This story starts out dark and raw. A young girl, Venus, has shot her stepdad and is being detained by the police. As her story slowly unravels, we see how her actions have put into motion a series of events that nobody saw coming. Her little brother, Leo, who is emotionally handicapped, is thrown into his own nightmare/adventure because of Venus’ actions. Both children are taken from everything they know and have to fight to make their way back. What I love about both characters is that we are with them in their struggles. We get to enter their heads and be a part of their thoughts and actions. Especially Leo, who is hard to figure out and his storyline gave an insight to him that was eye-opening.

The story jumps five years into the future after the initial story is laid out. We learn that Venus and Leo lose the desire to fight their way back to their old lives and have adapted to their new settings. However, the past will not leave them alone and both learn that the past must be dealt with, each in their own way.

I liked the story at first. I liked how dark it was and how we were able to crawl into the minds of Venus and Leo to live out their stories with them. Because of this, it was jarring to suddenly jump five years into the future. As a reader, I became invested into both characters’ lives and when I realized we were pushed into the future, it threw me out of the story for a bit.

If there was any suggestion I could make to this story, would be to make the transition easier for the readers, instead of so abruptly. I still feel a bit cheated that I missed out on what the characters went through for those five years. The court drama, the sentencing, life in juvie for one and life on the run for another.

All-in-all, though, it was a good book to read and an interesting adventure to go on.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

It's a gripping and fast read, although I did want more of Venus's story in the beginning, and would have loved to see more of her growth throughout the book. The heart of the story really belongs to Leo, Venus's autistic half-brother, and the various twists and turns of his life while he is separated from his family.

Best approached as YA with crossover appeal.

Truly enjoyed the complexity of the characters in this title. Things are not always black and white and when a tragic incident changes the direction of our title character's life, there is not only one answer to questions that are created. Loved the varied paths and diverse scope of the interpretation each effected person has with one young child's dealings with his own surroundings. I'm amazed how such a huge, tragic thing happens at the opening which harshly impacts our title character yet does not overtake the book as a whole. I really like how that worked.

Venus Black is not a name I will soon forget. I must admit though I was partial to Leo. Yes another book with switching points of view.
Venus is broken and coming out of a juvenile detention center for a crime that you really do not know what it was until towards the end of the book. My guess was close but off at the same time.
Her brother also disappeared and has not been found in the 6 years she has been gone. Her quest to find him (and herself) are even more interesting as the book takes place before the internet and cell phones. This also means the author could not hide behind them in the ways some present time YA books can tend to.
The character development was great. The alternating POVs lead to a few tears, some anger, and some laughs. This would definitely make a good limited run series. I would say it is for the HS level not the middle school level with some of the content.

My Name Is Venus Black made me feel a lot of things. I thought I knew what to expect when I started this, but I was wrong. I was pleasantly surprised with the story and how beautifully it was portrayed. I was also heartbroken and insane with uncertainty on more than one occasion.

The beginning is hard to read, because you have no idea what's going on. The author keeps the specifics to herself, and slowly lets things slip as the story progresses. You have to very patient with this book, because nothing is rushed. It was painful at times, especially when her brother goes missing and years pass before the story continues.

The writing was phenomenal! I loved the way the author spoke through the characters.

"That’s another thing that got me here. Nothing is as it appears. It’s like that with space. Objects that look round might not be, and stars that look close to each other might be billions of miles apart. And it’s the same with people. Only instead of standing too far away to see the truth, you’re probably standing too close."

I can't say I would have done things the same way Venus did, but I can see why she made certain decisions. Her mother was...ugh. I really wish she had done more for her children. We get an idea of what her mindset was like, but I still don't agree with her reasoning. She seemed disconnected.

I really enjoyed the parts that are told through Leo's perspective. He's developmentally challenged, and I think the author did a great job conveying his thoughts. I can't imagine that is an easy thing to do, but I felt like I understood a lot about Leo. It was fascinating to see how he viewed what was happening around him, his choices for dealing with what happened, and other things that occur later on.

I also like that this book brings attention to how hard it is for someone being released from prison. They've served their sentence, but the world doesn't make it easy for them once they get out. It's a constant battle for them to try and make something with their lives, especially when they've been kept away from the world they are now expected to live in.

