Listen to Your Sister is a genre-bending knockout that blends horror, family drama, and speculative suspense into a story that’s as emotionally raw as it is pulse-pounding. Neena Viel’s debut is a masterclass in character development especially when it comes to Calla Williams. Calla is a 25-year-old woman thrust into guardianship of her younger brother Jamie, and her exhaustion, resentment, and fierce love are all palpable. Viel doesn’t just sketch her characters she excavates them. Calla’s recurring nightmares, her fractured relationship with her siblings, and her desperate attempts to hold everything together make her one of the most compelling protagonists I’ve read in a while. Jamie and Dre, her brothers, are equally well-drawn, each bringing their own chaos, charm, and heartbreak to the story. The plot? Well, It’s a wild ride. What starts as a family drama quickly spirals into a supernatural thriller when the siblings go on the run and take refuge in a cabin straight out of a slasher flick. The tension builds relentlessly, and the horror elements are both metaphorical and literal and Viel knows how to scare you while making you care deeply. Some pacing hiccups aside, this book delivers on every front: emotional depth, eerie atmosphere, and a plot that keeps you guessing. If you love horror with heart and characters who feel like real people caught in unreal circumstances, Listen to Your Sister deserves a spot on your shelf.

The characters in this stressed me out quite a bit - especially the younger brother! Stop being such a brat! But overall I found this to be weird but decently good!

Thank you for the opportunity to review. I read about 80% of the book and just decided that I didn’t care how it ended. I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters. The story was very repetitive and the characters were so flat and similar that I often was confused about whose point of view I was reading. A really intriguing idea that wasn’t well executed.

This was an extremely intriguing horror novel centered around an unconventional family unit steeped in deep trauma. I do love paranormal horror, which is what I was expecting from Listen to Your Sister, but… it was so much deeper. The story is extremely immersive, visceral, and unique. It’s hard to say much without giving spoilers, so I will say that I am glad I went into this one pretty much blind.

TW: body horror and gross-out horror, which is not my usual preference but the story kept me invested.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy.

Essentially this book was not for me. It was a good book, just didn’t have what works for me personally. I loved authors voice and how she made all three POVs so distinct and unique. That is a true talent on the page. What didn’t work for me were the dynamics between siblings and the horror trope itself, it’s just not my favorite overall and I had a hard time staying in the story. However, I will still recommend this read to others, it’s just a little bit too niche then I anticipated.

I wanted to love this one more than I did. I found it kinda hard to follow and I lost interest super quick

It's taken me a bit to process this one. It is a great debut and I look forward to reading more from Viel.

I don't always agree with comparisons but this definitely had a Jordan Peele feel to it. Everything felt normal, then got weird, then got to uneasy fever dream territory. It would make a great movie. Though I'm older than all the characters it felt modern and relatable, particularly as a non white woman. There were a ton of topical references that I'm not sure will age well. Viel's writing drew me in, and I was eager to see what was coming next. There were a lot of storylines that I think could have been parsed down but overall worked out at the end. I think the author was trying to make Jamie kind of endearing despite being a jerk (and I don't want to discount the fact that he was a teen with boatloads of trauma so acting that way is expected) but he was just a dick.

The audiobook narrators did a fantastic job! I enjoy when each character has their own narrator and the voices were distinct enough to never be confusing. The voices for all the “characters” in parts 3 and 4 were a bit grating, but I understand why they were done that way. It was very immersive and really added to the chaotic mood.

Listen to Your Sister is billed as speculative fiction but I agree with other reviewers that the unrelenting trauma is a more psychological horror. This book isn't going to be for a lot of people, but if you enjoy Jordan Peele and books that you make you think about others' sociopolitical challenges, then this is for you. It gets a little weird but if you don't mind a little body horror, you should be fine. This is not splatterpunk, but it is a smart book that even manages to be a little funny at times before jerking you back to the trauma.

Favorite quote: “My ancestors made me...for cuddling and war.”

This book was wildly funny and unsettling. It definitely gave Jordan Peele movie vibes. 25 year old sister caring for her youngest sibling Jaime, and they end up in an unsavory situation after losing their father in an accident. The end of this book was gripping and I found it hard to put down!!

I feel like the author had a really good idea for a story, but wasn't quite able to make it come to life. The story was kind of discombobulated and hard to follow at times.

The story is not for me. I didn't enjoy the boys perspective. The plot was disappointing. The synopsis sounded great, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

A weird, fever dream of a book. I loved the relationship between the three siblings and appreciated their banter back and forth. Lots of witty and laugh out loud moments. I think their interactions made the book.
Listen to Your Sister is a promising debut that has a lot of heart mixed in with lots of “wtf” moments. I look forward to her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This was a very enjoyable fast paced creepy read! It was so intense and dark. I really recommend this one!!! The writing was excellent and characters were definitely memorable especially Calla.

