When an anxious, non-binary teen learns they are a reincarnated God how do they come to accept it?
Gem Echols is a non-binary Seminole teen who is living in Gracie, GA with their mom. They spend much of their time becoming the queer-awakening for their peers while trying to hide they horrible dreams they have at night.
These dreams are filled with haunting magic and violence that somehow feels more like a memory than a dream at times.
When a new student shows up in Gracie, its quite a shock to everyone, who has been going to school together forever. Willa Mae Hardy knows about Gem's dreams, and talks with Gem like they are old friends. Except, Gem has no clue who Willa Mae is and doesn't recall ever meeting them before in their life.
When more weird new kids start to show up, Gem finds themselves wondering if they have completely lost their mind and hoping for their 'normal' life back. Their one hope is their trans friend Enzo, who lives in Brooklyn, and offers some normalcy in the craziness around Gem. Except everyone has a secret, and Gem needs their memories to figure out how to save themselves from the people now hunting him.
There were so many things I loved about this book. One is that there is never any question about the sexuality of the characters, its just normal, which we love to see. Also, near the middle of the book you start to learn that these 'god-like' characters are all gender queer is some way which also definitely tracks. There is an indigenous background to some of the characters as well, and that influences a bit with their magic.
Though this book is not H.E. Edgmon's first published novel, I think you can tell they put a lot of themselves into the writing, and I really appreciate that.
This book definitely teetered between a 3.5 and 4 star rating for me, only because at times I felt like the story was slow, but I think a lot of that has to do with learning about what is happening to Gem through the POV of Gem. If they didn't know what was happening, how would we? I enjoyed the magic, and the sacrifice of some of the characters and am honestly excited to pick up the sequel when it is available.
Godly Heathens is expected to be released November 28, 2023
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