My heart was so torn while I read this. I felt conflicted about my feelings and how I wanted the story to end. I didn't agree with a lot that happened (and I think it's great when an author can help me perceive viewpoints so different from my own), but I can also understand why certain choices were made in the moment. It all comes back to the first quote, and how one small thing can alter the future for so many other people.

Venus Black is only 13 years old. She is the "perfect" student and dreams of becoming an astronaut but her dreams vanish on the night she commits a violent crime. The community is shocked, the media is hungry for the story. Venus clams up, refuses to discuss the crime but is quick to blame her mother, fracturing an unstable relationship.



She is locked up and labeled a violent offender. Her biggest worry is being beat up - that is until her 7 year old brother, special needs brother, Leo goes missing.



5 years pass, Leo is still missing, Venus has no relationship with her mother and she is being released from prison. In an attempt to forget her life and move she obtains a fake id, new identity and moves from Washington to California. Venus makes it her mission to figure out what happened to Leo find him and bring him back home.



It's nearly impossible to believe that this is Heather Lloyd's debut novel. Her story line is engrossing, her character development is spot on and the way her story flows from Venus to Leo's in streamless. Each character created by Lloyd contributes to the story in a perfect manner (no filler characters here!).



This is an epic read that will tug at your heart strings!



* I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such an original story of a woman with a lingering past and an unsure future. I think that people will relate to Venus and much of the other characters and will add this to their favorite reads!

Poignant and life affirming! At 13, Venus Black committed an horrific act without ever explaining why. Even though she is a straight A student who was never in trouble, she is sent to juvenile detention for six years. After that fateful night, her younger brother,Leo, disappears. Finding happened to Leo, who is disabled, is her quest upon her release. What she finds may be enough to save them all.

I was originally drawn to My Name is Venus Black because the storyline sounded so good. Not very far into the book, I found myself half heartedly reading just to know what happened, but when I finally got there, I didn’t actually care much anymore. I’m having a hard time pinpointing what it was exactly, but this book just didn’t click for me.

(I would rate it 2.5 stars, so I rounded up.)

My Name is Venus Black opens up with Venus being interrogated for a horrific crime. She does not plead innocence but yet she blames her mother. Venus Black is a 13 straight A student and adoring big sister. So what happened on that fateful night? Is it related to the disappearance of her autistic brother Leo?
Sensational story that it is the media run wild with it. Venus for her part shuts down. She spends her time in juvenile hall with her head down and her mouth shut. When she is released her first instinct is to run; to recreate herself with a new identity. But she can't let go of memories of her brother and despite her attempts to insulate herself she can't help but fall in love with a young girl who reminds her of her former self. By the end Venus has come into her own, learning that she can't step into her future while ignoring her past.

My Name is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd.

A beautiful book about children forced to grow up faster than they should, with character beyond what most adults portray. Venus, the title character, is a straight A student, the kind everyone wants their kids to be friends with. That is until she is sent to Juvie when she is 16, for murder. It is a heartbreaking and tragic commentary on the way the law treats girls and kids. Venus serves her time, but when she gets out, everything has changed. Shortly after her incarceration, her beloved brother who exhibits the characteristics of autism, is kidnapped. When she is finally free to look for him, Venus does everything she can to restore some sense of her family.
Along the way, we meet more characters to love. Leo, the brother, Tessa, the sweet girl who befriends him, and many more. Heather Lloyd writes exquisitely. I appreciate that she tied up the loose ends for her readers, especially the mysterious conviction. I’ll leave that for your discovery.

This book would be great for book clubs as it has many touchy areas for discussion. It is also great for anyone who doesn’t mind shedding a few tears along the way of a great novel.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley with no strings attached. Publication date was February 27, 2018.

I sometimes rate books by how many different places I read this book. I read this book at work, during my lunch, when I woke up on the weekend, and while watching TV instead of just 5-10 minutes before going to bed.

This was a compelling read filled with many flawed, but captivating characters. I loved Venus, Leo, Piper, Mike, Tessa, Tony, and even Inez. I think that it really illustrated how one tragic event in a family can have such rippling effects over such a long period of time. And that there are no easy answers....and we all have to forgive others and forgive ourselves. Life just goes on and we are lucky to have some good people to love us along the way. The ending was a little too pat and easy for my taste, but I guess is appropriate for a YA book.

