Listen to Your Sister incorporated many things: race, politics, family bonds, and trust. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Calla and her brothers Jamie and Dre. Those two could be frustrating at times, especially with the way they treated Calla. 4 stars

I judged this book too soon. It was a bit of a slow start, but once they got to the cabin, I was HOOKED. Some humor, satire, definitely Peele and Cabin in the Woods vibes, while being a scary read! If you like movies like Get Out or Cabin in the Woods, pick this one up!

Listen to Your Sister follows a close trio of siblings led by the eldest, Calla, When her youngest brother, Jamie, was dangerously close to entering foster care, their brother, Dre, convinced her to take custody of the teenager, promising his support along the way. As the baby of the family, Jamie started getting into trouble that risked both his future and Calla's livelihood while Dre refused to step up and help his siblings. As if all this wasn't bad enough, there were the nightmares.

As Calla struggled to hold their family together while finding a way to pay bills and keep her job, her stress manifested in violent nightmares where Jamie was brutally murdered just out of her grasp. The dreams are so textured that Calla starts to almost feel like they are visions, but both Dre and Jamie are sure she's being overdramatic. When Jamie's hijinks balloon into very real danger, he and Dre are forced to fight their way through Calla's nightmares--with or without her help.

Like its protagonist, Listen to Your Sister stretches to be a lot of things. The siblings have a relationship that's electric from the start, and Viel makes them easy to care for as they unfold throughout the novel. There are plenty of goofy moments that endear the trio to the reader, and the horror elements are fresh and deployed with precision. The balance of the comedy and the horror unfortunately didn't work quite as well as I'd hoped. Instead of adding some levity to something truly grim, the tone ended up leaning more young adult than intended. Regardless, Listen to Your Sister successfully carved out a new premise with enough promise to make Viel one to watch.

I really struggled with this one. I love horror, but mayhe it just had too much family drama for me to enjoy it? It started getting confusing too when I wasn’t sure what was real or not. But man did I want to bang the two boys’ heads together and tell them to listen to their sister 😂

Family bonds can be messy. Heartbreaking. Exhausting. But stepping up for one another is also necessary. Calla and her brothers have a tumultuous life. Navigating society in a time that many things are a fight, the group finds themselves on the run and in a whole new nightmare. Full of WTF moments and emotional rollercoasters, I enjoyed the thrill ride!

The audiobook narrated by Eric Lockley, Kristolyn Lloyd, and Zeno Robinson is an excellent way to consume this story. The voices are all talented in their own bringing life to all the characters. They are also easily understood at faster speeds.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, St Martin’s Press, and author Neena Viel for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was hoping to love this, but the beginning felt like a slog. I found myself not wanting to read because I just wasn’t into it. I heard the second half was better, however it didn’t feel like the payoff would be worth it to keep going with it. Ended up sadly deciding to DNF @ 20%.

I loved the characters in this book. The dynamic between the siblings was the heart of this story. Their dialogue was written so naturally, and the messiness of these sibling relationships was so real, even in the setting of an unbelievable nightmare. The pacing was mostly quick enough to keep me reading, and there were definitely some well-written creepy moments. This author is truly gifted at blending the humor and heart with horror.

3.5 stars. The publisher nailed it by calling Listen to Your Sister a book that will appeal to fans of Jordan Peele’s films. The book explores issues of race and family through a speculative/social horror lens in an unforgettable reading experience full of humor and heart.

Calla Williams is in her mid-twenties when she becomes her 16-year-old brother Jamie’s guardian, and she’s struggling. She’s not getting much help from her other brother, middle child Dre, and she’s tired of being the responsible one who has to hold everything together. She is overwhelmed and anxious, which manifests in recurring dreams about her brothers dying in horrific ways. When Jamie attends a protest that gets out of hand, the siblings must go on the run, fleeing to a remote cabin Calla found on AirBNB. Deep in the woods, the siblings will be forced to confront their conflicts, and must fight to save their family against unexpected forces.

Listen to Your Sister had me sitting up and paying attention in the first chapter, when Calla has a tense confrontation with administrators at Jamie’s school. It’s immediately engaging, with spot-on dialogue and sly humor, introducing us to the characters in a way that made me want to learn more about them. Neena Viel’s character work is outstanding; the Williams siblings are conveyed with rawness and authenticity, and they’re relatable and sympathetic. The first several chapters are a family drama focused on being Black in the present-day U.S., written from the alternating points-of-view of all three siblings, and they’re intimate, powerful, and thoughtful. I felt like I really got to know all three siblings deeply before Viel placed them in mortal peril, which made me all the more invested in their fates.

