remarkable plot, "Curdle Creek" is for you.

Osira is a middle-aged widow, has spent her entire life in the rural Curdle Creek which is anall-Black community. The community is stuck in the past and governed by a tradition of rituals and cult-like rules. Deviation from this way of life is met with severe consequences, such as the Moving On—a ritual where townsfolk nominate their neighbors to sacrifice their lives for the town’s prosperity. As this year’s ceremonies arrive, Osira harbors doubts. When she comes in second to the last in the Running of the Widows and her father flees when his name is called in the annual Moving On ceremony, Osira is thrust into a journey through time and space, where she must confront the dark legacy of Curdle Creek. She questions the traditions that are said to to keep the community safe, and grapples with her own survival.

Osira’s investigations into the roots of Curdle Creek’s ceremonies unlock a series of surprising, sometimes hallucinatory turns—the mysterious death of one of the town elders, a well that’s a portal into the town’s history. The author never loses sight of the novel’s central theme: how the need for communities to protect themselves unleashes its own anxieties and traumas. But the death, loss, ghosts, and trials that she faces does suggest that no amount of structure and doctrine can fully protect a community. The novel’s tone is gothic. Sharp speculative fiction, casts a skeptical eye on narrow minded communities of all sorts.

I wanted to like this more than I did. It sounds wonderful but it really didn'twork for me. The flashback scenes are jumpy and I don't think it was meant to be so disjointed. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

3 Stars

I liked the ideas in this book, and the absurd, folkore-ish, dystopian feel to it. I loved how we jump right into this world with no preamble, and our perspective is a character who seems ultimately unsure of everything. I think the story starts off strong with atmosphere and mystery, but as it comes to a close you're left feeling underwhelmed.

I personally enjoy endings that preserve some mystery and allow for reader interpretation, but this just felt like it wasn't fully realized. Like it just came short of its full potential. I'll look out for what the author does in the future.

I was very confused by this book. I don’t feel like there was a good, clear foundation set for what exactly was going on in this town. I imagine we were supposed to use context clues, and I just wanted things more clearly spelled out for me in this one. Too much was left up to interpretation I think.

I had high hopes for Curdle Creek, but unfortunately, it didn't quite deliver. The premise is intriguing, and the setting has potential, but the execution fell flat. The characters felt underdeveloped and struggled to evoke much empathy or interest.

This book is so richly atmospheric! The perfect autumn/spooky season read. While I agree somewhat with other reviewers who say this starts to feel a little disjointed towards the end, overall I enjoyed the ride. Battle-Felton has created such an interesting world, with a complicated narrator whose strong voice absolutely hooked me from the first sentence.

This book is interesting, but its structure made it difficult to follow the story. It felt like the narrator didn't have a firm grasp on her own life. I totally understand that feeling but found it confounding as a reader.

Special thanks to the author, @henryholtbooks for my gifted copy & @macmillan.audio for my ALC‼️

Drawing readers into a world where murder is a means for control and disagreeing can get you killed the author’s imagination went wild with this one. This book was weirdly interesting I was left confused and intrigued at the same time. I still have so many unanswered questions like why did they choose to live like this. In the beginning it wasn’t made clear what “Moving On” meant but after a few chapters I realized what they were doing.

This town did some odd things like women competing in foot races for marriage. Being punished to the well and nearly beaten to death. But the Moving On was their craziest ceremony which was a purge type of event and Osira was against all of the towns customs. When her father’s name is called to move on but he runs away she begins snooping and searching for forbidden knowledge surrounding Curdle Creek’s sinister history. Soon Osira finds herself punished to the well and transported into the past.

The town was like a dictatorship society stripped of all common sense and everyone was in purgatory. The author was very detailed except when it came to world building. I wanted more when Orisa time traveled to the past, into the Underworld for judgement, and England before time traveling again. The author did great capturing the emotions of all the characters but I still wanted more of an understanding of what was happening and why.

Overall, the book was okay idk about that ending but if you’re a fan of Hunger Games, Kindred, or LoveCraft Country you’ll enjoy this book‼️

Rating: 3.5/5⭐️

The comparison of Curdle Creek to Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" got my attention. The inhabitants of Curdle Creek stick to their rituals. To keep the rest of the world out? To maintain the population and keep residents under control? To preserve traditions? Perhaps yes to all, but I'm not the most reliable judge, as I found myself lost most of the time. The setting was disorienting (both time and place), and it was hard to get a handle on the storyline. I never got on board. It's a case where maybe some more hand-holding on the author's part could have helped.

My thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the digital ARC.

This book had lot of promise it didn’t deliver. The ending was unresolved. The narrator was unreliable, which was fine, but didn’t add a lot to the book. There was a lot of set up for very little payoff. I also didn’t understand where it took place. It was very rural, but they also seem to have a lot of good supplies, including a lot of hard liquor. Plot moved too slowly for what should’ve been a quick exciting book.

{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Henry Holt for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.

This one is a bit hard to describe it's got Handmaid's Tale vibes for sure. Osira is a middle-aged widow who is entering her last chance to be married via the ritual competition mandated by the elders of their village. The village is isolated and population controlled so marriages and deaths are arranged in a very convoluted way that is not clear to the average villager. Osira is suspicious of the process as her father is on the chopping block for death just as her mother is interested in another man. As she starts to unravel the truth behind the town her life is more and more at risk. This one takes an interesting turn at the end that I wasn't expecting.

If you're a fan of dystopian stories, check this one out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the eARC.