Some of the themes were a bit heavy handed, i.e. the starfish and tip beetle analogies, but overall it was a great read.

This book pulled me in right from the beginning and kept me hooked all of the way through. Venus Black was just like any student in middle school who worked hard and had many friends. Unfortunately, her home life created the need for her to commit a crime which changed her life forever. The characters were real; they made me laugh, cry, and think about them later, even when I wasn't reading the book.

Although I wouldn't recommend this book for my middle school students, I would definitely recommend it for high school and older.

I was given this book for my honest review.

From debut author Heather Lloyd comes MY NAME IS VENUS BLACK, a page-turning journey through murder, tragedy and all the woes of coming of age, and learning that there is a huge gray area between right and wrong.

Venus Black is an ambitious, straight-A student whose interests include astronomy and caring for her developmentally challenged younger brother, Leo. She is also a murderer. When we first meet Venus, few details about her life are revealed to us except that she has just killed her stepfather, and no one, not even she, is sure why. She will not speak to police, media reporters or therapists, except to blame her mother, Inez, who she calls by her first name.

In a cadenced and generously hopeful style, readers watch as a 13-year-old girl is run through the gauntlet that is the United States judicial system. Her shock at having done something so terrible is only outweighed by her horror at having to serve time for her crime. She knows she has done something wrong, but given her previously spotless record, the notion of punishment is foreign to her. In alternating chapters, readers meet Leo, who is on the spectrum. In the days following Venus’ arrest, Leo goes to stay with a friend of his mother’s. In brisk but highly descriptive vignettes, we see the world through Leo’s eyes --- how some shirts can be the “wrong” blue and how a simple brush of the arm can be overwhelmingly horrifying.

Then the unimaginable happens: Leo is kidnapped. Forced to grapple with the news behind bars, Venus becomes distraught and buckles down, ready to get through her sentence as quickly and quietly as possible so that she may find Leo again.

More than five years later, Venus is released, now a woman of 19. She remains estranged from Inez and is desperate to avoid journalists who have been gearing up for her release for years. Using a fake identity, Venus gets a fresh start in Seattle, where she begins to form connections with new people, including Piper, a young girl who seems to reflect the childhood Venus gave up so many years ago. As Venus starts to put down roots, old traumas quickly resurface, drawing up new questions about right and wrong, and forgiveness and redemption. Unfortunately for her, it seems that the only way to truly bury the past is to work through it, and that means confronting the reasons for her crime.

Although Leo has been kidnapped, Lloyd does not let him drop from the narrative, and we continue to see the world through his eyes --- including the identity of his kidnapper and the kind souls he encounters through them. Lloyd does a stellar job of writing through Leo’s eyes without ever seeming voyeuristic or gratuitous. She respects Leo’s views and celebrates them while still providing soft humor in the moments that his understanding of events does not match our own.

It is in these chapters that another character, Tessa, is introduced. In many ways, she is the mirror image of Venus, sans the criminal activity. Tessa was one of my favorite parts of MY NAME IS VENUS BLACK, and her love of Leo, which sprang not from blood but from an inherent sense of compassion, brought me to tears on multiple occasions. Tessa provides some much-needed lightness to the narrative, and I believe many readers will be drawn to her instantly.

As Venus attempts to work through her trauma, she also comes closer than ever to finding Leo --- and reconciling with Inez. But how can you reconcile with a mother you still blame for your years behind bars? And what really happened on the night that Venus’ stepfather was murdered? Lloyd maintains a perfect level of suspense throughout the book, and trust me when I say that you’ll definitely want to read along to find out the truth.

In stories involving children and complicated scenarios, it is often the children who have the most clear-cut version of events --- and the most heartbreakingly obvious realizations about what has happened and what must happen. MY NAME IS VENUS BLACK displays this theme perfectly through the eyes of Venus, Leo, Piper and Tessa. It is Venus’ story, true, but Lloyd treats her other characters with a great deal of respect and a generous, but not overbearing, sense of hope. While this story alone may not appeal to all readers, I trust that everyone will find something to love in Lloyd’s compassionate attention to detail when it comes to her characters and their actions. This is the sort of book that you will want to discuss for days after reading it, and it will inspire some terrific conversations about parental responsibility, the judicial system and the rights of families.

