This book was....weird and that's a compliment. Do not read if family trauma triggers you. I want to talk to the author and see how their mind works. How they came up with such a twisted story. The story is about a sister that would do anything to protect her 2 brothers. After some trouble in the city, they go to a remote cabin in the woods and that's when things start getting weird. Is the sister the protector or is she the danger or can she be both?? Read to find out. I give this book 3✨. I liked it but didn't love it.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. I really enjoyed the creepiness of this book and the weirdness. This gave me vibes of Jordan Peele's movies. 5 stars.

Listen To Your Sister
By: Neena Viel

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date: Feb. 4, 2025

For fans of Jordan Peele’s films, Stranger Things, and The Other Black Girl, Listen To Your Sister is a laugh-out-loud, deeply terrifying, and big-hearted speculative horror novel from electrifying debut talent Neena Viel.

Twenty-five year old Calla Williams is struggling since becoming guardian to her brother, Jamie. Calla is overwhelmed and tired of being the one who makes sacrifices to keep the family together. Jamie, full of good-natured sixteen-year-old recklessness, is usually off fighting for what matters to him or getting into mischief, often at the same time. Dre, their brother, promised he would help raise Jamie–but now the ink is dry on the paperwork and in classic middle-child fashion, he’s off doing his own thing. And through it all, The Nightmare never stops haunting Calla: recurring images of her brothers dying that she is powerless to stop.

💭When I say this story had me clutching my imaginary pearls for dear life. The story told from all the siblings pov’s, Calla, Dre and Jamie’s. Buckle up for one HELL of a ride literally. Calla is truly overwhelmed and under appreciated for all that she’s done and sacrificed for her younger brothers. She’s spent their whole lives keeping them safe and out of danger through her dreams during the day and night. But when she finally has had enough and she give her brothers over to her nightmares once. We get to experience first hand the families dysfunctional upbringing through the experiences of Calla, Dre and Jamie. Calla’s Nightmare world is horrific, visually disturbing and what nightmares are made of. Each sibling’s journey will surprise you and make you laugh and disgusted at the same time. But you see the love that they have for each other runs deep. They’ll need to all come together and find that connection, forgiveness and bond to survive the night.

Horror fans this is a must read, Neena Viel is a new auto buy author for me. I’m still in shock this is a debut novel. Don’t read this in the dark if you scare easily!!!!

I had to DNF at 20%. There was literally nothing scary happening, and the characters were more annoying than anything else. Just couldn't get into it.

This was perfection! So informative. It's a good way to learn about the struggles of oldest daughters in black families. I love the name the brothers gave Calla's other selves.
I could not put it down.

4⭐️

This is the type of book that I can't summarize without spoiling things. But if you like *weird* horror books that make you think, I definitely suggest Listen to Your Sister!

I loved this realistic look at child neglect and trauma, older siblings stepping in to take care of their younger siblings, and the resentment everyone has for each other. You can tell that Calla has tried so hard to be there for Jamie while trying to keep everything a float and just silently resenting Dre while also not asking Dre for help. Calla falls into the stereotypical oldest daughter role and it's interesting to watch.

This was a fast paced, unsettling story and I loved trying to figure out where this was going to go next. It almost felt like a fever dream and I did struggle to form a picture of things in my mind. But overall I really enjoyed this.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC to me!

I was approved for both the ebook and the audiobook and am leaving the same review under both.

Phew, buddy. I loved Listen to Your Sister. It was so f*cked up and wild in the best way. Weird creepy things happened to Calla, Dre, and Jamie. People popping up murdering strangers for Calla’s brothers, just in their time of need. That was such a wild ride.
I also love how it touched on real issues involving race. A horror book with realistic issues was chef’s kiss. Each sibling had their own personality and way of handling things. It was great. I’m scatter brained trying to write this out without spoiling anything.
I definitely recommend this book. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

dnf 22%
It just didn’t click with me. It felt really slow, and there were too many perspectives to keep track of.

thankful i got the arc tho

When I initially picked up this book, I read the synopsis and mistakenly assumed that this novel would read more slasher thriller than supernatural horror. Horror can be a hard genre for me to read sometimes because my imagination will run away with me when reading it. 'Listen to Your Sister' was so immersive and interesting that I couldn't walk away from it once I realized that this that this book leaned more towards the 'horror' genre than I typically read.

