I chose this because of reviews that sparked my interest, but was surprised that it was actually a YA novel mis-classified as general adult fiction. To me, YA implies an updated tale in the fairy tale model, with an appealing heroine cast out on her own who makes her way through travail and hardship to an ultimate reward. Well, to classify this book as YA some of the language would have to be cleaned up surely, but Venus is appealing and her prince is not what you'd expect.

I don’t often get excited about a YA novel, but this one has me wanting to tell everyone that they need to go out and buy the book. When I started the book, I wondered how in the world it got a YA classification—the main character shares a birth year with me, after all, and I went over the hill a few years ago.

To top it off, the protagonist states up front that she doesn’t believe in God. Which doesn’t necessarily disqualify the book for me—I like to hear people’s different opinions. But from the opening lines of the first chapter, I realize that Heather Black has hit a home run.

Thirteen year old Venus Black sits in an interrogation room and realizes that she wet her pants. She also realizes that she’s done something so heinous that she can’t look at her action or she feels as if her life will go careening out of orbit.

The reader immediately wants to solve the mystery and get inside the mind of Venus Black—good girl, straight-A student, and murderer. A rich cast of characters, from Venus to her mom Inez and half brother Leo to a tattoo artist in Oakland and his daughter each reveal a tiny portion of the fragmented puzzle of what happened that fateful February night.

Every parent, teacher, police officer, social worker, counselor, psychologist, pastor, youth worker, and older teen should read this book. (Caveat, the language gets a little salty, but it’s not gratuitous). If you know a kid or have a kid, or work with kids, you need to read this book.

I always gravitate towards books that have regular people in situations that test their morality or "what would you do" type scenarios--and this book over delivered on my hopes in that regard. Venus was a great character and the other characters in the book supported the story so well. I loved this book so much. Five stars, easily.

Over my lifetime, I’ve read hundreds of books that had a profound effect on me. They’ve made me think. They’ve made me feel. They’ve made me reflect. This thought provoking novel made me feel a gamut of emotions and reflect upon the evils of the world existing around every corner.

Venus is the all American pre-teen. She loved to gossip with her friends, had a lust for learning, and loved her little brother to the moon and back. Her life is shattered by an act she commits turning the thirteen-year-old into a criminal. The specifics of Venus’ crime are not disclosed in full until later in the novel. Through her first person point of view and the third person point of view of several other characters, the story of the tragedy unfolds.

One aspect of the novel that almost over shadows the crime is the disappearance of Venus’ mentally impaired younger brother, Leo. The main story is told over a period of six years as we learn the fate of Venus, Leo, and several other characters. While there is so much pain experienced by Venus and her family, what ultimately holds the bonds of this story together is the love they share for each other despite the horrific agony they’ve fought through.

I cannot fully express my love for Lloyd’s storytelling ability. As an adult and having gone through the trials of adolescence, I could understand the fear and anger that coursed through Venus. She was betrayed by someone who was entrusted with her safety and in her young mindset didn’t foresee the ramifications of her actions. The ripples created from one second changed the lives of Venus and her family forever.

As a debut, Lloyd excels above and beyond any first time author. While this poignant story has come to a beautiful conclusion, I would love to read more from this author. Her ability to place you in the mind of the character is the tell of a magnificent author. Lloyd has struck gold with the story of Venus Black and I look forward to her doing it again.

I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Venus Black is a thirteen year old girl that kills her step-dad and is sent away. Around the same time, her younger brother Leo, who is autistic, goes missing. Are the two incidents related? This is the biggest news that has hit the community and six years later when Venus is released, she has to try and pick up the pieces of her life and find answers to what happened to her brother.

A lot happens in this novel, as we see Venus’ point of view and slowly find out what caused her to kill her step-dad and become estranged from her mother. We also get Leo’s point of view and what his life is like before and after Venus is sent away.

Although, listed as a crime mystery, this is more a young adult coming of age, feel good type of story. The language (except for a few scenes) is written as though for the younger crowd. Other than the murder, nothing is horrible. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this story and was rooting for both Venus and Leo, but it just wasn’t a great novel.

This is a story about a failed family due to inability to communicate and lack of trust. A your girl's life is destroyed by a stepfather and a mother to afraid to face the facts. It is also about redemption and the struggle to survive in a judgmental society.. The characters are interesting and likable.
The story is well written and interesting,

This was such an amazing story! It was artfully narrated by several different main characters. Although dealing with a lot of painful issues, the hope for humanity and happy endings was crystal clear.