#listentoyoursister
#netgalley

Warning: this book is intense in how it represents, handles, and processes trauma. The whole book is a trauma in and of itself (or at least potentially). When this is listed as a horror novel it is a true horror novel. Not some surface level one. It might have been gorier but I like that it wasn’t. It didn’t need the gore to shock you or keep you on your toes.

The ultimate question: Did I like this?
Answer: I’m not sure. I didn’t dislike it, but it’s rough in places. Unlike Chuck Tingle’s Bury Your Gays, which was both traumatic, intense, and enjoyable; I found the humour here was not quite enough or just didn’t have me laughing the way others have described. It’s different, unique, clever, and very well written. Yet I’m struggling to figure out if I really liked it or would recommend it. It’s definitely not a book that will be for everyone and not one I would re-read.

My biggest peeve for this dark trauma story is the ending is a bit abrupt. There’s no nice wrap up moment, reuniting everyone and putting them on a clear path forward into better lives or safety. Or at least not overtly enough for my comfort level.

If you want to try something that is very heavy in its use of analogy, metaphors, similes, etc. Listen To Your Sister is a good choice. If you have sibling rivalry or burden to process yourself this is an excellent choice to help you understand from all 3 siblings perspectives why they do what they choose to do. It’s a balanced read, one that lends towards understanding to the only girl and oldest (I’m also the oldest of 3 and can confirm the responsibility representation here is spot on), but also really connects you with a middle child who never feels unique enough, and the baby who just wants things to be better but can’t quite see their role in helping that happen (at first). There are a fair number of excuses produced for drug use, alcohol abuse, and abandonment. As well as a large narrative about what it means to be a guardian and how you give up a lot of yourself to do so. And there’s surely multiple thesis that could be written on the portrayal of selfishness amoungst siblings with useless parents.

If any of that sparks your interest, or might be something you have trauma to still process about then this could be the book for you.
If not, then I’d approach this one with the foreknowledge that it’s intense, doesn’t pullback on punches, and may not be for everyone.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! The fact that this is a debut novel is mind-blowing. Viel comes out of the gate swinging in this terrifying yet heart-wrenching debut novel! I have to admit that I am always skeptical of a new author, but this is definitely an exception! It did take me a bit to get into the story, but once I was in, I was all in. I'm excited to see what the author does in the future!

This book started great - it has an engaging plot, and the writing itself is just fantastic. The author doesn't just tell a story, but paints the story in front of the reader for a richer experience. Unfortunately, this book had so many twists and turns, not just in the storyline, but in the way it was presented. It started as cultural fiction, which I loved. The author weaves subtle comedy into a tale of everyday life for a young Black woman who is raising her younger brother while trying to keep tabs on yet another brother. The stress of this falls on Calla and we see her world unravel. The plot then moves towards the horror genre and while interesting at first, it was hard to comprehend in some spots and this ended up being a harder read for me. I kept reading because I wanted to like it and wanted to get back to enjoying it as I did in the beginning. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

DNF @ 50% 😕

I really wanted to love Listen to Your Sister, the premise pulled me in immediately, and the opening chapters had me hopeful. But as I got deeper into the book, the constant timeline jumps started to wear me down. Every time I took even a short break from reading, I’d come back completely disoriented and had to flip back just to figure out what was happening and when.

I would recommend this book to someone who reads books in one sitting or loves layered timelines, but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for providing a digital copy for review!

I wanted to love this book, but it was a challenge to get through some of it. WHen I finally finished it - I would say itt was a fun ride and for fans of horror it will be a solid read

This is not an easy book to read. I mean that in the best way possible. The author did such an incredible job capturing real world horrors that I could feel it in my bones. Calla felt so real and I was with her every step of the way. I wanted to beat the shit out of both her brothers for taking her granted. Neither Jamie or Dre seemed to care enough to acknowledge her suffering or show appreciation for her sacrifices. The way the supernatural elements are like physical representations of her trauma, making it all hit so much harder. The added creepiness kept me glued to the page. As tough as it was to read I am so glad I stuck with it. Definitely worth pushing past the discomfort to a satisfying ending.

I struggled with the voice in this one -- reading it I felt a bit disconnected, like I couldn't figure out quite what was going on. I really had a hard time connecting with the characters and the humour didn't land for me. It's unfortunate because I typically love social horror and books dealing with racism, and I think Listen to Your Sister will have readers that really connect and love it. I wound up deciding not to finish it at about 30%.