This was a great read. What We Harvest asks what is the cost of a miracle?

It turns out to be very high, and when people get greedy, miracles are easily tainted and warped into curses.

Hollow's End is a small town that is suffering from a blight. It's closed off from everywhere else thanks to a checkpoint and medical station that closes off the bridge out of town.

We're thrown into the story when the blight has ravaged the town and there are very few people left uninfected. Wren, the daughter of famers at Rainbow Fields, named after the rainbow wheat that grows.

Derek, her ex, lives on a farm that grows ghost melons. They glow in the dark, taste amazing and have glittering flecks in them. There are four farms and all of them have some miracle crop whether it's food or animals.

The Quicksilver blight has a chokehold on the town and it's actually pretty scary. There's a claustrophobic feeling to the town because there are so few people and the threat is huge.

There's a curfew in place. No one goes outside after eight pm when it's dark Why? The blighted come out of the woods where they hide all day doing no one knows what.

The blighted are essentially zombies and I thought I couldn't be afraid of zombies anymore. I was wrong. There's just something about the way Ann Fraistat describes them that makes my skin crawl a little.

Or a lot.

Look there's a decaying zombie dog who keeps coming home every night and sleeping on the porch and if that doesn't just get you then I don't know what will. She's such a good girl.

Wren ends up calling Derek in the beginning after they haven't spoken for months. They dated but something caused them to break up. He's the last person she wants to call but her parents aren't home and she needs his help.

They end up staying together the rest of the book, separation isn't really an option for them. Derek won't allow it. He still loves her and we find out why they broke up and it's a painful thing to read. These two are meant to be together, it's actually sweet to see their memories throughout the book from Wren's point of view. Ann Fraistat is a skilled writer, I loved these characters.

Derek is half hispanic and his older sister Claudette, is a lesbian. Her partner lives in Hollow's end after coming for a visit then being unable to leave due to the quarantine.

This was a book I couldn't guess the ending to. It was dark, sad, and there's a lot of body horror in it. It made me cringe and I loved it. We get zombies and alchemy and some really well written characters. It was fantastic.

I would absolutely recommend this book to people. For me, it gets five (stars). It did feel like it wrapped up a little cleanly at the end but the characters had been through so much, I didn't care. I wanted good for them.

This was a book I really enjoyed reading and reviewing. I really want other people to get their hands on it. If you liked Wilder Girls then you'll like this one. Powerful writing, great characters, body horror. It's fantastic.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What We Harvest is about a small town known for its farming that is caught under a plague caused by a materlial, bringing us a really interesting tale of zombies, alchemy, and mystery. The story and characters were engaging and easy to read, and having read a lot of zombie books prior, this feels like a unique and interesting take on the lore. The only thing I wish was that it was a little scarier, but it does give you that creepy feeling.

"What We Harvest" is a YA horror novel dealing with zombies, family secrets, and heartbreak... in that order. While "What We Harvest" doesn't reinvent the wheel - you know, zombie plague, hordes of infected, a tense build of who to trust and who to let get eaten - it is one thing for sure: FUN AS HELL. It's a lot gorier than I expect my YA to be, with a body horror element that starts immediately as our sensible, brave protagonist is infected right from the very beginning. We follow Wren as she slowly begins to fall apart, her human senses failing and her body beginning to rot as she starts to turn, desperately trying to keep her ex-boyfriend alive and find out what happened to her family.

There's a lot going on here. Magical plants! Zombie dogs! Disgusting bodily functions! I loved it all. The book doesn't quite pack as much of a punch as it could due to the ending - without going into spoilers, the whole thing was very *neat* - but the ride to get to the ending? Lots of fun. I was invested in Wren's story, rooting for her the whole way. So there are a few plot holes. So there's some deus-ex-machina. WHO CARES. THERE'S A ZOMBIE MOOSE.

Highly recommended for young horror fans.

Unfortunately upon second reading the description of this book was not enough to entice me, so I dnf.
Thanks for the digital review copy.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This was a bit of an odd book but I enjoyed it. It's about a small town known for its farming that is caught under some weird sort of plague caused by a quicksilver-like material. It ends up being a strange blend of zombie horror, alchemy, and a mysterious almost cult-like history.

I enjoyed the characters and the story well enough. It was engaging and easy to read. It was pretty different from anything I had read before, so I really appreciated the premise and creativity here. It gets a bit spooky at points but is never outright scary.

There is a bit of a love story between a couple of the main characters, but that’s not really the focus of the story. The story focuses more on Wren trying to find her parents and figure out what is causing the plague.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. It was a creepy little read that initially looks like a zombie story but ends up being something completely different. If you are looking for a quirky, spooky read about a farming community getting into things they shouldn't, this may be the book for you. I will definitely be checking out future books by Fraistat.

Content Warning: Gore, Violence

You can kind of tell from the cover of this book that something sinister is going to be happening in this book.

Wren lives in a special town, where four founding families have situated themselves over a few generations and grow their miraculous crops and animals. Wren doesn’t know how it came to be her family grew rainbow wheat but she is next to inherit the farm except that now the farms are ruined with Blight. But this blight isn’t ordinary – it doesn’t only kill crops, it turns people and animals into zombie like creatures. So it’s a race against time before Wren can figure out not to get infected, turn into one of the Blighted, and save the farm – her family’s legacy.

This story is creepy, especially because the Blighted come out once the sun goes down. It has a lot of action too which was fun! There is even romance between Wren and boy next door or boy from one of the other founding families – her best friend since childhood, Derek. But they have broken up and now they have to rely on each other to stay safe and also to save their loved ones. There is also a f/f relationship with Derek’s sister Claudette and her girlfriend, Angie.

I liked the reveal of how the families got their source of magic to keep their farms growing the way they did. It’s horrific but I love that Wren does everything she can to undo it. The conclusion wraps everything up pretty good except for the parts where we don’t know what the government learned about the blight and what they will do with the information.

There were some parts that frustrated me about the book, like when Wren kept getting people hurt. That was partly Derek’s fault too but I was getting annoyed with her decision making. I mean I get she was half zombie at that point and couldn’t quite control herself though haha. I’m just glad things worked out!

FINAL THOUGHTS::
Why you should read it:
*story is creepy, thrilling and filled with action – I liked the reveal and conclusion
*a quick, engaging read with just a few horror/gory scenes
*zombies

Why you might not want to read it:
*you are not into lite horror and gore or zombies

My Thoughts:

This is a gripping read and I was engrossed with seeing how everything played out with Wren and the blight on the farms. The tone was perfectly creepy, especially when the sun went down. If you like books like Small Favors and Burn Our Bodies Down, stories that take place on farms – you will enjoy this one!

I feel like anyone who enjoyed Small Favors by Erin A Craig, would really enjoy What We Harvest! It’s dark, it’s spooky, it’s got the small town with big secrets feel, it’s got everything!

First I love this cover.. second I never would have guessed that this is Ann Fraistats debut novel. It sucked me from the first page as we see Wren doing her best to fight off the blight that has not only attacked her farm but everywhere and almost everybody in her home town.

I really liked that we are kind of thrown in to the middle of whats going on.. We meet Wren as she is trying her best to save her farm.. Having to do the unthinkable and call her ex Derek to help her.. Her parents are off trying to help one of the neighbors beat back the blight.. When they don't come home Wren and Derek go and look for them.. Even though your not supposed to go out after dark, because thats when the infected people and animals come out.. They want to infect anyone thats left.. but Wren is determined to help her parents..... if they havent been attacked already.. .. This is a sickness that comes from the land itself that seems to want nothing more than to infect any and everything it touches..

This story was creepy and eerie.. and very atmospheric.. I felt like I was there at Hollows End witnessing all the horror first hand.. From the saftey of an attic or something where the creepy white eyed people and animals can't get me.. Although Im sure I wouldn't have survived in this world. The first time I saw a beloved pet that was infected I would absolutley have gone and tried to save it.. and most likely gotten a good bite in the process.

