Extasia

by Claire Legrand

Joel Tippie (Cover Designer) and Diego Fernandez (Illustrator)

**One of BuzzFeed's Great LGBTQ+ YA novels to Warm up Your Winter * A Kid's Feb/March IndieNext pick**

From New York Times bestselling author Claire Legrand comes a new, bone-chilling YA horror novel about a girl who joins a coven to root out a vicious evil that’s stalking her village. Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Grace Year.

Her name is unimportant.

All you must know is that today she will become one of the four saints of Haven. The elders will mark her and place the red hood on her head. With her sisters, she will stand against the evil power that lives beneath the black mountain—an evil which has already killed nine of her village’s men.

She will tell no one of the white-eyed beasts that follow her. Or the faceless gray women tall as houses. Or the girls she saw kissing in the elm grove.

Today she will be a saint of Haven. She will rid her family of her mother’s shame at last and save her people from destruction. She is not afraid. Are you?

This searing and lyrically written novel by the critically acclaimed author of Sawkill Girls beckons readers to follow its fierce heroine into a world filled with secrets and blood—where the truth is buried in lies and a devastating power waits, seething, for someone brave enough to use it.

• ISBN10: 0062696637
• ISBN13: 9780062696632
• Publish Date: 22 February 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 25 February 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Katherine Tegen Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Claire Legrand is back, but this time her fantasy world is much darker than her usual tales (which is saying something). Enter Extasia, an LGBTQ+ friendly horror novel full of the paranormal and more.

Extasia is the story of a girl turning saint – but not in the way you might expect. You see, she's the saint only in the eyes of her cult. The elders have marked her to become a saint, making her stand out from a young age.

It will be her task, alongside her sisters, to head into the black mountain and deal with great evil. This evil has killed many adults. Once completed, this will prove that she and the other are saints.

Ouch. Extasia is arguably the roughest book I've read this year – and no, I am not referring to the quality of writing here. There's just...a lot to deal with within these pages. Honestly, I almost put it down on more than one occasion.

What do I mean? Well, there are lots of warnings worth discussing; animal death, sexism, sexual harassment, abuse, suicide, cannibalism, and torture. These elements play a huge role in Extasia and thus can't easily be skipped. So please do consider yourself warned. I mean it when I say that it was almost too much for me at times. I had to take lots of breaks while reading, especially following the animal scenes.

It's pretty clear even from the description that this story is about a girl in a cult. Thus, it doesn't take long to become concerned about her well-being and eventual fate. Especially not once they start talking about her becoming a saint.

While Extasia was a lot to deal with, I do think that it opened the door for some pretty interesting conversations and ideas. Amity's character is strong, even before she gets her hands on power. Yet that very power forces her to enter a new realm of struggle.

Having sapphic characters and plots was a nice touch, if I may say so. It was a grounding (and positive) element of the book that I really appreciated seeing.

Thanks to Katharine Tegan Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks