Kurryreads | Listen to Your Sister: A Novel
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Listen to Your Sister: A Novel
Neena Viel
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Most Anticipated by Goodreads, BookRiot, Polygon, Screenrant and more! For fans of Jordan Peele’s films, Stranger Things, and The Other Black Girl, Listen To Your Sister is a laugh-out-loud, deeply terrifying, and big-hearted speculative horror novel from electrifying debut talent Neena Viel.
Twenty-five year old Calla Williams is struggling since becoming guardian to her brother, Jamie. Calla is overwhelmed and tired of being the one who makes sacrifices to keep the family together. Jamie, full of good-natured sixteen-year-old recklessness, is usually off fighting for what matters to him or getting into mischief, often at the same time. Dre, their brother, promised he would help raise Jamie—but now the ink is dry on the paperwork and in classic middle-child fashion, he’s off doing his own thing. And through it all, The Nightmare never stops haunting Calla: recurring images of her brothers dying that she is powerless to stop.
When Jamie’s actions at a protest spiral out of control, the siblings must go on the run. Taking refuge in a remote cabin that looks like it belongs on a slasher movie poster rather than an AirBNB, the siblings now face a new threat where their lives—and reality—hang in the balance. Their sister always warned them about her nightmares. They really should have listened.
A knockout debut." —Ashley Winstead
“Incredibly original and seriously scary.” —Nick Medina
“A brilliant fever-dream of a novel that effortlessly dances between horror, literary, and family saga—sure to appeal to fans of Grady Hendrix, Tananarive Due, Mona Awad, and Stephen King.” —Maria Dong
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Posts about this title from Kurryreads
Kurryreads\ \ Kerry\ \ • Aug 14 2025
Ultimate Guide to Spooky Season Reading v2
Replying to @Kerry | Booktok 📖 Ultimate Guide to Spooky Season Reading - Version 2 📚👻🔪 Timestamps: 00:28 Stranger Than Fiction 00:39 Witchy 00:47 Creature Feature 1:03 Dark Past-Potentially Paranormal 1:14 Possession 1:19 Slashers 1:32 Haunted House 1:42 Eco Horror/Plant Horror 1:48 Supernatural 1:57 Demonic/Occult 2:06 Cosmic 2:13 Folklore 2:26 Speculative 2:35 Young Adult 2:46 Paranormal 2:55 Psychological 3:03 Crime 3:13 Historical Fiction 3:29 Cult 3:43 Vampires 3:51 Weird Girl/Feminine Rage 4:00 Sci-Fi 4:08 Cannibalism #guidetospookyseasonreading #spookyreads #horrorbooks #cultbooks #paranormalbooks #hauntedhousebooks #possessionbooks #creaturefeature #booktok #booktoker #bookrecommendations #whattoread #vampirebooks #speculativehorror #youngadulthorror #folklorebooks #ecohorrorbooks #scifihorrorbooks #slasherbooks #scarybooks
55 books
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Posts about this book from across Bindery
Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Mar 31
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would you go to a grown-up book fair?
💭 would you go to a grown-up book fair?
apparently the next one will be in early summer … so i hope to see you all there!
📚 books mentioned: - Luminous by Silvia Park - Pedro the Vast by Simón López Trujillo, translated by Robin Myers - Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel - also mentioned: Book Haven Books and PEN America’s World Voices Festival @bookhavenbooks @penamerica
👗💄: - dress is from Farm Rio, rented from Nuuly - eyeshadow is Silver Linings and In A Trance Palettes from Coloupop - eyeliner is Vegan Longwear Eyeliner (Lilac) from Pacifica Beauty - mascara is from Makeup by Mario - lip combo is Staining Lip Liner (La La La) from Kulfi Beauty and Gloss Up Sheer Finish Lip Gloss (Quiet Luxury) from The Lip Bar - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)
#horrorbooks #scifibooks #bookfair #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @simonandschuster @algonquinbooks @stmartinspress @farmrio @colourpopcosmetics @pacificabeauty
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book fair • book haul • book unboxing • diversify your books • horror books • book TBR • fungal horror • sporror • books in translation • literary fiction books • science fiction books • diverse books • Simon & Schuster • Algonquin Books • St. Martin’s Griffin
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Kurryreads\ \ Kerry\ \ • Aug 14 2025
Ultimate Guide to Spooky Season Reading v2
55 books
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Not So Well Read\ \ Courtney\ \ • Feb 9 2025
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[Whoops! A little late, but read this instead of watching The Super Bowl.\ \ This Week in the Book World: \ \ Ooohhhhh let's talk smut, because I don't know if you saw the Quill and Flame "#sickofsmut" campaign, but y'all that had me angry for days.\ \ So, in case you missed it, an indie publishing house put out a campaign of posts talking about how they were sick of smut in their romance books and that they were committed to only publishing "clean" and "PG-13" romances. Which, is fine. Because, and I cannot say this loudly enough, no one is forcing anyone to read smut. If you don't want to read smut, don't read it. It's as simple as that.\ \ As a bookstore owner, I get asked constantly for closed-door romances and I am happy to help folks find the kind of content they're comfortable with, because I believe strongly that engaging with books that sexual content should come with informed consent. \ \ However, where this whole thing really started to go downhill and, well frankly, piss me off was with the brazen smut-shaming that came with it. In case you missed the sentence above where I said that no one is forcing anyone to read smut, these folks were out here acting like they were being held at gun point and forcing to read about "body part behavior"–yes that is a direct quote. Things started to fall apart more when they started throwing around words like "safe" and "good" and "darkness" when referring to sexual content, but it REALLY, REALLY, REALLY got me when I saw the words "YA" and "NA".