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No Gods, No Monsters
Cadwell Turnbull
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Named a BEST BOOK OF 2021 by the New York Times, NPR, the New York Public Library, Audible, Tor.com, Book Riot, Library Journal, and Kirkus! Longlisted for the 2022 PEN Open Book Award
“Riveting...[A] tender, ferocious book.” —New York Times
“Beautifully fantastical.” —NPR
“Masterful.” —Chicago Tribune
One October morning, Laina gets the news that her brother has been shot and killed by Boston cops. But what looks like a case of police brutality soon reveals something much stranger. Monsters are real. And they want everyone to know it.
As creatures from myth and legend come out of the shadows, seeking safety through visibility, their emergence sets off a chain of seemingly unrelated events. Members of a local werewolf pack are threatened into silence. A professor follows a missing friend's trail of bread crumbs to a mysterious secret society. And a young boy with unique abilities seeks refuge in a pro-monster organization with secrets of its own.
Meanwhile, more people start disappearing, suicides and hate crimes increase, and protests erupt globally, both for and against the monsters.
At the center is a mystery no one thinks to ask: Why now? What has frightened the monsters out of the dark?
The world will soon find out.
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Posts about this title from Celestial
how much do you care about average book ratings?
💭 how much do you care about average book ratings?
here are some of my favorites that have mixed reviews (a green flag for me)!
📚 books mentioned: - No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull - How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley - The Coven Tendency by Zoe Hana Mikuta
👗💄: - dress is from For Love and Lemons - eyeshadow is In A Trance Palette from Colourpop and You Make Me Happy Palette from KimChi Chic Beauty - shimmer is a blend from Ourbella - eyeliner is Vegan Longwear Eyeliner (Lilac) from Pacifica Beauty - mascara is Lash Extensions XL from Milani - lip is Lip Buttercream (Cinnamon Sugar) from Pacifica Beauty - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!) Thank you to Pantheon and Hyperion Avenue for the gifted copies!
#fantasybooks #horrorbooks #literaryfictionbooks #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @blackstonepublishing @pantheonbooks @hyperionavebooks @disneybooks @forloveandlemons @kimchichicbeauty @colourpopcosmetics @pacificabeauty @milanicosmetics
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low rated books • books with low Goodreads ratings • fantasy books • science fiction books • speculative books • horror books • weird books • experimental books • unique books • diverse books • Blackstone Publishing
3 books
Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Apr 25
do you like experimental books?
💭 do you like experimental books?
here are some books that bop around perspectives and really zoom out to look at a full community! if you’re always hungry for something NEW like me, you’re gonna devour these.
📚 books mentioned: - The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez - No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull - The Redemption Center is Closed on Sundays by Andrea Hairston
👗💄: - eyeshadow is Ellis Atlantis Palette from Blend Bunny Cosmetics and The Spring Symphony Palette from Dandy Lion Cosmetics - eyeliner is Vegan Longwear Eyeliner (Ocean) from Pacifica Beauty - mascara is Highly Rated Lash Extensions XL from Milani - lip combo is Ultra Suede Sculpting Lip Pencil (Toasty) from Makeup by Mario and Lip Buttercream (Cinnamon Sugar) from Pacifica Beauty - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)
thank you to Tor Books for the gifted copy!
#speculativebooks #SFFbooks #uniquebooks #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @delreybooks @blackstonepublishing @torbooks @blendbunnycosmetics @dandylionsco @milanicosmetics @pacificabeauty
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fantasy books • horror books • science fiction books • murder mystery books • books with animal narrators • experimental fiction • unique books • diverse books • Del Rey • Blackstone Publishing
3 books
2
Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Apr 15
which one convinced you the most? 🫨
which one convinced you the most? 🫨 part twenty-three of one star goodreads reviews of books i enjoyed!
📚 books mentioned: - On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield - No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo - Herculine by Grace Byron - The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas - Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
👗💄: - eyeshadow is The Lord of the Rings Middle Earth Palette from Glamlite - eyeshadow shimmer is Lucid Dream from Ourbella Cosmetics - mascara is Highly Rated XL from Milani - lip combo is Lippie Pencil (Twisted) from Colourpop and Shine-On Milky Lip Oil Jelly (Pistachio) from Tower28 - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)
thank you to Saga Press and Little, Brown, and Co or the gifted copies!