As I appreciate with young adult fiction, we are spared any graphic details. Some pieces of the past aren’t revealed until the ending so by that point, I felt very connected to Venus and her brother Leo.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and publishers for an advanced readers copy of this wonderful book!

My Name is Venus Black was such a great YA novel!! Don't let the easy breezy writing style fool you into thinking its just another badly written coming of age book. This novel will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. Told in multiple perspectives, this book will entertain, captivate, break your heart and make you furious all at once.

At the age of 13 Venus Blacks life is forever changed when she shoots and kills her stepdad and is sent to juvenile prison. During the chaos of the aftermath, her young mentally disabled brother goes missing and is nowhere to be found. More than 5 years later, Venus is still reeling from the pain and guilt when she is released back into the world to try to rebuild her life and learn how to be an adult on her own. She still hasn't given up hope that her brother is still out there somewhere waiting to be found and returned home. While trying to plan out her future it seems she is still being weighed down heavily by her past. This is a book about second chances, family, regret, forgiveness of others and of ones self.

Venus was a strong character who had plenty of faults but she was so much more that the crime she had committed. The author did a great job of mapping the details of her character as well as the supporting characters in Venus's life. The only character I wasn't too sure about was Tinker. I have no idea what sort of role his character was supposed to play besides and aid to the storyline. I don't understand his motivation in doing what he had done at all but maybe one day i'll re-read it and it will become clear to me.
I really love how the author doesn't try to force any feeling or judgement on you. I was free to decide how I felt about Venus's actions, whether she was guilty or innocent. I was free to decide a few other conflicts as well which I can't go into details due to fear of spoilers. I can just appreciate a writing style that allows its readers to come up with their own conclusions.
Its a highly emotionally charged read but I do recommend it to those who want a different kind of YA novel or for those who love powerful books. I really did enjoy it and would give it a solid 4/5.

I am giving My Name is Venus Black 3/5 starts. The writing was very good and had an easy flow. I did get bogged down a bit between the switching points of view from first person to omniscient. For me, a more defined switch would have worked better, especially if they had been made more even. As a debut novel I was impressed with the writing, especially concerning several difficult topics. YA is not really my go-to genre, but this was very readable for me; did not feel sophomoric in the least. I will certainly give the author another read, when her next book comes out.

I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. For that, I would like to thank Netgalley and Dial Press.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2266565860?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

The thing with coming of age books is that they need to focus on such heavy character development. They aren’t really page turners where action is constant. A reader must be patient. The story of 13 year old Venus starts out traumatic.

At first a little slow, suddenly I couldn’t stop thinking about Venus and where her journey would take her next. The pain I felt for her and how her life would turn out. Would it always be despair? Could she begin again? Would society allow her to? Could she ever reconcile with her mother or find her younger brother?

What grabbed me hardest was how it makes you think about the notion of family. What makes a family? Biology? Perhaps...yet often we find our family in the places and people we never expected.

Whether you're sixteen or sixty, My Name is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd will be a novel that stays with you for awhile. Thirteen year old Venus Black kills her stepfather and finds her life turned upside down when she realizes she'll be spending the rest of her middle and high school years in juvie. In the midst of this, her developmentally handicapped brother Leo is kidnapped from their neighbor's home. When Venus gets released as a nineteen-year-old, she starts a new life in a new place and hopes to escape from the life she lived for the past six years. In the process, she's never forgotten Leo, but she has no interest in forgiving her mother for her involvement in her case. While Venus's story is being told, Lloyd thoughtfully crafts Leo's whereabouts into this story as well. For awhile, they are two separate threads that you know will eventually be intertwined. The way Lloyd has written these characters, you immediately feel empathy for them and will ask yourself "what would I have done?" as multiple traumatic scenarios arise. It's beautifully written and a story not to be missed!

A story worth reading about a young girl's haunted memories, one bad decision, and the repercussions of that fateful night. When she tries to hide her real identity, she slowly realizes that her guilt and past resentments are a roadblock to discovering her true self-worth.

Good character development and an easy to follow storyline. There are some slow spots along the way and that's why I give it a three star rating.

What a wonderful debut of a book from a an author that I will be keeping my eye on for further books. The story is emotional and heart wrenching at times. The plot is very solid. The characters are people you become emotionally involved with because they are so well fleshed out. This to me is very definitely a book to pre order and have waiting for you on release day but don't start it until you have a chunk of time to dedicate to it because once you start it is very hard to put down. Happy reading!