\ \ clears throat ALLYOUNG ADULT BOOKS ARE NOT "CLOSED DOOR ROMANCE BOOKS" AND ALL "CLOSED DOOR ROMANCE BOOKS" ARE NOT YOUNG ADULT BOOKS. Young adult books are books written for young adults. End of story. Sometimes those books contain sexual content, because–and this might blow some mind–teens need a safe, healthy way to learn and talk about and process their feelings about sex.\ \ There are tons of authors who use their books to help teens learn about things like consent, healthy relationships, bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, and so much more. This is important work. And describing books written by adults for adults as "YA" simply because they don't have sexual content amongst a political backdrop of nationwide book bans, mom's for liberty, and publishers printing age labels on book covers, is nothing but dangerous. \ \ I could stand on this soapbox for the rest of the evening, so clearly this should be topic I cover more in depth later.\ \ Moving on...\ \ This week's publishing news: \ \
- We finally got an announcement for Del Sandeen's second novel! Titled, Death is my Castle, this newest horror novel is about "two sisters who inherit a house in Savannah, Georgia, only to discover that it may be haunted by the man who built it in 1910."\ \
- Dinesh Thiru, author of Into the Sunken City, announced My Killer Family Reunion, which was pitched as "Knives Out meets Never Have I Ever". Also, excited about this one, because I do feel like true "mystery" and "whodunnit" books are a gap in the teen market. Not every teen wants to read an intense thriller/true crime book.\ \
- Tehlor Mejia's Marrow, which was described as "a dark academia fantasy in which a trans 16-year-old boy finds himself way in over his head when he joins a hyper-elite school with dark, potentially supernatural secrets"\ \
- AND! We got more news about Alix E. Harrows, The Everlasting, which according to her "rhymes" with her short story The Six Deaths of the Saint. She apparently wrote the story while plotting this newest novel, and I cannot contain my excitement!\ \ \ This week's new releases: \ \
- The Lamb by Lucy Rose (Adult, Horror)\ \
- Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito (Adult, Horror)\ \
- Capitana by Cassandra James (YA, Fantasy)\ \
- Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey (Adult, Literary)\ \
- Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft (YA, Fantasy)\ \
- All Better Now by Neal Shusterman (YA, Dystopian)\ \ \ What I read this week: \ \ Listen to Your Sister (Finished)\ \ I've talked about this book a lot and I'm going to continue to talk about it, because it deserves it. Holy hell this book was so good. I was not expecting to fall as in love with this one as I did, but it struck something deep in my core. As I wrote in my mini review, Listen to Your Sister is both a love letter to oldest sisters and Black women and a vicious rejection of the expectations the world puts on them to save us over themselves. It's so timely and so heartfelt. 5 out of 5 stars.\ \ Also, it definitely reads more speculative fiction that horror, so I think it's got great crossover appeal for those of you who might be wary of scary books.\ \ Gifted & Talented (Finished)\ \ I hinted at it last time, but I'm here to confirm that Gifted & Talented is Olivie Blake's best book yet. I feel like all of her standalones throughout the last few years have been leading up to this story. When I tell you that I full-on, audibly, gasped not once, but multiple times, while reading this last night. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me send out-of-context screenshots of highlighted paragraphs to my husband. I know that her prose style is not for everyone, but wow do I love it. \ \ This one also leans way more literary fiction than fantasy. It contains magical elements, but it is way more a Succession-esque family drama than anything. Also, I posted this on BlueSky last night, but the scene where the enemies become lovers in this one was... immaculate. \ \ A Burning in the Bones (17%)\ \ This is the third and final book in The Waxways series, and all I have to say is that I am so excited. I love this series. I can't wait to keep reading.\ \ What I bought/shelved \ \ Books I bought/received this week:\ \
- The Wayways series in hardcover\ \
- The Devils by Joe Abercrombie\ \
- The Library at Hellbore by Cassandra Khaw\ \ \ Here are some books I shelved this week:\ \
- Dream by the Shadows by Logan Karlie\ \
- The Balance of Fates by Raquel Raelynn\ \ \ Other musings: \ \ Our February book pick is in and I'm thrilled to be reading One for my Enemy by Olivie Blake, this is the only standalone of hers that I haven't read yet, and coming off the high of Gifted & Talented I'm especially excited. Join here.](https://notsowellread.binderybooks.com/item/9bIOc0mot3P1THEQMA7a/)
14 books
Not So Well Read\ \ Courtney\ \ • Feb 6 2025
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Listen to Your Sister Mini Review
Finished Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel this morning and cried off all my makeup on my way to work. I loved this book more than I ever imagined I would. It’s timely. It’s political. It’s heartfelt and heartbreaking. Simultaneously a love letter to oldest sisters and Black women and a vicious rejection of the expectations the world puts on them to save us over themselves.
