Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for the digital copy to review.

This was a different horror read, closer to reality, think stressful dreams (or nightmares) which I have from time to time, and I thought it was great. The sibling drama was dark but witty, and listening via audio I enjoyed the banter between them, but there is plenty of fighting which is to be expected when the parents are gone and the older sister has to step in (25 is still young to do so imo). I will also note listening via audio it was difficult to tell when we were in a dream vs. reality at times so that was a little confusing, but it all came together in a wild and crazy ending, and I enjoyed this one overall.

Ummm I can't say that I like this book but I don't DISLIKE it. For a majority of the story, it feels like a weird fever dream and I did not know what was actually happening to the characters or if they were dreaming.
The title drew me in as an older sister, I often feel like my siblings don't take heed to what I say. And I definitely connected with the frustrations that Calla goes through with her brothers... but the story just hits on the edge of weird in a way that I did not like. I really wanted to like this more but I probably would not recommend this book or read it for my book club.

Omg this book made me sooooo angry... As an older sister of two brothers, I related to Calla so hard and I understood why her mind broke.

I LOVED this book. The concept was mind bending and amazing and the creep factor in this book was oh so FUN!

I was on the edge of my seat for this read for the ENTIRE TIME. I can’t wait to read what this author will come up with next!

This was a phenomenal read—at once, frightening, hilarious, and heart-warming.

Contrary to how it's being marketed and reviewed, I wouldn't classify this as social horror. Yes, there are racial elements to the story—police violence against Black boys and men, racial profiling, and microaggressions. However, these are more setting than plot. They are important components when understanding the characters, but I think we should be careful not to sweep all Black experience into a pile of Jordan Peele prototypes.

Rather, it's a story of family trauma, parentification of elder children, and the rage, frustration, and all-consuming love of a parent for their child. I was so impressed by the creativity of the premise:<spoiler>Years of pent-up rage from caring for her younger siblings led Calla to splinter parts of herself at each key moment of sacrifice and these past versions of herself come back to avenge themselves on her brothers.</spoiler> The horror was interspersed with moments of levity; rather than distract, these moments served to deepen the characters and their interrelationships in a meaningful way.

There's certainly a fever dream-quality to the second half of the book (it's a nightmare coming to life, so it's only appropriate), which may be confusing to readers, but it's well worth the trip. I would highly recommend this to fans of Grady Hendrix.

This book has a little bit of everything family drama, trauma, racial topics, horror-- and some appreciated and unexpected humor. Like others, I was engaged for a while, and then I started to lose interest. I think I was getting more confused than scared as things went--particularly by the visions. I appreciated the unique writing and look forward to see what's next for this author.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Creepy reads, deep stories, sibling bonds

I liked this. It was so different. The vibes are creepy and the story is unique. I was left thinking what did I just read. I highly recommend this!

I feel like I might have liked this one better if I had eyeball read it. The audio got very confusing on which character was talking which took away from the story

This one was a hard one to review. When it first started I fell in love with the story and the characters, and how their stories were presented. However as the book progressed, I was often confused by the dream sequences, and felt that it was hard to keep track of were the story was going. The writing had great imagry, but often not enough time was spent building suspense and felt repetative. I loved some parts so much, but overall felt a little lost in the craziness of the plot.

Well, this was scary.
Does nobody listen to their elders?
Or geeze, even nightmares?
Gut feelings?
As obvious as they were, this family did not. The sister tried, but as the title may suggest, they did not listen to their sister.

I didn't love the time skips. They were a little disorganized and hard to follow, but other than that, the author's style was unique and entertaining.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, and the author 💚

Fantastic story of three siblings raising each other after their father dies and their mother falls apart. Excellent horror elements as well, highly recommend!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Neena Viel’s "Listen to Your Sister" is a genre-bending horror novel that seamlessly blends supernatural terror with the raw emotional weight of family bonds. It’s a story that lingers, creeping into the corners of your mind long after you’ve turned the last page.

This novel follows Calla Williams, a young Black woman who finds herself thrust into the role of guardian for her teenage brother, Jamie. Their middle sibling, Dre, is supposed to help—but predictably, he’s off handling his own life. Calla’s exhaustion is palpable, her frustration deeply relatable, and her love for her brothers unwavering despite the chaos they bring. But what starts as a tense family drama quickly spirals into something far more sinister when Jamie’s reckless activism leads them into a nightmare that feels both eerily familiar and utterly unexplainable.

Viel’s writing is razor-sharp, balancing biting humor with moments of sheer dread. The novel’s pacing is relentless, pulling readers into a world where reality bends and nightmares take shape. The siblings’ retreat to a secluded cabin—a classic horror trope—is anything but predictable. Instead, Viel twists expectations, crafting a story that is as much about survival as it is about the unspoken burdens of siblinghood.

