Sawkill Girls

By: Claire Legrand

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of Furyborn comes a breathtaking and spine-tingling novel about three teenage girls who face off against an insidious monster that preys upon young women. Perfect for fans of Victoria Schwab and Stranger Things.

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: The newbie. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: The pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken - or maybe everyone else is.

Val: The queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives; a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight…until now.

©2018 Claire Legrand (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

“Reader, hang on for dear life. Sawkill Girls is a wild, gorgeous, and rich coming-of-age story about complicity, female camaraderie, and power.” (Sarah Gailey, author of River of Teeth)

“An eerie, atmospheric assertion of female strength.” (Mindy McGinnis, author of The Female of the Species)

Too good to put into words

You know how when a story is really good, but you know if you try to explain it it would sound lame? (EX: “Game of Thrones is about a bunch of non-princes trying to take back a throne from an incestuous, murderous twin—all before zombies and their zombie dragons kill everybody.” Sounds lame, but is probably the most awesome show on television right now.) That is what this book is. I can explain what it’s about and what it’s like, but it will come out unfairly lame, and this book is fantastic!

I was sucked in almost instantly. There is so much mystery and wonder. The relationships are complex and strong. The themes are positive and plentiful. The characters have layers and growth. I binge-listened. I can’t wait to binge it again. The narration is spot on. This book made me want more. I’ll be purchasing more books by this author (and narrator while I’m at it!)

6 people found this helpful

BEAUTIFUL!!

I’ve had 𝒮𝒶𝓌𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒢𝒾𝓇𝓁𝓈 in my wishlist for a while now, holding off on getting it because of the reviews. I am SO GLAD I finally went for it! This story is beautifully written, and at no point did I feel there was any “man hating” messages being pushed. There are a group of men in the story who may be chauvinistic, and of course the main female characters feel a reaction to that (what female wouldn’t?) but it’s not a theme whatsoever.

Listening to this story was like running my hands through silk, it progressed so smoothly (and right from the start, I might add) with the mixture of love, horror and action having been woven together seamlessly. I am sure Lauren Ezzo’s lovely voice added to this sensation, I completely forgot she was there! She had no weird or annoying quirks to her narration, it made it so easy to get lost in the story.

5 ☆ all around! Absolutely recommend!

2 people found this helpful

lgbtqia+, monsters, and magic

This book was well written, held my attention, and made me wish I had a book like this when I was a teen.

1 person found this helpful

Favorite Read of the Year!

Wow! That was an awesome read! It's like Holly Black had a book baby with Grady Hendrix and raised it in a creepy mansion on the corner of Science Fiction and Fantasy. This is the first book I've read from Claire Legrand and she now has a permanent residence on my Favorite Authors list.

1 person found this helpful

AMAZING BOOK!

I loved this book completely and furiously. It's thrilling and surprising and gorgeously written. Read it!

1 person found this helpful

Disappointed

I started this book because I was looking for an interesting listen while I was cleaning. I really enjoyed it at the beginning. The main characters are interesting and the story was creepy and gripping. Sadly, the story turned 180 in the last 3 hours of the audiobook.

It was great character building and conflict until then, but it turned into a man hating muck. I consider myself a feminist but this just feels icky for me to even listen to. It feels like the girl empowerment was built relatively well and then have it all thrown away with the man hating descriptions that came out of nowhere. It's so cartoonishly sexist and was deliberately written to put down the male gender. I can't even finish this book after a certain chapter in the book. Also the main characters reasoning became very questionable from then onward.

The narrator is decent, but I don't like how over eager she gets in tenser chapters. It's like she doesn't control her volume and it gets way too loud. I did not enjoy the narrator yelling in my ears.

10 people found this helpful

so into it!

this narrator is amazing!!!! her different voices really made the story great and interesting! I will definitely listen to more by her!
great story too!

Women's ways of knowing...but make it horror

Captivating from start to finish. A rare, refreshing narrative that sheds new light on old terrors.

Beautiful and Spooky

I so deeply love this book! It's spooky and creates a greater horror story while also giving you fascinating heroines to root for and love. The narration is so great too!

meh

I really struggled to finish this one and I couldnt if it was the story or the narrator

good once it gets going

I really enjoyed the second half of this book but it takes a while for the plot to really get exciting.

brilliant

I loved this, I think I will have to buy the physical copy soon though as I feel like I will be able to really immerse myself in the Sawkill world then.