thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

this book takes inspiration from a historical event taking place in 1760s france known as the beast of Gévaudan. this event swept across the world through news articles as everyone watched bespectacled at the demise of young shepherdesses being demolished by the unknown.

which begs the question: who are the real beasts? a creature stalking the night, a man, a witch, or a young girl?

this book was a wonderful experience, very beautifully written. the characters all felt flushed out. the themes of early feminism portrayed wonderfully, josephine and clara were such lovable and beautiful characters. this book does a wonderful job of portraying the hysterics that swept through the land as such an outlandish event occurred, as well as the class systems of france.

the found family aspect really tugged at my heartstrings, and i hope this book will teach young women to stand up for what you believe is right, hold your ground, and love who you so dearly love.

my one and only qualm was the mentioning of racism taking place within the town without flushing out the full aspects of it, especially with clara. i feel like it was thrown in as a sort of “and look how bad the town is, it’s not enough that they hate women” but truly, if the author didn’t feel equipped to write about those social issues then i applaud them for not playing into stereotypes at the very least.

all the opinions expressed here are my own, please take the time to read We Are the Beasts by Gigi Griffis set to be released December 10th 2024!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ We are the Beast by Gigi Griffis is set to be released December 10, 2024. Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse publishing
for the advanced reader copy in exchange for a review.

Who are the real beasts? Is it an unknown beast, men, or is it a witch posing as a young girl?
This book is based loosely on the beast of Gevaudan, who terrorized France in the 1760s. This book was really interesting and really leaned into ideals of feminism. I truly appreciated the independence the women presented throughout the story. Throughout the book you see how mass hysteria, and bystander effect can really affect every day people. This is a story of found family, friendships, and finding it in yourself to stand up for what’s right! Also, fun spoiler: The story is really reminiscent of the current social media trend, where women are saying they would rather be around a bear versus a man. Implying that animals are more predictable than men, which I found similar in this story.

My only real dislike was I did not love that there were random French words thrown in and out. Some made sense, but some, seemed unnecessary. The opinions expressed here are my own.

If I had to describe this in one word: powerful. This book was based at least in part on a historical event, which I did not know until I read the note at the end of the story. It shocked me to know that this was loosely based off of something that was true. It awed me. There was so much to love and adore and take away from this. The strong bond between the girls, all of them, but most of all between Clara and Joséphine, and of Louis's love for Pascal, of the sheep's love for their shepherdesses. The twist at the end was a classic case of mother protecting her babies, but the "beast" itself was actually an animal, and a twist I didn't see coming at all. A very clever twist at that. But the true beast, was the men, and I think it was really important to see girls who bite back, who have each other's backs.

Look at this thrilling cover and intriguing plotline: girls who have suffered abuse, harassment, abandonment, and starvation unite to fight against a beast no more dangerous than the real beasts - the abusive men of the town hiding in human clothing.

The most captivating aspect of this book, among its themes of girl power and feminism, is its basis on true events in Gevaudan, France, where the region was plagued by a wolf-like animal attacking shepherds and villagers. Europe’s first cross-border stories attracted King Louis XV’s attention, prompting him to send his best hunters, like Duhamel and the d’Ennevals in the novel, to lead the search for the beast.

In this feminist retelling, the imprisoned girls of the town, suffering from hunger and mistreatment at the hands of the men, begin to blame their violence on the beast, taking control of their fate to escape. However, their escape leads them into even more danger, not from the beast, but from the men determined to control their lives with harsh punishments. They even kill the only decent man in town, the priest, replacing him with a new predator posing as a righteous figure.

Josephine, who lost her entire family and was saved by her true love Clara and her grandmother Meme, finds herself in a town filled with pain, poverty, loss, anger, and hatred. When a beast begins lurking and a young boy dies, Josephine realizes the town’s men are trying to cover up a murder. She decides to help the boy’s sisters and, with Clara’s help, fakes their deaths to take them out of the town.

But their good intentions are tested when they face both the dangerous beast and the vindictive church leader, who believes the girls’ actions have cursed the town. As long as the girls stay, they face threats from both sides.

Who is the real beast? Is it a shapeshifter, an evil incarnation, a witch, or something else entirely? And are the town’s men or the king’s hunters even scarier? How will the girls survive?

Overall, this book is intriguing, fast-paced, and impactful, with a great conclusion that I highly recommend to YA horror and thriller readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for sharing this thrilling book’s digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Who are the real beasts? Is it the unknown animals hiding in the woods? Is it the men of the village who abuse their daughters and sisters? Or is it the young girls who take it upon themselves to protect each other from the abusive men? The story of this book was sparked from an interesting historical bit that the author explains in a note at the end, or at least provides some theories of what the beasts on the woods around this French village were thought to be. But this novel takes those stories and hands them to a pair of protagonists that do something heroic with the lore, protecting the girls of the village who noone else would save. They may pose as the beast, but the real beasts of the story should rightly be the abusers. This is a story of friendships, found families, and finding power within oneself. The writing was easy to follow except the occasional single French words in the middle of a dialogue--I get the setting is a French village but throwing in a "mon Dieu!" between the English conversation did not make the story more French for me. The plot development and character interactions work for a young adult audience. The majority of central characters are teens and interact with each other with teenage behavior. I also suspect an older audience would want a bit more suspense drawn out before any reveal of a mysterious beast. This is a good read for teens looking for empowerment stories, and even a bit of LGBTQ representation.
I received advanced access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, Random House Children's -Delacorte Press) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
There was a lot to love about this book. I am a huge fan of any story where the wild/fierce/teeth and claws of girls can be highlighted. I liked the small elements of found family and friendship. I also always appreciate a good mysterious beast.
The things that brought the rating down a bit for me were as follows:
- there were a few instances of very modern slang creeping its way into the historical time period (16th century). This just took me out of the story.
- I would have liked to up the suspense & drag out the charade a little longer. For me, this ended really quickly and didn’t build to a big confrontation in the same way I thought it would.
- It does the thing where it throws in a few French words so that we know it’s in France, but it doesn’t flow in a real way & seems stilted.

Overall, I would recommend it if you’re interested in the synopsis. It delivers on what it promises! Would be good for a teen audience