And to think that this was a debut novel!!!
1 book
Not So Well Read\ \ Courtney\ \ • Feb 2 2025
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[And somehow I thought things couldn't get worse... \ \ This Week in the Book World: \ \ Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to what was happening in the book world this week. I was too preoccupied with everything else that seemed to come crumbling down on top of us this week. \ \ If you caught wind of some important news or drama that I didn't, please drop me a comment and spill the tea.\ \ This week's publishing news: \ \
- Author of one of my favorite YA books (Pride), Ibi Zoboi's announced a new fantasy book titled The Serpent, The Rainbow, The Island below. Based in Haitian mythology, it's about "three orphans who are the descendants of Vodou gods, on a quest to reunite with their loved ones and protect a magical underworld from shape-shifting monsters"\ \
- I've also talked a lot about queer horror this week, so was excited to see a new book announcement from Ryan La Sala's, author of The Honeys, called The Dead of Summer, about a teen in a queer resort town off the coast of Maine and "a mysterious, supernatural plague rising from the sea"\ \
- We also got another Johnny Compton announcement! This one is titled Chimera Skin, and is a science fiction horror novella "pitched as The Fly meets The Thing and I am Legend".\ \
- The sporror genre is alive and well! Laura Cranehill's debute, Wife Shaped Bodies, is "about an isolated newlywed, covered in mushroom growths like all the wives in her community, who strikes a precarious balance between following her husband's strict rules and pursuing an intense connection with another woman"\ \
- And I know nothing about this book, but looks like we might have another big Romantasy title coming soon. Cortney L. Winn's, Vesselless, won a 6-figure deal to Voyager and also won deals with 8 other publishers for international distribution. Definitely one I'll be keeping an eye on.\ \ \ This week's new releases: \ \
- Old Soul by Susan Barker (Adult, literary/horror)\ \
- We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin (Adult, literary)\ \
- Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry (Adult, Non-fiction)\ \
- Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker (Adult, horror)\ \
- The Scorpion Queen by Mina Fears (Teen, Fantasy)\ \ \ What I read this week: \ \ Onyx Storm (Finished)\ \ Well, I finished it and I thought it was fine. Maybe I had just mentally prepared myself for a cliff-hanger, because I wasn't overly phased by anything that happened. Am I pissed I have to wait til 2027 for the next book? Yes. Is my interest in this series waning a bit? Also yes. I'm definitely going to experience some fatigue if we don't wrap this up soon, because I predict this may go the way of From Blood and Ash.\ \ The Afterdark (Finished)\ \ This was a fun little queer YA horror novel! I listened to the audiobook over the course of a couple of days and it was a nice little brain break from the real world. It started out a lot stronger than it finished, but I still really enjoyed it. It was a nice little snack of a book.\ \ Listen to Your Sister (36%)\ \ Holy shit. I cannot stop listening to this book. THIS is the exact kind of horror I love. It's creepy, it's emotional, it has a ton to say. I'm literally going to start listening again as soon as I finish writing this post.\ \ Gifted & Talented (20%)\ \ Might this be Olivie Blake's best book yet? That is definitely possible. I love, love, love Olivie Blake's style and voice, but her books require a certain level of attention that can make getting into them hard. I usually struggle through the first 50% before falling hopelessly in love with the story and reading the rest in one or two sittings. This one, however, has been so easy to jump into and it already has its claws in me after only 100 pages. Woof, it is long though.\ \ What I bought/shelved \ \ It's here!!! I finally got my galley of my Bookstagram buddy's debut fanatasy novel, A Dance of Lies! It's going to be my next ARC as soon as I finish Gifted & Talented.\ \ I also got both my Illumicrate (Watermoon by Samantha Sotto Yambao) and my Evernight (Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker) books this week.\ \ Here are some books I shelved this week:\ \
- Prince of the Sorrows by Kellen Graves\ \
- Anathema by Keri Lake\ \
- Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian\ \ \ Other musings: \ \ My husband I watched The Dead Don't Die, which came out in 2019 but somehow flew completely under our radar and it was so fun. It's one of the driest movies I have ever seen, but is absolutely a pop-culture gem. Their depiction of small town life–specifically a certain Steve Buscemi scene–had me cackling. 10/10 would recommend watching on Netflix.\ \ I also started playing Lemoncake again after putting it down for awhile. If you love cozy games, particularly time management games like Diner Dash, this one is so fun to play on Switch.\ \ Lastly, it's time to vote on our February book club! In February, we're going for grand, sweeping romantic gestures and I'm really excited about our options. They're all backlist titles that I've been wanting to read for years. Join and vote here.](https://notsowellread.binderybooks.com/item/MDT4MovYkxqqzYEHTfJr/)
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