Readers of INFINITE HOME and KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST will love this timely novel about survivors whose lives were ripped apart by secrecy and violence and the ragtag cast of characters they encounter as they heal and grow. Lloyd is an imaginative, risk-taking storyteller, and I look forward to meeting the characters she introduces in her next book.

**This book was provided to me as an advanced reader copy from Netgalley. All views contained within this review are my own.

My Name Is Venus Black is an intriguing story with well written characters. Venus, a thirteen year old girl has committed an atrocious crime, and is now facing the consequences. Leo, an autistic child, and Venus' brother has gone missing only a few days into Venus' incarceration.

Okay, folks...I'm having a hard time writing this review because I really enjoyed this book, I did. My problems come in somewhere around Venus' detective stint.

I feel like the ending was rushed and pretty inconceivable, Oakland is a HUGE place, and I highly doubt all the coincidences. With that being said, I'm happy with the ending, and the overall book.

I'm not sure how appropriate the book actually is for YA readers.

*Venus' revenge on Raymond seemed....extreme. The book also glossed over all the other things she could have done, and the other resources there are for children that are being sexually abused. Yes, I do believe that peeping can constitute sexual abuse, but that is a whole different argument.

*The number of crimes committed by adults, that are completely glossed over, with no real world consequences is astounding. There is never any closure with Tinker's character. He abducted and subsequently abandoned a child, and we never see any action against him.

*Inez knows that Venus doesn't have a valid driver's license and yet allows her to drive across state lines in her vehicle after only hours of driving instruction? Not only a crime, but also incredibly implausible.

Despite all the issues, and the too tidy ending of the book, I did greatly enjoy it. It evoked a few tears, and sniffles.

"My Name is Venus Black" is a well-written novel about about friendship, love, and forgiveness, how a family pulls itself back together after 13- year-old Venus kills her stepfather. The message: that the right choices are not always the easy ones. I liked it and will recommend it. Thank you Netgalley for introducing me to this author.

My name is Venus Black tells the coming of age story of a young adult who is thrust on her own into the world after she is released from prison. The story goes back and forth between the past and present and builds a crescendo of the fateful night that turned Venus from a Straight A student to a murderer and the ramifications on her family not just emotionally but physically as well.

I loved the premise of the story. Venus is a complicated character who you root for at the same time she frustrates you. Some of her characters aren't as well drawn out and I would have loved to have seen what motivated them to act and do what we see in the book.

All in all I highly recommend this book. It is a fast read and it helps a reader answer the question can we ever escape our past?

This is the story, obviously, of Venus Black. When we meet her, she’s a straight laced young adult of 13, who gets good grades and is a wonderful older sister to her brother, Leo, who falls somewhere on the Autism spectrum. However, things absolutely fall to pieces after one horrible evening, when Venus commits a crime (a big one). Right after her arrest and right before finding out her 5 years juvenile detention sentence, Leo disappears without a trace. Years later, after Venus’ release, she decides to start over clean and new – planning to create a new identity, move to another state, and leave her mother and the memories that one tragic night and her lost brother behind. However, as she meets new people, including a friendly coworker, a possible romantic prospect and a young girl who reminds her of her own younger self, Venus starts to realize that perhaps a new future isn’t as easy as it sounds. Perhaps she will have the face the past, confront her own anger and guilt, and make some amends before she is able to have that fresh start she’s looking for.

This book is exactly what that blurb says it is. But it was also a lot more than I was expecting and it really got its hooks into me. Venus was such a compelling character. The parts narrated by her, both at 13 and at 19, were convincing and perfectly crafted to her age. She is prickly and defensive and angry and scared and so much more. And it comes through so clearly in her actions and her dialogue, exactly in the frustrating but realistic ways that it would for any lost girl at those ages. Her growth throughout the book is realistic as well – full of repressed feeling and memories, naïve reactions, fearful and spontaneous decisions, but with just enough insight into her thoughts that you can see her efforts to overcome these more difficult parts of her personality and give new methods a chance. It’s slow growth, but it’s there…and that’s real.

