In this story, we follow Sonny, a 13-year-old boy, grappling with the death of his father and his deteriorating relationship with his mother. Failing to see the point in life, he is approached by Death himself, who is looking to step down from his position and retire. Sonny agrees to take the 1,000-year-long position and begins his training in earnest. But in learning about death, he realizes that there might be more to life after all.

I loved every single thing about this book and any review I write will not do it justice. The writing, the added quotes, the way the chapters are numbered, the coordinating playlist, the drawings/pictures - every little bit is fucking brilliant and created such a unique reading experience. How the topics of grief, death, abuse, and forgiveness were explored is phenomenal and left me speechless. Do yourself (and me) a favor and pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.

I loved this book.
It explains grief and coping in a new age way.
This story definitely felt like coming to age but in a way that it also felt enjoyable for the ages.
Reading this book definitely gives a new perspective on things!

A Fig for all the Devils is an exploration of grief and death. The shorter chapters make it very accessible, and you will find yourself enjoying your journey as you read.

With the Grim Reaper as a main character, this book felt part horror, part coming-of-age, and part literary fiction.

It is a book that will make you see things just a little bit differently.

*4.5 stars on StoryGraph*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I really liked this book. I feel like I haven't read something similar to this at all. I loved the QR code to the spotify playlist that the author had curated to be listened to whilst you are reading the text. This kind of interaction between author and audience is one of my favourite things when reading.
I also loved the storytelling and the writing. I felt hooked and raced through the book.
Only downside was that I couldn't see the pictures included as they didn't format well on the kindle but I loved the inclusion of these all the same - will just have to buy the paperback in order to see these and appreciate fully!

Occasionally profound but just maybe a little too quirky. I really would have liked more time with Death, but that's a minor nitpick

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy for review. I enjoyed the dark nature of this book and its humor. Contrary to what some reviews said, I didn't find issues with the pacing at all. Honestly, I wish this book was even longer. Recommended!

I absolutely devoured this. The writing style is impeccable with lots of spooky imagery which is absolute perfect for autumn season!!! Highly highly recommend, love it when you find such a gem of a book in the ‘read now’ section!!

This is definitely a case where the concept was better than the execution for me. I love the cover. I love the idea of the Grim Reaper needing to choose a successor and being done with the job. This creates such an opportunity for a cast of characters and quirky character development, but these characters just didn't hold my interest. I didn't love it.

There were a few things about this book that I enjoyed, but also a few that I didn’t. Going with 3 stars.

1 ⭐️

The cover is beautiful. It’s what first drew my eye to the book. And the premise sounded incredible.

But I was so bored. It took me forever to read this book because I dreaded picking it up. I am always looking for books about the Grim Reaper or Death, so this was a huge letdown for me.

I might try it again later because a lot of people really seem to like it, but I just didn’t enjoy it. I couldn’t connect with the characters, and I just couldn’t get into the storyline.

I’ll say it again though. The cover is amazing. One of my favorite covers.

Thank you to NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

simply not my cup of tea.

I am glad this book was under 300 pages because I am not sure I would've been able to finish it if it were any longer. This book lost the plot multiple times throughout. While the idea of the grim reaper choosing a successor sounded really cool, the execution didn’t quite hit the bullseye. The perspective changes were also quite random. There were a couple nice quotes about life and death and the importance of grieving, but overall I just wasn’t a fan of the book.

To be completely honest with you, I really regret that it took me so long to get around to reading this book. I just never got around to read it, but when I finally did, I was blown away by how good it was.

When I saw the cover, I just knew that this was going to be a cool book. And I wasn't wrong. The story was really interesting, but also heartbreaking at the same time. I felt so much empathy for the main character, Sonny, and I just wanted to give him a big hug while reading because he deserved it.

The story centers on Sonny, a young boy who is struggling to cope with his father's suicide. He is left alone to grapple with his emotions as his mother distances herself from him, leaving him alone with his grief. Despite this, Sonny's life changes when he meets Death, who offers him a deal that the young boy ultimately accepts. He begins to prepare himself to become the new Death, but as the story progresses, he begins to realize that there may still be a reason to live.

From the first page, the book grabbed my attention and didn't let go until the end. I was always wondering where the story was going and how Sonny's fate would turn out. The author did a great job of creating anticipation as well. There were always little bits here and there that made me wonder what would happen next.