What makes "Listen to Your Sister" truly stand out is its emotional depth. Calla’s fears—both supernatural and painfully real—are explored with nuance, making her one of the most compelling protagonists in recent horror fiction. The novel doesn’t shy away from societal horrors either, weaving themes of racial injustice and survival into its chilling narrative.

This book delivers the perfect blend of psychological horror and dark comedy. Viel’s debut is a triumph, proving that horror isn’t just about what lurks in the shadows—it’s about the fears we carry with us every day.

I feel pretty much the same way most people do about this book. It starts off really good, then drags until about the halfway mark when they get to the cabin. At that point, it did pick up quite a bit, but I still wasn't 100% into it. For one thing, it's pretty YA and feels more like a sort of Thief of Always/Coraline dark fantasy type of story than full on horror. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I kept reading that this story had monsters in it and seeing that it took place in a cabin made me kind of expect something a little more Evil Dead. Slight spoiler, but there are no monsters. It's supernatural for sure, but I wouldn't really call this horror. Plus, all of the nightmare sections spend way more time talking about the trauma the siblings have experienced than the actual horror stuff. I think the only other thing I disliked was that Jamie was just awful the entire time. He treated his sister horribly and I don't think any of the explanations for him being that way justified him being such a prick, so I didn't care at all about what happened to him the entire book. Otherwise, it was good. Even though it did take a long time to get going, I did mostly like the family drama stuff and the imagery in the nightmare scenes was cool. I didn't love this, but I am very curious about Viel's next book. Thanks for the ARC!

Quick paced story showcasing life in the inner city and a family struggling to survive. A fast and frenetic look at what a sister will do to hold on to her siblings.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and found the story engaging and well-written. The characters were easy to connect with, and the plot kept me interested from beginning to end. There were a few slower parts, but overall, the pacing worked well and the story came together nicely.

This was a great read, and I would happily recommend it to others who enjoy this genre.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3.75⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: horror/thriller📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
This one was insane, I don’t even really know how to describe it - it’s magical realism meets supernatural meets fever nightmares. But either way it was an intriguing read and I loved the dark comedy aspect

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Dark comedy
Generational trauma
Atmospheric setting
Unsettling and creepy reads
Unique storylines
Black Mirror vibes
Complex family dynamics
Unreliable narrator
Family secrets
Thought provoking reads


𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
I love that it was so much more than just a horror story- it has depth

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Was a little too slow burn horror for me
The storyline was hard to follow at times
It was pretty heavy on the politics

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ "Trauma didn't age like wine. Theirs was a robust creature, a veiny thing that had taken its time growing thick roots and soaking up nutrition."
★ "Calla was a pool of swimming things and life. She was a girl-woman of parts and exhales and wrath and grief and iridescent glimmers of delicious joy."

This book was fun but quite difficult to get through. I did find the writing a bit dense for my taste. Also, I did not care for the brothers POV in the book. I wish that had been left out.

"Listen to Your Sister" by Neena Viel is a sibling bonding book nestled in a horror mystery. It is certainly a different read. You'll want to go into it blind - so stop reading reviews and go read the book!

This was challenging. It's hard to watch people lose their grip on reality, especially when there's a chance that they will be endangering themselves.

Unfortunately, I think I have to DNF this book at 50%. I am sad because I really wanted to like this. I liked the premise and enjoyed the political element the author added in with Jamie’s character development, but overall I just couldn’t get into the story. I made it 50% into the book and still feel like I have no investment in the story or interest in finding out how it ends. I think the horror element was hard to follow and there was so much going on that it became very confusing at times. It was also hard to connect with the characters with everything going on at once. I think for some people this book will be great but it just was not one that I was able to appreciate as the author intended.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

2.75 stars

This is one of those books that is a bit weird to review because I don't think it was for me. Like, at all. I was interested because of the comparisons to Jordan Peele movies and Stranger Things, and I do think this would make a great horror movie. But it didn't work for me as a book. I ended up switching back and forth between the e-ARC and the audiobook to finish it, but several times had to stop and go back because something was unclear or confusing. A visual element would have really helped this story's message hit harder, I think. 

We're following Calla, who's 25 and struggling to take care of her two brothers, Jamie, 16, who she's guardian of, and Dre, early 20s, who is super unhelpful. Calla is haunted by nightmares of her brothers dying, and when they're forced to go on the run to escape from Jamie's teenage recklessness gone illegally far, it seems her nightmares may be coming to life. At a remote Airbnb, strange things start haunting the siblings, and the tensions between them all that have been there since their parents died come to a head. 

Once again, as a white adult woman with a good childhood, I know I was not the target audience for this, so keep that in mind and take my rating with a grain of salt. I would watch it if this got turned into a movie, though, I can imagine it being surreal and fun in that format. And I'd hope that they'd fix the one thing I could not get over, aka referring to what they were smoking as both a joint and a blunt in the same scene. 
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.