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.

2.5 stars rounded up

I just don't think this was for me. I was so confused and lost through the first half, I was unsure what was going on, which is probably part of the point but it took too long to kind of come together. I will say that this is better read in bigger chunks. I did have a better time and enjoyed it more when I could read a bunch in one sitting but it still didn't hit as hard as I wanted and expected it too. Still a really strong debut and I look forward to seeing what else Neena will do.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for access to an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of the few books I read where I think it would be a million times better as a movie. The ick is described in great detail, which I let my eyes skate over would probably delight horror watchers (and I could close my eyes if I needed to), and the story that seemed a little sluggish for the first two thirds of the book could be tightened up in a horror movie. However, that last third of the book is a riveting story of family trauma, and the sacrifices a black woman makes even at the cost of her own sanity.

None of the characters in this book are great people, but as you read more about them you can understand the reasons why they are all kind of terrible. They grew up really only with each other, and couldn't depend on any adults, and this makes for some interesting personalities as they get older. Eventually this becomes an issue as they are forced to face the defining moment in their lives that none of them have been able to face.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a readers copy of this book. My reviews never contain spoilers and are freely given.

A story of the dynamics between Calla and her two brothers. After the death of her father and with a distant, uninvolved mother, Calla became the primary caregiver for her two brothers. She consistently steps in to save the day for them, while silently resenting having to do so. The result of years of this behavior takes a toll, which I won’t reveal. You need to read this for yourself to understand. Don’t miss it.

A young lady is the guardian of her younger brothers, one of whom is a troubled child in high school. Racism.

Neena Viel's debut novel, Listen to Your Sister, offers a compelling blend of horror and dark comedy, delivering a narrative that is both unsettling and entertaining. The story centers on 25-year-old Calla Williams, who unexpectedly becomes the guardian of her teenage brother, Jamie. Navigating the challenges of this new responsibility, Calla finds herself overwhelmed as Jamie's rebellious nature leads him into various troubles.

Viel skillfully portrays the complexities of sibling relationships, capturing the tension and affection that coexist within family dynamics. The author's use of dark humor provides a refreshing contrast to the novel's more intense moments, offering readers a multifaceted experience that balances terror with wit.

The speculative elements of the plot are well-crafted, drawing readers into a world where the familiar becomes eerily distorted. Viel's ability to intertwine the supernatural with everyday struggles adds depth to the narrative, making the horror elements resonate on a personal level.

While the novel excels in character development and atmosphere, some readers may find certain plot developments predictable. Additionally, the pacing occasionally fluctuates, with moments where the narrative momentum slows.

Real Rating: 4.25* of five

"Listen to your sister" is the most oddly edged weapon in the arsenal of control. Listen to her wisdom. Listen to her express while she experiences despair. Listen to her, learn how the wisdom comes out of the same swamp as the despair.

Being tasked with responsibilities beyond your capabilities is a common feature in many child-as-custodian tales. Rising to meet the challenge, failing at it, muddling through...well, that's adulthood as parent or guardian or, to be completely honest, any old thing as a legal adult.

What sets this story above most I've read like it, from <i>The Outsiders</i> as a kid on, is The Nightmare. It's a really big part of Calla's quotidian awareness. It's a looming, energy-sapping Presence...éminence grise writ literal...that defines Calla's every waking thought about her ward/little brother. In The Nightmare Jamie dies, and dies, and dies; the <i>most</i> horrific death. Here's Calla, responsible for the life of someone she honestly should never have been if her parents had...well, what? not died? not run away? where are they and why aren't they there?...not, in any event, left her responsible unhelpfully unbackstopped by her other brother, useless Dre.

Now my full attention is engaged. Starting just before the halfway point I began to listen to my own niggling awareness. Permaybehaps this is Calla finding a coping mechanism to make sense of this utter reorientation of her world...permaybehaps she's tuned in to something like a psychic K-Cthulhu...she might simply be going quietly insane...and in the US a young Black woman whose self-image is of being too hefty who's also now responsible for shepherding a teenaged Black man into adulthood alive and unencarcerated when he has a big mouth and a powerful eye for hypocrisy....

I was deeply interested in the way I wasn't answered as I got these musings phrased into questions. I was instead led to ideas about the answers supported in the story. That we see the narrative through all three siblings' eyes lent the book the air of fairness, until you thought a minute about it when Calla's centrality swims into focus ever more clearly. She is the only one who acts for the clearly conceptualized good of the Family, where her brothers (one too young, one too narcissistic) think only of how The Nightmare and its embodiment in their sister affects them. It is through those young men's eyes that The Nightmare feeds into horror. They mock and disbelieve, thinking she's nuts and/or trying to control them.

Sound familiar, Cassandra fanciers? Calla's awful stresses are external, internal, self-inflicted, inevitable for a young woman of color in a deeply racist white world. They're real. They're just fearful imaginings. They can't be taken seriously. Laugh them off.

That goes as well as it usually does when men ignore sound advice from women. As a subject for social horror, I'm hard-pressed to think of a better, more trenchant way to build a story.

What I ended up enjoying the most in this read was less the plot...first novels are almost always a bit baggy at the knees...than Calla's mellifluous voice and her sense of humor. BE AWARE THAT THE N-SLUR IS USED A LOT. I don't like it, this is something I have trouble with from my 1960s childhood where it was used *very*differently* so I want you to know that fact. Mostly, Calla's a smart, funny woman doing a thankless job she wouldn't have had to do had death and abandonment not landed her where she is.

I can't go a fifth star because of the N-slur stuff. It made me think hard about many things, and might should get that five; but not with the (appropriate, well-thought-out) use of N-words.

YMMV, but in any event I encourage you to find out soon.

This was a weird literally unputdownable horror family drama that I could not recommend more
Absolutely an author to keep your eye on

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book

DNFing this one. I'm not interested - the beginning story about the main character's boobs did not set me up for success with this one. I've also seen multiple bad reviews/DNFs so I'm not interested in continuing.

What a fantastic debut novel!

While, for me, things became a bit muddles and confusing towards the final third of the book, the insane amount of heart on display and need to see how things turned out for the characters more than made up for that.

The relationships between Calla, Dre, and Jamie felt truly genuine and their verbal sparring felt natural and provided nice touches of humor in the midst of some darkness.

Although a bit uneven, this is a moving story of family, loss, trauma, and what we'll do to protect those we love. I will absolutely be coming back for Viel's next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Holy cow that was a wild ride. Part horror and family drama this book had me hooked until the very last page.
I would highly recommend this to other horror fan that want a unique story, I don't think that I have ever read anything quite like this one. I think this author is a great writer and I will be watching for their next book.

This had such a strong premise, but the execution didn’t fully work for me. The first half dragged, and by the time things started to pick up, I had already lost interest. That said, there were some solid moments, and I appreciated the blend of family dynamics, horror, and social commentary. Ultimately, it was a decent read, just not as gripping as I’d hoped.