At night the eyes of the infected glow like fireflies.. Thats how you know they are watching and waiting for you to come out.. They have one mission.. Infect you.. However you do have options.. if your infected you can turn yourself in to the goverment.. to the tents surrounding your town making sure you and the infection stay within. The only problem is that no one that has gone in has ever come out.. But if your infected you end up in the woods and only come out when its time to hunt.
I also loved that within all that spooky and creepniess we get a love story, (it doens't overwhelm or dominate the story, it feels very natural) as Derek and Wren reunite to battle back the blight.. They have loved each other since forever and will continue to love each other if they both can manage to survive... Also as much as I love our couple and the entire town of Hollows End I have to say that Teddy is my favorite character and I think youll see why when you read this story..

I loved this book so much and can't wait to see what else this author will come up with!!

A zombie story that shines bright in a crowded genre.

Wren just wants to save her family farm from the blight. A rot, a disease that rots their crops and their bodies if they become infected. But after Wren becomes infected herself she only has so much time to solve the mystery of the blight and save herself and those she loves.

I loved this story. It had me hooked from the first chapter. It has so much going on in it. It's a zombie-like story with a dystopian vibe even though it's not really dystopia. It's horror, fantasy, romance, and a little bit of SciFi all in one. I love the pace that is set for learning what the blight is and how it came about. It was such an action-packed fun story and there were some super creepy parts as well.

That cover too. It is really lovely and eye-catching. And not only is the title fitting for this book, but something about it just makes you want to read it before you even find out what it's about. You can really tell the author put her heart and soul into this debut and I feel honored to be one of the first to read it.

Recommend ages 16+
Content Warnings
Some cussing, and just a little bit of violence and gore.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Publisher and Author for a chance to read and review this book. It does not in any way influence my opinion or review.

This had everything that I typically love, however the main character felt more like a middle grade character, rather than a YA one. I DNFed at 45%, I was waiting for it to get better, but it didn't.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What We Harvest by Ann Fraistat is an atmospheric YA fantasy / horror that will appeal to fans of Erin A. Craig's Small Favors or Shea Ernshaw's A History of Wild Places. The story revolves around Wren, who lives on her family farm in Hollow's End. Everything was fine until recently, when the Quicksilver blight appeared, poisoning the farms in the area, including the crops, animals, and the people living there. Their eyes turn white, and they become the stuff of nightmares. To stop the blight, Wren has to team up with her ex-boyfriend Derek. Will they be able to stop the blight in its tracks? Or will they be consumed as well?

Here is a terrifying excerpt from Chapter 1, which is from Wren's point of view:

"So, it had finally come to kill us, too.
The sickest part was, I’d started to believe we were invincible—that somehow the miracle of our farm might protect us. I’d seen Rainbow Fields survive crackling lightning, hail, devouring armyworms, eyespot fungus. No matter what came from sky or earth, the field behind our house still swayed with towering, iridescent wheat. Crimson, orange, yellow, all the way to my favorite, twilight-blazed violet: each section winked with its own sheen.
My whole life, the wheat had soothed me to sleep through my bedroom window with its rustling whispers, sweeter than any lullaby, or at least any my mom knew.
My whole life, until now. When I realized even rainbows could rot.
I stood at the very back of our field. A gust of wind caught my hair, and the cascading waves of wheat flickered into a rainbow, then stilled back into a field of shivering white gold. At my feet, a sickly ooze crept from their roots. It wound up their bodies and dripped from their tips.
The quicksilver blight, we called it, because it gleamed like molten metal. But the stench gave it away for what it really was—a greedy, hungry rot."

Overall, What We Harvest is a chilling YA fantasy / horror novel that will appeal to anyone looking for a scary read. One highlight of this book is the gothic atmosphere. I was drawn to the setting of this book, on isolated farms with wild creatures surrounding them. I felt like I had been transported to another world. If I had to complain about 1 thing, I would have to say that I typically enjoy the fantasy genre more than the horror genre, and this book falls more into the horror genre. That's just a personal preference though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA atmospheric horror, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in March!

I would be the first one to die in a scenario like this.

Rating:✨✨✨✨ 4.0

*glances at infected zombie-like people*

*keeps walking because it's obviously the smart thing when the girl lost her eyeglasses mid attack and is now blind*

*sees infected yet endearing dog through blurry gaze*

*starts devilishly sprinting*

COME HERE BABY, LET ME LOVE U-


And that is exactly why.

Seriously, I have literally no self-control.