#onestarreviews #negativebookreview #goodreadsreviews #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @sagapressbooks @blackstonepublishing @henryholtbooks @berkleypub @littlebrown @eccobooks @torbooks
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reading one star reviews of books i loved • recommending books using their negative goodreads reviews • 1 star book reviews • bookish humor • diverse books • Blackstone Publishing • Henry Holt & Co • Berkley Books • Ecco • Tor Books
8 books
these books messed me up … | march reading wrap up
let’s yap about everything I read in March!
9 books
Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 19
🌸 Spring book club announcements!
Posts about this book from across Bindery
how much do you care about average book ratings?
💭 how much do you care about average book ratings?
here are some of my favorites that have mixed reviews (a green flag for me)!
.
3 books
Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Apr 25
do you like experimental books?
💭 do you like experimental books?
thank you to Tor Books for the gifted copy!
.
3 books
2
Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Apr 15
which one convinced you the most? 🫨
which one convinced you the most? 🫨 part twenty-three of one star goodreads reviews of books i enjoyed!
thank you to Saga Press and Little, Brown, and Co or the gifted copies!
.
8 books
these books messed me up … | march reading wrap up
let’s yap about everything I read in March!
9 books
Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 19
🌸 Spring book club announcements!
Children of Diaspora\ \ Rae the Reviewer\ \ • Jun 12 2025
Join for free
Welcome to Children of Diaspora!
7 books
5
Tattooed Bibliophiles\ \ Zee\ \ • May 13 2025
Join for free
\ \ Before you scroll past thinking this is one of those “sorry I haven’t posted” guilt-trip TikToks—pause. It’s not that. I promise. (Unless you are mad at me… in which case… 😅 okay valid.)\ \ Here’s the deal: my serotonin has gone poof. My social feed is 97% longform political doomsday content and the rest is Aaron Parnas saying “BREAKING NEWS” in a deceptively calm voice about things that should be behind a trigger warning but are actually just real life. I didn’t take a break from caring (still calling my reps, still donating, still fighting), but I did take a break from trying to make content when everything feels like it's on fire.\ \ But here’s what I did do:\ \ I read. A lot.\ \ And not just for escapism—but for truth. For clarity. For change.\ \ Because once you’ve read enough “hot fae assassin” fantasy and "funny AI ship" sci-fi, you start craving stories that say something. Books that don’t just entertain, but provoke. That make you stop, whisper “holy sh*t,” and stare at the ceiling for an hour, but you know, in a good way. \ \ So below, I’ve paired fiction and nonfiction reads by theme—books I kept on my shelves, because I want my kids to read them one day and feel their brains light up like mine did. Read one, read both, read what works for your style.\ \ Let’s go.\ \
- SYSTEMIC RACISM\
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- Fiction\
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- Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, an Arthurian YA fantasy that has those magic school vibes, and taught me what microagressions FEEL like. But you've probably already read that so I'll also recommend\ \
- Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams, a book about a 17 year old child who finds his roots after removing himself and his brother from abusive foster parents. This tells of an organization of magical black people who have remained cloistered to keep safe, and very much has those Wakanda vibes.\
- Non-Fiction\
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- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, written in the format of a letter to his son, Coates speaks in gorgeous prose about what it's like to be a black man in America. This book didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but it connected those things with these little electric sentences that made me FEEL the neurons in my brain connect and go "PING" like a little light bulb. Coates is a genius of our generation.\ \
- Letter from Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I know, seems obvious, but I don't see people talking about it much. He's writing to people who disagree with his methods, speaking of his willingness to sit in a jail cell to forward civil rights. Only 54 pages. Required reading. Especially for white folks who quote MLK without context.\
- Fiction\
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- IMMIGRATION\
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- Fiction\
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- Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz is a sci-fi book about robots trying to start their own noodle shop. It tells a story of a post civil war California where robots have been given rights, but only some, only the ones that benefit capitalism. And it shows how different people react to them having those few rights. It's a beautiful story about creating your own community after you've lost everything.\
- Non-Fiction\
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- They Called Us Enemy by George Takei is a graphic novel memoir of Takei's firsthand account of the detention centers Roosevelt imprisoned Japanese Americans in in 1942. I plan to read this and discuss it with my kids this summer.\
- Fiction\
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- COLONIZATION\
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- Fiction\
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- Cry, Voidbringer by Elaine Ho is a story of oppression from 2 POV's, one is a little girl who has been kidnapped into slavery, and the other is an older character who has been working her way up the ranks to the side of the queen, and tries to fight oppression from within a broken system.\ \