The writing style of the book was really enjoyable for me. It was easy to read and understand, and while it didn't always take itself too seriously, there were still plenty of thought-provoking ideas and disturbing scenes. The chapters were also really short, which made me feel like I was zooming through the book.

I would definitely recommend this novel, especially for those who aren't afraid to read a story with more darker and grimmer themes. However, I do think it's important to note that there are some triggering topics in the book, such as abuse and grief. So, if you're sensitive to those topics, it might not be the best choice for you.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of C.S. Fritz's work in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy for review.
I unfortunately found this book very slow paced and not very interesting. I was excited to read it because I saw another reviewer say that it was good if you like a character driven story. I did not connected with the characters and I found the adults a little too real and that upset me a little. This is a book that I could considered coming back to if I see someone with a similar reading taste as me. For now, I will have to move on to new titles that Im more excited about.

This book is very interesting with nice words and important messages. I loved it from the start. All the characters in this story express their sadness in a really amazing way, and I want everyone to read it.
I liked some parts of how the author showed the Reaper, but his weirdness and character didn't really match with the other parts of the story. I really enjoyed the illustrations of death in the book.

Disclaimer: I read this book almost a year ago and am going off of recall alone.

So this story was interesting all the way through. I loved the characters as well as their development. I know some found the reaper character to be a bit cliché but why wouldn't a reaper eat garbage and smoke? Especially considering the history of a reaper posed to us in this story. He was resentful and angry, making these acts feel necessary, like a small rebellion to his situation. This was the main draw of the story for me, the under tones that frequently came into play with the use of the characters' emotions and the journey it takes us on as a reader. The characters all have what I felt to be a uniqueness to them because of it. The sadness and anger and confusion felt by someone going through the things plotted within this novel felt pretty real, ironically, in a story about a boy being groomed to be a reaper. Overall, I think it was a good story. It's written well enough and it was thought provoking in a way I was hoping for about changes in life and resentments, disappointments and other somewhat negative feelings that are part of the human experience.

Funny, dark and very engaging. I really liked the author’s writing. Very gritty imagery and the protagonist lived a sad life but I did surprisingly like this. Look forward to more from this author

This book far exceeded my expectations. I was expecting it to be a gothic horror esque tale… there were certainly elements of that, but i also found it to touch really sensitively and insightfully on important topics such as life, death, meaning, purpose, connections. I found it quite an emotional and mind-opening read.

This is a beautiful, lyrical read that I was not expecting from a book classed as horror.

Sonny is a teenager who has recently lost his father and has a rather ambivalent relationship with his mother. In his grief, he has pretty much given up on life. Then he meets the Grim Reaper, who is looking for a replacement for his position... The Reaper is an unorthodox representation of the Death concept – a cigarette addict, junk-food lover and a fan of poetry, he certainly does not sound like an average imagining of Death. However, he has his own tragic background and a very specific reason for seeking a replacement. As he tries to convince Sonny that the boy would be a perfect fit for the position and train him for his grim future, he changes Sonny’s viewpoint on life, grief and relationships.

Reading this book was a unique and lovely experience. Whilst there is a lot of horrifying imagery and terrible events described in detail, it was surprisingly comforting. The text is also interspersed with fragments of poems, which I really liked, as just like this Reaper, I am a fan of poetry.

The ending was a complete surprise; it also did not seem to fit the character of the Reaper as established for the majority of the book. But I don’t know if I would have wanted a different one. I am a bit torn on this point!

I certainly recommend the book, though, it was a great, though-provoking read with beautiful writing!

Very humorous and dark, thoroughly enjoyed this book. Kind of felt like a modern take on Mort by Terry Pratchett. Highly recommend

Sonny has never had a good relationship with his mother, and when his father unexpectedly dies, it doesn’t get any better. Confused as to why his dad died, Sonny has a difficult time living on. When he meets the Grim Reaper, they enjoy spending time together, then Death decides that Sonny must become the next Reaper. The Reaper then trains Sonny into taking his place as Death. As a result, Sonny learns much more about himself.

This was a unique read. The concept of the story was interesting and well done. I enjoyed the classical depictions of death that were also scattered throughout.
This book addresses some difficult themes also, and does it really well.

The ending of the work felt like a Hallmark movie; it was cheesy and wasn’t the best way to end this story, in my opion.

I would recommend this work to anyone who is interested in exploring the personification of Death and the feelings often associated with grief. I enjoyed it overall, but I think maybe it just wasn’t the book for me.