In one word, this book was so FUN. And yes, that's slightly uh... disturbing considering what this book is about- but come on, monsters chasing, infection everywhere- almost-death everywhere-


What more can a girl ask for?


I read books like this for the scare factor. The funny, light sort of scare. The one that makes me doubt if I closed the door, if I sneezed correctly, if on my way to visit Hades I accidentally angered Cerberus-- that type of scare. And this book, DE.LI.VERED.


The plot in and of itself took me far longer to understand than I want to admit, mostly because the vivid imagery threatened to decimate my mortal existence.

Seriously.

My life was in peril.

*peaks behind hands to see if fictional husbands have arrived*

Gosh darn it, DO I HAVE TO BE IN LOVE WITH ANOTHER MAN FOR Y'ALL TO ARRIVE OR AM I JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU-


*cough* Pardon my french interruption. Back to the plot and all it's variants- the storytelling was so beautiful and precise and just MAGNIFICENT. I wrote that word five times to get correctly. I give up. (I was doing Algebra y'all, it kills brains.

Cells.

Brells)


And so well done it made me want to read at the speed of Sonic on something (I'm not going to mention drugs, I'm not going to mention drugs, I'm not going to mention drugs-) to be able to absorb as much writing ingenuity as I was able to. Even after many days of reading other books and completely forgetting the fact that this wonderful one was waiting to be reviewed, I still can picture ever so clearly how the setting was described.


Oooo! I just love getting chills from good descriptions. It's a different type of swoon, instead of being like 'TAKE ME, I'LL BE YOUR QUEEN- FRIEND-ANYTHING-' with a specific character, this type of swoon involves saying 'I feel so blessed that my eyes could stick unto the page and start leaching off the words to try and create a hybrid of my own.'


Back to the plot though, it was so good. The intrigue, the mystery, the sensing stress of an impending bomb going off. Metaphorically, not that bombs didn't go off in the book-

I feel like the foreshadowing was the only I really had something against, apart from the 'PEOPLE DIDN'T DIE THO' part of the bullet list I made for this book.


It felt too intense for what the outcome was. I don't know what I really expected, just maybe something with more WHAM BAM CRY INTO YOUR PILLOW MA'AM factor. Especially since I went into this book hoping that, BUT.

And not Mari Antoinette's (I need one of her dresses ASAP, if y'all have her number, please feel free to share-)

That's because I like being shattered after a book ends and although it's a problem, books that end on good notes still make me happy!


(see example #1 of Booksy using the exclamation mark to fix the fact that the things she likes in books would be red flags in real life)


I guess I expected more of a vicious past or backstory to warrant all the horror the townspeople felt against it.

It still was pretty disturbing, though-


But you know, the fact that it gripped me from the first sentence led me to not care very much of how easy of an ending it had.

Ugh, addictive books feel like the best of ways to pass the time.


Then we have the characters!! You'll find later on who's Teddy, but I just want to say that she was ABOVE EVERYTHING. An angel, a goddess, a freaking emblem of greatness.


I don't even care about the rest- she just is and will continue to be.


However, we have the awesome MC going for the book too so YEAH, I'M ATTACKED FROM ALL SIDES BY GREATNESS- She felt realistic, her thought process reminded me of what I would definitely not do in a scenario like this because remember, I'll be perished. Deathed. The word kill sounds too harsh. She cared for her family with a courageous streak, did everything to find out what had happened. No clue was too difficult for her, no puzzle too hard. Seriously, I can't even be mad at her because I have absolutely no idea what I would do if I was in her place. I don't know if I- okay, I would've undoubtedly been eaten, so there's that! And she survived, y'all!!


(see example #2 and #3 of Booksy using the exclamation mark to hide that tiny voice that wished they'd all died just for the torture of it.)


Later we have the lovey dovey, six foot tall, GAWGEOUS love interest. He felt like a mix of a golden retriever and a box, not cardboard but like, solid foam *snort*. He was so devoted, so nice! He cared incredibly much for the heroine in this story, going to immense lengths to assure that his family and the love of his life were out of harm's way.


Sometimes by doing the opposite of sane- but it was understood. I liked him like I like Butterflies, from a distance. Because if one of those awesome flying canvases gets tangled in my hair- we are K.O and nope-ing the heck out of there.


