Pet

Author(s): Akwaeke Emezi

Senior Fiction | LGBTQI+

There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colours and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question -- How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist? 

In their riveting and timely young adult debut, acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi asks difficult questions about what choices you can make when the society around you is in denial. 

Lucy Bailey's Review:


Following the revolution, there are no more monsters in the utopian city of Lucille - at least there shouldn't be. But when black teen trans girl Jam meets Pet, a creature of glittering metal feathers, horns and claws, that emerges from her mother's painting and warns of a monster putting her friend Redemption in danger, Jam starts to question everything. In a world where black trans kids are safe, where there are no prisons, no police and no firearms, how can you fight a threat no one believes exists?


In our current time, when teenagers are out marching on the streets demanding adults take climate change seriously, Pet is all about looking directly at a problem and dealing with it when no one will support you. The monsters in Lucille are actual people though: corrupt politicians and police, murderous corporations, neglectful and abusive adults, and the angels are those who fought for a better world.


[Spoiler] A warning that the plot hinges on the discovery of child abuse, most probably sexual but the story is not explicit at all, so this may make it unsuitable for some readers. Jam and Redemption are most likely around 16 years old but the novel reads younger, almost middle grade. This may not be for everyone but for the right reader, it's brilliant and inspiring.


Set in a world where all the characters are black, families are diverse, communication is both spoken and signed, and society is accepting and supportive, Pet is a beautiful written and timely novel from Nigerian-born author Akwaeke Emezi.

23.00 NZD

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Product Information

The stunning first YA novel from award-winning author Akwaeke Emezi, set in a city of the future where evil is said to have been eradicated.

Akwaeke Emezi makes their young adult debut with Pet. An honoree for the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 List, a longlist nominee for the Carnegie Medal of Excellence, and a shortlist nominee for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize, Akwaeke continues to receive accolades and rave reviews for their adult debut Freshwater. Their second adult novel, The Death of Vivek Oji, is forthcoming in 2020. Born in Umuahia and raised in Aba, Nigeria.

General Fields

  • : 9780571355112
  • : Faber & Faber, Limited
  • : Faber & Faber
  • : 0.168
  • : August 2019
  • : ---length:- '7.795'width:- '5.079'units:- Inches
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Akwaeke Emezi
  • : Paperback
  • : 1911
  • : English
  • : 823.92
  • : 208
  • : YFH