Curdle Creek, post apocalyptic, horror novel by Yvonne Battle-Felton had a premise I was super intrigued by. Unfortunately, this book did not land for me. I am not sure how to describe it but I felt lost and underwhelmed at the same time.

Curdle Creek is a unique and intriguing horror story that carves out its own lane within the horror genre. It follows Osira, a widow living in the strange town of Curdle Creek. Her husband was killed, and her children escaped their town months before. leaving Osira to bear the repercussions. After coming in second to last in the Running of the Widows, Osira, who has lived as an outcast since her children escaped, finds herself traveling across time and space after enduring the latest humiliation that the petty and cultish leaders of Curdle Creek subject her to.

Reading Curdle Creek was a largely positive experience. I am a huge fan of genre-bending books that don't adhere to what's already been done, and create a story that is altogether new and immersive.


Having said that, Curdle Creek wasn't an easy read for me. Its flashback scenes weren't set up very well, and made me feel that I was just dropped into a past event without any sort of preamble or warning that I was about to go down Memory Lane with the main character. Further, there were too many details in these flashbacks, slowing down the story's pacing and serving as filler without much substance as we slowly marched toward Curdle Creek's focal point.

I understand the function of the flashbacks. They were there to further set up the story, and provide exposition at critical points, but there is such a thing as too much background, and Curdle Creek has that in spades. It strains under the weight of its own outsized history.

For example, there are side stories that don't relate to the plot, nor do they move it forward. The worst of these are introduced, and then abandoned without further explanation or exploration. This was very frustrating, as it detracted from the story that the author wanted to tell by repetitively filling out a background that was beautifully established in Curdle Creek's first two chapters.

The story regains its footing in the final chapters, but by then, its previous problems weighed heavily on my mind, and I couldn't fully enjoy what I was reading. And the ending really felt unfinished. I think it was designed to make the reader contemplate some of the points the author raised throughout the book, but I could have used a more satisfying finish.

In general, I enjoyed this one, and I hope that Yvonne Battle-Felton continues to write. Curdle Creek isn't a bad read at all, It might be better suited for life as a graphic novel.

Thank you to the author Yvonne Battle Felton, publishers Holt Books, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of Curdle Creek. All views are mine.

Everyone loves a supple bride but loathes a supple widow. p7

Sadly, I did not enjoy me time in Curdle Creek, and for reasons beyond the fact that it is a patriarchal post-apocalyptic town full of horrible, self-intrested people. I really struggled stick with the plot, which for the first two thirds moved miserably slowly, and for the last third gave me narrative whiplash. Don't get me wrong, I actually liked the book after the turn at the 60% point. But then the author closed with an exceedingly ambiguous ending, which resolved no part of the book. I regretted finishing the book right there. Maybe this book was meant to be experimental? But I didn't get that vibe.

I recommend this book to readers who like really slow burns, ambiguous endings, dystopia societies, suprise magical realism, or unexpected time travel.

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I actually love the mashup of anachronism and modernity, like this shimmering and delicious sounding cocktail: “A toast,” I say. I raise the jam jar full of raspberry martini and pretend to clink it against Mae’s raised glass. “May the dead find comfort in their graves. Book XIII.” p9

2. Wonderful dark humor in this one! He’s just right. Fullish head of hair, cold hands, good job, jolly laugh . . . dead wife. p36

3. I actually like the the new direction after the turn at the two-thirds mark, but it's not well plotted.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I appreciate that the author delivers story details in a natural way, but I'm not clear on this society's traditions, which are central to the plot. *The rules do become clear at about the 20% mark. I really like it actually, because the setup, without the familiarity of knowing the rules, is dizzying, disorienting, and increases the stakes quite a lot.

2. I'm 20% in, and the premise is interesting, but I'm sorry to say it's lacking originality. This book reminds me of several books at once, like Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and even The Grace Year by Kim Liggett, which is only a year or so old. I don't hate thus premise, I just wish something about it jumped out at me, but it all has the vagueness of familiarity.

3. This book moves so slow. I think it's because the narrative spends so much time detailing the character's thoughts and feelings rather than their actions.

4. I don't really understand the setting. It's supposedly an extremely isolated place, with the end of the world going on around them. But they have rum? Martinis? It's just weird, and not in the good way.

5. There are some giant narrative turns in this book, but I don't know if I like the effect. The narrative isn't exactly well-plotted, so there's no seeing anything coming.

6. The narrator is totally unreliable, but again, I don't know if I like the effect.

7. The ending causes clarity issues and leaves too much unresolved, including the primary conflict.

Rating: 💧💧/5 drops from the well
Recommend? Not really, unless you like dystopian settings and narrative chaos.
Finished: Oct 17 '24
Format: Digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🕰 time travel
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
🏚 diatopian settings
📚 books clearly inspired by other books

"Curdle Creek" by Yvonne Battle-Felton is a great read for fans of the Hunger Games and of M. Night Shyamalan's twisty movie plots. Set in a remote all-Black village, the residents of Curdle Creek will do anything it takes to keep themselves safe, including implementing harsh rules and, if effect, ritual sacrifice. Though it is a quick read, I read it all in just two sittings, this novel is atmospheric and foreboding. The plot is multilayered and kept me turning pages in interest.

However, I found the ending confusing and very unsatisfying; I don't like books that end on a cliffhanger, leaving major plot points unresolved. I suppose the author may be setting up a sequel, but it didn't really feel that way to me. The ending really left me wanting more, and not in a good way.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of "Curdle Creek."