My Name is Venus Black was a really good read. I read it over a few days and I just wanted to know where the story was going. Venus Black's history is very sad, and you don't find out until the end what actually unfolded that puts her into the youth detention center. I loved Leo's story and how the book ended. Something small that I didn't like about the book was that Venus didn't sound her age, especially at the beginning. She was supposed to be 13 and sounded more like a 17 year old. Otherwise I thought the book was really enjoyable and probably relatable to some young people. Definitely a page turner!

While not based on actual events, this book reads like it could be, It's an interesting take on not so much the WHY of an event that we read about in the news, but the AFTERMATH. What happens to a family when the ultimate crime hits them- do they bound together or fall apart? But more importantly, WHY? And while the reader begins to imagine, as her jury did, what actually happened between Venus and her step-dad, the truth when it comes out will shock you. The book may be aimed at the YA crowd, but I think it is JUST as important for adults to read. It might cause quite a few adults to re-examine what might be going on in their teen's life, and that is a good thing. The book is an excellent character study (I can't beleive it is Heather's debut novel!!) and you'll find yourself rooting for Venus, and then in turn for Leo, that they each get their happy ever after.

This new book comes out at the end of the month, but be sure to add it to your book list! It's going to be a hot topic, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a movie version of it in the future, but you need to read the book first!

Wow, this book, just wow ! Loved it ! Could not put it down ! So different from any other book that is out there ! You can't help but like and pull for Venus even after she has done something horrible. This family went through so much. People do awful things, but sometimes for a good reason ? I love how the story all came together ! Yes it is a little sad but the ending is so worth it ! Get this book !!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading My Name is Venus Black. Venus and Leo are characters who will stick with me for a long time, and their parallel stories both broke my heart and mended it all at once. Lloyd's writing style is simplistic, which helped make this novel a quick read. The chapters are longer than I had anticipated, but once I was settled in and reading, I didn't want to put the book down. Venus's crime happens at the beginning of the novel and there are many hints as to what exactly transpired, but you have to wait until the end to get the details. I have but one peeve with MNiVB; the language surrounding Leo and the descriptions of his disability (assumed to be a form of autism) can been a bit disheartening. Lloyd's explanation is that she intended to be true to the times (1980s) and true to the voices of the characters. I understand this intention completely but it does not change the fact that, occasionally, I hurt for Leo more than necessary. Overall, I rooted for the characters and enjoyed following the twisty labrynth of Venus's path toward self-discovery.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My Name is Venus Black is a solid debut novel that addresses many contemporary issues, including family abuse and violence, autism, and juvenile incarceration, but at its heart, it is a story of family, both those we are born into and those that find us.
The story focuses on Venus, who commits an act of violence against a family member at age 13 and is incarcerated for six years. During her incarceration, her autistic younger brother is kidnapped. Venus emerges from prison determined to get her life back on track and to find and reunite with her brother. The fast moving narrative is told from various perspectives, providing an exploration of the many sides of the complex issues presented.
Although the novel addresses some heavy social issues, it is ultimately hopeful. Many of the characters make the wrong choices for all the right reasons, and unfortunately, therein lies a weakness. This is a feel good book. Horrible things happen, but it all wraps up tidily in the end. Make no mistake, this is the ending the reader wants for these characters, but it feels a bit too neat.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story and rooted for these characters to find their happily ever after. Although not presented as such, this would be a great YA novel.

"My Name is Venus Black" by Heather Lloyd is the story of young Venus Black. The book begins in February 1980 on the day Venus committed a horrible, violent crime that lands her in juvenile "jail" for 5 years. We don't know much about what Venus did, just that it had to do with her stepfather. A few days after her arrest her developmentally disabled younger brother goes missing and we follow his story a bit as he adjusts to a new life. Five years later, Venus is released from prison and sets about building a new life for herself while still trying to heal old wounds--especially when it comes to her missing brother.

I absolutely loved this book. Venus (and all the other characters) really come alive on the page and I was rooting for all of them even when they had to make tough choices that didn't really turn out the way they expected. Leo, the developmentally disabled brother, and his storyline are so beautifully written it's almost heart-wrenching and it really makes the reader think about the choices we make to protect the ones we care love. I also loved that so many of the characters have great insights about their world--little gems that are so perfectly said. For example, Venus says, "It seems that while I've spent the lsat six years going out of my way not to trigger old memories, Inez has found a way to be home among them."

Some readers may have a problem with the fact that we don't find out exactly what Venus did and why until the very very end of the book. For me it wasn't a big issue because the writing was so good and because there was enough action to keep the story moving without knowing the details. Once we do get the details, they're handled well and we truly understand what caused Venus to do what she did.

The other small issue is that the ending is pretty perfect. Some may say it's too easy and too perfect --especially for characters who really struggled through their journey -- but for me it was just right.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!