When the siblings head to the woods, the horror aspects of the plot start to ramp up, and this was where I felt myself coming disengaged. The book becomes a fever dream of violence and terror, unfolding in surreal and complicated ways as the Williams siblings fight against the forces threatening their family. Viel’s writing is descriptive and lush, with a tone that strikes a perfect balance between somberness and levity throughout the narrative, and in the moments I wasn’t confused, I was reveling in the creativity and execution of her ideas – a supernatural manifestation of sisterly love and the bonds of family. I listened to the book on audio, and while I did love all three of the narrators, I wonder if I would have “gotten it” more if I’d read the physical words on the page.

Or maybe I just wasn’t supposed to “get it,” and that’s fine too. Listen to Your Sister is an impressive debut either way, and Neena Viel is an author to watch. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary reading opportunity.

Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel is an engaging debut novel that skillfully blends elements of horror, dark comedy, and family drama, and it's saying something that I could stick this one out because I am usually unable to complete books with elements of horror, but I put aside my fear factor because this one was so well balanced.

I appreciated the multiple perspectives offered and thought the sibling dynamics between Calia, Dre, and Jamie were particularly strong.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

This seemed to be a solid debut, I think I was just not really the right audience. I didn’t really feel a connection to the characters and sometimes the story felt a bit forced.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

If Jordan Peele took on the Evil Dead franchise!
This was really good, haunting horror, with a lot of dark humor. I really enjoyed my time with this book!
I will say there was a pacing issue starting after about the 70-75 percent mark and I was left a little confused about what exactly was happening and then it wrapped up by the end (which it was a well done ending!) Overall, I really enjoyed it and will definitely pick up another book by Neena Viel!

A gripping mix of speculative horror and heartfelt family drama. Calla Williams, is haunted by nightmares of her brothers’ deaths while struggling to raise her reckless brother. When a protest goes wrong, the siblings flee to a remote cabin, where they face a terrifying new reality tied to Calla’s dreams. The eerie atmosphere is balanced with dark humor, making the horror more engaging. While the pacing is generally strong, there are moments where the plot lags.

LISTEN TO YOUR SISTER by Neena Viel is everything nightmares are made of. If Jordan Peele movies had a baby with Stranger Things and Nightmare on Elm Street. No joke this book is creepy so daytime reading is what worked best for me. 😅

Calla has always been the responsible older sister who cares for her brothers. She has always put their needs first and has warned them about her nightmares. Soon they’ll regret not listening to her.

It’s creepy yet has dark, witty humor. Great debut!

My only complaint was that it lost me towards the end of the book, but it all came together and wrapped up nicely.

Kudos to Neena on this brilliant debut horror novel! This author is going places with their imaginative storytelling. I love the storyline and concept of living out a true nightmare. Jamie and Dre should have just listened to their sister from the very beginning. They took CeeCee for granted one too many times. Looking forward to reading more from Neena!

Thanks Netgalley!

I REALLY REALLY struggled with this book I wasn’t a fan of how it was written, it was incredibly slow, it’s graphic and this book does have a large amount of racial profiling- I knew this book had this subject matter but the storyline was too slow for me and took me a month to even finish. I rate it a 2.5/5.

Wasn’t for me.
The story was creepy and confusing and I think that was the whole point but it didn’t land for me personally. I also didn’t connect to any of the characters so it was tough for me get through. I just don’t think I was the target audience for this book and that’s okay! I would try another book from the author in the future though.

So this just wasn’t for me

I could not find anything in any of the three different characters that I really liked or enjoyed, or related with. Which might’ve been part of the problem. Storyline does alternate in between all three characters point of view. This part was easier to follow than anything else as far as whose view you were reading.

The flow of the story basically doesn’t flow. You are reading and then randomly you were in some weird dream and you have to go back-and-forth and reread to figure out what is happening and the transitions from what is reality and not reality are not smooth at all. I found it to be very confusing and frustrating. Not my choice of writing style for sure.

Love the cover.

Thanks to NetGalley for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange from my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This story has a very interesting and creepy. What made me give it a 3 Star was the pacing and i was a bit confused with the storytelling. I can tell this is a good story but maybe this is something i need to revisit again.

3.5
I think this was a good debut, I think where I struggled with the most was it being in third person and where the story was going. I did listen on audio as well, *narrators were good*
I also think it’s my fault where I missed with who the little sister was (if it even was a little sister) and then when the bad thing happened I was confused, but also like (“why did that happpen?)
I will probably try to read/listen again to give better judgement, but I will say the quote of “protecting black boys” is true and needs to be said and talked about more.

The title caught my eye and intrigued me, however, when I started the book, I was not the intended audience. I did not finish it. I am sure it is a good book for the right audience.