Thank you so much to NetGalley and Levine Querido Publishing for this ARC of Beasts by Ingvild Bjerkeland.

Beasts is a YA translated fiction horror novel by Ingvild Bjerkeland of Haugesund, Norway. At 128 pages, this novel was a quick read - and it did keep me interested the whole time. I found the characters very likeable. The story revolves around a big brother caring for his sister during post-apocalyptic times, after their mother is suddenly killed by a Beast.
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The story was interesting, but I felt a bit bored because of the lack of descriptive details surrounding the identity and origination of said Beasts. This story read very much like a post-apocalyptic story, and I felt a lot of the details of the apocalypse were reminiscent of the COVID 19 pandemic. As with every time I read translated fiction, I wonder if some of the plot details were lost in translation? Or if the story is just a bit underdeveloped?
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Either way, I can definitely say this this is worth a read if you're looking for something quick and easy to read. I would definitely feel comfortable recommending this to someone that is interested in trying out the horror genre. There is very little gore in the story, which makes it easily palatable for new horror readers.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advance readers copy***

This book is described as Cormac McCarthy ''The Road'' meets the movie ''A quiet place''. I would also add that it has resemblance to Waubgeshig Rice's book ''Moon of the crusted snow''.

We follow a 14 year old boy, Abdi, and his sister Alva a 5 year old as they try to run away from mysterious beasts killing humans after all power has been lost.

This book was very good. It was fast-paced and intriguing from the start. The chapters are short and there's a back and forth between the past and the present that keeps things interesting. We are stressed and implicated in the present as well as curious to find out more about the past and how this situation came to be.

This book has many layers. It shows human adaptability especially children's. It explores what desperation can make people do. How in times of crisis some people chose to fight for the good of the masses or for their loved ones. However, others are more selfish and are ready to use violence instead of communication. It also shows that when there's chaos in the world the rules of civilized society don't exist anymore. It gives the individual the ''right'' to act as he/she sees fit. The line between good and evil gets more and more blurred.

Not everything will be explained in this book, but you will still feel satisfied by the ending!

very interesting and epic dystopian short novella with some cool ideas. VERY cormac mccarthy in material, if not in feel. tysm for the arc. 4 stars. would recommend. quite short.

This was such a strong horror novella and worked with everything that I was looking for from the description. I thought this was really well written and had that creature feature element that I was hoping for. Ingvild Bjerkeland wrote this well and had that suspenseful feel that I wanted.

This is an amazing story! It is a YA horror, but as an adult, I absolutely enjoyed every moment while reading it.

We follow a brother and sister trying to survive an apocalyptical event. There are supernatural monsters, as well as human monsters. At times, it is hard to distinguish which is worse. I am hoping for a book two. If there is a second book, I hope it comes out soon!

#NetGalley #Beasts

Dystopian novella is an action packed narrative reads like a modern fairy tale rewriting of Little Red Riding Hood. It is a cautionary tale that warns us the dangers of becoming complacent with the comforts of modern society, capitalist globalization and the fragility of institutional norms, regulations and values. In this story, the people of the village have ample opportunity to leave their homes and seek out refuge from the dangers of the Beasts that have emerged in their country, killing all those they come in contact with and slowly destroying all cities, towns and villages they come across. Although the village has heard about them on the new, they felt safe enough to remain at home believing they were far enough away. Then remained based on the belief that they could would together and could defend themselves. But the deterioration of social order, food scarcity and access to medical supplies turned friends and neighbours against one another and made people do horrible things to others in order to obtain things that they needed in order to survive. A mother sends her children off on alone into the countryside in a race against time in an effort to find safety and escape the beasts. This survival horror/ dark fantasy narrative focuses on the childrens’ desperate attempt avoid the beast as they venture on a refugee’s journey through the countryside to find safety and shelter from the beasts genocidal conquest.

I got this book as an ebook arc from netgalley and edelweissplus simultaneous as I am a huge fan of horror and dark fantasy dystopian and apocalyptic fiction especially narratives that are set in ou time or near future and feature the breakdown of civil society. It was a fast paced and easy read that took me one sitting in a single day to finish. And I think that it is worth the time to read but it’s not something that screamed out to me as anything super unique or brining anything new to the sub-genre as a whole. It’s a great y/a novella that is entertaining and thought provoking read. I personally wouldn’t read again or buy for myself but for a younger audience (aka reader 10-13) it’s a very good story and modest book as it doesn’t feature sex, drugs, or much violence.

Excellent short horror novel. The fear the children felt was intense and well written. Would love to read more from this author.

The idea of this was much better than the execution. There was no character development so the small clusters of suspense meant nothing and the story goes nowhere. The open ending made the whole thing feel pointless.

A sweet, heart breaking novella about two children trying to survive in dystopian Norway. Perfect for fans of The Road or A Quiet Place, a brother and sister walk through the ravaged county side on their way to the sea in the hopes of finding their father. Along the way, they meet people who both help and hinder them, all the while evading the beasts that hunt them. Usually, I hate such ambiguous endings but this one felt right. Highly recommended.

Bleak, unsettling and fantastically stressful in the best possible way. This felt almost dystopian and the familt dynamics and fractured relationships were pitch perfect. Perfect pick for a spooky season read.

reading this had me STRESSED. i wish i could have read it in the original language; something about the way its written makes me think there’s something rich in that version of the text. not that this text isn’t rich— interesting, original, and terrifying at times. shockingly bleak for a children’s book. there are unanswered questions, LOTS of death, and a broken family of two siblings, a dead mother, and a mia father. i loved this; truly, i wish there was more just because i got so attached to our main characters in such a short time, and i wanted to see them be okay— but that’s not what this book is doing, and i find that equally frustrating and incredible. a must read.

I can absolutely see the comparison to McCarthy’s The Road. This was bleak, yet hopeful by the end. So many valuable lessons can be learned from this fast paced journey that Bjerkland has provided us with— sometimes it’s better to run being a stand out for me. I believe that while this type of story has been reworked many different ways, this author still brought something fresh to the table. Well done!