The other narrators for the story include Leo himself, Venus’ mother, and Tinker, Tessa and Tony, who play a large role in Leo’s life post-disappearance (I know that’s vague, I’m attempting to avoid spoilers). First, I want to make a blanket statement – with that many voices telling the same story, you’d think some character development details might get lost or under-done. That is not the case here. Each of these voices, their role in the story and the decisions they make are full, three dimensional and very believable and understandable…to the extent that, even when you cringe at a character’s decision or thought process, you can absolutely see where they are coming from. And for all but one (I won’t say who, but I’m guessing it’ll be obvious for all of you as you read), you can sympathize and understand that they are doing what they felt was best under the circumstances. It’s actually, at a few points, so heartbreaking as a reader. Because you cannot see how things can end happily for everyone, but you really want it to since you know why they did what they did. I was super impressed by the author’s abilities on this front. Relatedly, I really enjoyed a few relationship developments in particular, including Tessa and Leo, Venus and Piper, and Venus and her mother. They were just really precisely crafted and I enjoyed watching them progress and deepen.

The one perspective (other than Venus’) I want to specifically call out is Leo’s. I have read a few books written from the perspective of (or about) Autism-spectrum characters. And I cannot truly speak to how any of them do, because I am not in that situation myself, nor I am especially close to anyone that is that I could ask or compare to. But from my limited background knowledge, I have to say that I was very impressed with Leo’s voice. It felt deep, nuanced and illuminating. And it addressed some issues/topics that are not normally covered, either in books or in life, like explaining the meanings of many different interactions, from little things, like the “please”/”thank you” back and forth, all the way to larger things, like feelings of attraction (sexual and emotional). If any readers have recommendations for other books that do this successfully, or even better (perhaps own voices?), please tell me. But it seemed, to me at least, this was well done here.

As far as the plot itself, it’s a simple and straightforward sort of story, pretty much all summed up in the book blurb. But it is the perfect storyline vehicle for a novel that is built around character growth in the way we see it here. And there is, as the book progresses, the growing build towards the denouement we know if coming: what was it that pushed Venus to commit her crime? And how will the circumstances around Leo’s disappearance and future unfold? The increase in tense-ness as the story moves forward pulls us in dynamically but still leaves the focus on the characters.

The one great issue I took with this novel was, unfortunately, the cleanliness of the ending. I mean, I won’t lie, I definitely wanted that ending. I even mentioned that earlier – I wanted it to be, more or less, positive for everyone. But I am just not sure it was that truthful of an ending. And considering the reality in the character growth to that point, the changes in their relationships with each other, and everything else the author did to make sure a “truthful” story was told…it just didn’t completely fit. Maybe I’m wrong and cynical. And since it didn’t necessarily happen all of a sudden, there is definitely a chance that time allowed for enough adjustment/acceptance to make it possible. And there are some special situations, like Leo’s personality, that make this more possible than it might otherwise be. But I just am not sure this ending is all that likely, considering the way life works.

All in all though, I was really blown away by how good this book was. Venus is such dynamic character, with an incredibly sad, but ultimately hopeful, story. This is a book about what family is, what support from family looks like, and how possible it is to create and repair some very difficult relationships. As a reader, there is definitely some dread that piles on while reading, but there is also a lot of anticipation for a more positive ending than start for these characters that become tangible as you read.

I’m generally not a big fan of YA, but this is one of those young adult books that won me over. I love the web of characters that Heather Lloyd has weaved, each with their own flaw that is mercilessly public at the most inopportune time. You love and hate each character for what they have done, which makes the fact that each one is redeemed by Leo, the most unlikely of heroes, all the more sweet. The character with the most outward flaws helps heal the inner struggles of each of the other characters without even trying. He is their joy, and he is their healing.

Throughout the book, the reader gets to experience each character’s point-of-view. I LOVE that she included Leo’s as well. It’s not easy to write for an autistic character, and I think many authors would shy away from the task. She not only took the risk, but did so successfully and in a way that makes Leo seem very authentic.

My only complaint is that I wish the author would have stated what happened the night of the crime at the beginning of the book. By the time the reader reached the end, you understood the jest of the crime. It wasn’t a surprise. As a result, being fed little tidbits about that night throughout the book frustrated me at times. I kept checking what I had already read to see if I missed the story. I would have preferred the author to either commit to making the crime a surprise until the end of the book or to state the crime upfront. Essentially telling the story, but not really including the details until the end, took away some of the luster from the end.

I would definitely recommend this book to my YA-loving friends. 4/5 stars.