- This Place: 150 Years Retold is an indigenous graphic novel anthology of dystopian stories about surviving a post-apocalyptic world since Contact. It comes with an accompanying teacher guide with lesson plans, so this one is another I plan to read and study with my kids this summer.\
- NonFiction\
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- Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States: A Graphic Interpretation by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is, well, what it says it is. I've never been a huge nonfic fan so graphic novels are a great way for me to get some nonfic reading in. This is a book you need on your shelf!\
- Fiction\
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- LGBTQIA+ EXPERIENCE\
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- Fiction\
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- No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull is a sci-fi/fantasy X-men type story about the coming out of monsters (vampires, werewolves, etc,) the world's reaction, and the monsters fight for human rights. It's multi-POV that works because you get to see so many perspectives. I cannot WAIT for my hold to come in from Libby for the sequel.\ \
- Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White is a dystopian horror about a group of fanatic Christians causing the apocalypse to bring about the second coming of Christ. And their chosen is of course a closeted gay kid. I'm not a body horror person, but this book is INSANELY good and my preteen who loves horror is going to freaking love it when he finally gets off his Fortnite and reads it.\
- Nonfiction\
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- A Little Queer Natural History by Josh L. Davis discusses biodiversity in nature and is essentially an entire book in response to the "male and female is basic biology" argument we sometimes hear from people with absolutely zero knowledge in the subject of biology. I love reading books that are a middle finger to bigots.\ \
- Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam chronicles expressions of trans experience that are often left out of the historical record. Trans people exist and HAVE existed for all of human history, and it's important to acknowledge that.\
- Fiction\
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- PRISON ABOLITION (a note: this may be a controversial topic for many, but I truly think that if people truly understood the prison abolition movement's goals, they would agree with them, and I think that if we solved this issue, many many other social issues would be solved as a result. If you don't agree, I beg you to read these books.)\
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- Fiction\
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- Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, I know, I know, I won't shut up about this one, but it's for good reason! Everyone is off reading Silver Elite because of it's purported (but I have on good authority unfounded) Hunger Games vibes, when Chain-Gang All-Stars has been published since 2023! Take prisons and make them privatized. Someone gets a brilliant idea to put it on reality TV (it's already been done, see 60 Days In) and make them fight each other to the death for sport. That's this book.\
- Nonfiction\
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- Abolitionist Intimacies by El Jones is written like an anthology, but by one person. Jones has been an advocate for years and tells the stories of people whom society has taken away their voice, taken away their humanity. This book doesn't discuss how to solve the problem, but I recommend starting here because to solve the problem, you first need to see prisoners as full human beings, and while you may think you already do, this will show you that no, you don't.\
- Fiction\
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- DISABILITY\
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- Fiction\
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- Cinder by Marissa Meyer was assigned to my 7th grader for summer reading, so we listened to it together, and WOW! How did I sleep on this one? Cinder is a cyborg, a human who has had parts replaced and is considered now to be less than human because of it, including all of her rights being directed by her guardian, her stepmother. Not only did we get to discuss how society treats disabled people as less deserving of human rights, but we also got to see the Lunars, moon dwelling people who their society is hugely biased against, a great metaphor for xenophobia and racism. So many good topics in this book to discuss with your younger reader while still getting to enjoy a hella good book.\
- Nonfiction\
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- Grievers by adrienne marie brown is admittedly not quite nonfiction, but adrienne marie brown is a nonfiction writer who delved into dystopian literature to further our understanding of the pandemic and how it affected and will continue to affect the world. It delves into the socioeconomics and inherent racism of the pandemic in such an insightful way. It has a sequel, thank adreinne, because the first one destroyed me.\ \ For other recommendations sorted by social justice topic I highly recommend going to https://www.akpress.org/books.html an independent publishing house that specializes in radical books. \ \ What other subjects would you like recommendations for? Feel free to leave me some recs in the comments too! I love a good read that cracks a brain open. Let’s build a shelf full of them.](https://tattooedbibliophile.binderybooks.com/item/XAGHabsTOQHTD7phEAbk/)
- Fiction\
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UUUUGGGGGHHHHH and other lamentations: Fiction and Non-Fiction books on the same topics
17 books
2