The romance had so much going for it. A good reason for breaking up, an adorable backstory full of adorable...ness. But it kind of fell flat at times. Maybe because the reconciliation was too abrupt or perhaps because the characters were like:


'How can I stay apart when we were always meant to be?'


Hm

HMMMMMMM

They did everything for each other, though! And really, that's what counts.


(see example #4 of Booksy using the exclamation mark to disguise the urge to separate them for a whole 6 book series and then when they reunite, they've falling for other people, and it's the kind of bittersweet pain that stays long after the last page.)


Quick and simple list of what Booksy felt (whilst thinking in third person because why not?) about the background characters:


- They added enough to the story to make me feel they were present yet not enough to mind if one of them got bitten to death.

- Teddy is on another tier.

- Even though I didn't really see their point of existence (I say this in the most lovable way) , they aided into some of the best heart pounding moment of this story. Running, falling when they were just so close to freedom.

*sigh*

Those moments were so hauntingly breathtaking.

Also, stupefying.


Remember, my Brells are not in.

This is the skull doing all the work.


On a closing note, if the synopsis isn't for you, read this for the writing.

And the descriptions, because oh my bloody hecking mathematical hellish equations, they were perplexing. I truly felt like I was in the farm with the MC, digging up the mercury colored blight and getting the worst of the news at the same time. I literally tasted the luscious multicolored bread and the ghost watermelon juice dribbled on my lips- I'm going to cry- Seriously though, the story was great, characters were likeable, could've been more terrifying, but I'm not saying that it wasn't because it definitely was at times.


And really? I can't stop thinking that it was so gosh darned fun.


~👑Special thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!👑~

This was definitely an interesting read. I like the magical realism that gave it an eerie edge. This book left me guessing, I truly had no idea what was going to happen next. Definitely worth adding to your tbr pile.

A blight ravages a town, poisoning the farms and people, slowly consuming them and turning the infected into something else... in the town of Hollow’s End there is a blight that is killing the farms with a thick silver sludge that bleeds from the earth. The daughter of one of the four founding family farmers of Hollow’s End knows a deep dark secret about the blight... and its up to her and the ex she left to work together to stop it before everything and everyone is consumed. Hollow’s End has been blessed with miracle crops... but for every miracle there is a cost and now it is up to these two to figure out how to stop the blight before they its too late. This was such an interesting read it had sort of a virus/zombie-esque storyline mixed in with farming, teen romance, and family secrets. Definitely pick it up if you’re looking for a interesting read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A great story. Hard to put down. A thrilling tale with lots of hours of not being able to sit this book down.. highly recommend.

read this in one sitting. captivating from the beginning. the reason i’m not giving it five stars was because it felt like something was missing, in a way it got resolved “to easily.” but it does bring up the idea and ask questions about rotten history and who’s at fault

What We Harvest is a delightfully creepy novel in the vein of Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power, and I really enjoyed it. Wren is a great main character, as are Derek and Claudette. I really liked the horror aspect of this book; creepy plants and hive minds are always terrifying.
The romance between Wren and Derek wasn't a huge part of the book, what with them trying to save their towns and families, but I did like what was there. Wren's motivations for cutting Derek off prior to the events of the book were relatable and made sense; a lot of times the miscommunication trope just drags out.
What We Harvest was very fast-paced, but I liked that there was still plenty of time to get to know the characters in between them running for their lives.
As I said above, this book is similar to Burn Our Bodies Down, so I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Rory Power's book. 4/5 stars.

What We Harvest is an amazing debut novel. I loved the character building and the exploration of family and tradition. This whole book exceeded all expectations I had going in. I couldn't put it down! I am very excited for people to read this once it is released. I also look forward to more from this author!

Dazzling and dreadful. WHAT WE HARVEST grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go.

A fantastic debut-- can't wait to see what Fraistat has up her sleeve next!

WHAT WE HARVEST is a heart-pounding, fast-paced tale that will leave you reading well into the early hours of the morning. It is a difficult book to review without giving away spoilers, but it is a wonderful read, one that pulls you in from the very first page. BURN OUR BODIES DOWN meets THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS.