This was like reading a nightmare, and I was unsettled and anxious the entire time (a good thing!).
But the feeling I came away with is hope, because ultimately, despite experiencing terrible loss and cruelty, and despite her own viciousness, the narrator was a young woman who chose to love, and love again, and love again, at the end of the world.
This wasn’t the story I was expecting, and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. I’m looking forward to sharing this with customers and coworkers and friends alike.

Agustina Bazterrica’s *The Unworthy* is a dark and haunting novel that plunges readers into a dystopian world where a woman lives under the suffocating control of a violent religious order. The story is narrated by a lower-ranking member of the Sacred Sisterhood, who writes her tale in fragments, using whatever she can find—ink, dirt, even her own blood. While the world outside the convent crumbles due to environmental collapse, the narrator is preoccupied with pleasing the order’s harsh leaders and dreams of ascending to a higher rank.

The arrival of a stranger disrupts her already fragile reality, forcing her to question everything—her past, her faith, and the secrets behind the convent’s inner circle. As the story unfolds, Bazterrica masterfully explores themes of power, control, and survival, blending a dystopian backdrop with psychological horror.

With shades of *The Handmaid’s Tale* in its exploration of extreme ideology and the abuse of power, *The Unworthy* is a gripping and unsettling read. Bazterrica’s writing is taut and atmospheric, drawing readers into the tense, claustrophobic world of the narrator. For fans of dark, thought-provoking horror with a dystopian twist, *The Unworthy* is a compelling and unforgettable novel.

Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me since I felt like I spent all my time reading just trying to get a grasp on the narrative. By the end I felt like I didn’t gain as much clarity as I hoped for and the ending left me unsatisfied. It had a strong beginning but overall, I just couldn’t connect to it. Not sure that fans of Tender is the Flesh would necessarily enjoy this one but maybe those that enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale narrative style?

I also feel like this didn’t have commentary on climate or religion like I assumed, even though it dealt with those themes. I don’t know. Honestly, I struggled to understand most of this book. It may have just completely went over my head.

Oh God was this book gory and gross and also amazing! I love a horror novel! I felt genuinely so disturbed by this book and the desolation all these characters feel.

The Unworthy is Agustina Bazterrica follow up novel to Tender is the Flesh. This is a dark tense sliver of a book, told in stolen moments by our narrator. She lives in the cloistered secretive, ultra-violent religious order as the rest of the world is in chaos due to climate crises. I found myself drawing comparisons to Margaret Atwood''s The Handmaid's Tale throughout, with similar themes of ideological extremism and the abuse of power. I would recommend this book for those wanting a dark horror novel for the twenty-first century.

Wow, a truly terrifying, engrossing, and rich nightmare of a post-apocalyptic world. Couldn't put it down!

Immaculate prose. Beautiful, mesmerizing sequence of events that leave a sense of melancholia and horror. I adored it. 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was super interesting! I loved the prose and premise of the book (weird nuns!!!) and as it explored deeper, I got really invested in the post apocalyptic setting. Very neat read!