For multiple reasons, I'll start my review with this: I wouldn't start reading 'Listen to Your Sister' at bedtime. For one, from the second you meet our cast of three main characters: Calla, Dre, and the baby of the family - Jamie, you won't want to put this novel down. From the first paragraph of the book, Calla was someone I could see myself being best friends with. Viel catches all the gritty details of being the oldest child, a girl, and all the responsibility and fears and frustrations that position contains. I too am the oldest child, only girl, of 3 brothers and I felt like Calla - all the Williams siblings honestly - were written so well that I really enjoyed all three of them, and their separate viewpoints, during the novel.

Another reason not to start this read at bedtime - it has some seriously spooky stuff in it. From the first chapter in the novel, we are introduced to Calla's Nightmare - a merry go round of changing circumstances that threaten the lives of her boys. Dre and Jamie don't give much credit to Calla's nightmare and indeed don't seem to give much credit to Calla and her familial sacrifices at all. When a night of bad choices causes everything to go sideways for the Williams boys, Calla scoops them up and takes them out a town to a cabin in the woods that by all descriptions sounds like something that would make me choose to sleep in my car before I would ever willingly spend a night under its decaying roof. Just two words y'all: murder doll.

When tensions snap in the cabin (because, murder doll, among other things), Calla accidentally sends her boys into the Nightmare, where they meet different Callas formed during pivotal moments in Calla's life. Little Mama, Prom Calla, College Calla, and Grandma Calla are not all looking out for the boys best interests anymore. Calla has let them off the leash, and they all have different ideas on how to finally end the Nightmare for good.

Full of some of the most imaginative and relatable descriptions of people, places, and things that I have read in a long time, 'Listen to Your Sister' was everything I could have wanted in a horror novel and more. I loved finding out the significance behind each iteration of Calla and found myself both rooting for the Williams siblings to figure out a way to end the Nightmare, but also not wanting it to end for fear of what would be left when it was over. This book has left me thinking about its twists and turns after I've finished it - all the significance of the choices that the characters made up to it's ending. With this debut novel, I've added Neena Viel to all of my author notification lists for news of when she debuts new things, because this is an author I definitely don't want to miss new releases from.

I had a hard time getting into this book to be honest. Wasn’t my favorite. The writing wasn’t bad just couldn’t get passed the continuous reminder of the three breast.

LISTEN TO YOUR SISTER by Neena Viel is a funny, scary, and excellent debut novel. I think the comparisons to Jordan Peele and Tananarive Due are apt, but LISTEN TO YOUR SISTER is also its own beast that frequently makes you go "Huh?" in the best way. I really liked the dynamics between the siblings because they were so funny and their discussions, arguments, and what have you, felt genuine. Every single Spongebob reference made me chuckle. I also LOVED where the horror came from in this book, which I sadly can't say without giving away a major spoiler. Needless to say, it's unique and I think a lot of people, especially caretakers, will relate to this part of the story.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

- DNF 12%, unfortunately this book just was not for me. A bit too descriptive for no reason (first chapter about main characters bra?), wasn’t a huge fan of him playing the racism game, & a lot of foul language! Another thing I found weird was the the way she described her brothers and how hot they were.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to ARC read another book!

I gave it seven chapters before I had to give up on this one. It just wasn't for me, it moved to slow and there were too many points of view that I just couldn't keep up with. I may come back to it at a later time, but right now it just wasn't one that immediately caught my attention and sucked me in.

ARC Review:

What did I just read? How can a book have humor and be heartfelt at the same time as being a horror?! The author described in detail how things looked and felt so well that it made me gag. Read this book if you want a mindf*ck!!! I took notes while reading to try to solve the puzzle before the end of the book and I still couldn’t have predicted what happened. (I also never take notes!) The climax and falling action part of the book seemed uncharacteristically long, but for good reason. This is a great spooky read if you can deal with gore and believe in the impossible. The beginning of the book is really not similar to the rest of the book, so be prepared!! The only thing I wish the author did differently was change the ending. However, I think most people would like the ending she wrote.

Details: FAMILY, FAMILY, FAMILY, trauma, abuse, alcohol, drugs, shoes, trash, dog poop, hair, poverty, racism, police brutality, rap, Nightmare, sacrifice, guardianship

Questions: What would you be willing to do- to give up- to save your siblings? Would you kill for them? Die for them?

Make this into a movie, now, please and thank you!!!!!

3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

Calla Williams is twenty-five, Black and struggling; she became guardian to her sixteen year old brother Jamie after her parents died/ran off. Jamie is a generally good kid who fights for what he believes in but also runs a bit wild and, therefore, seems to constantly be in some sort of trouble. Their brother, Dre, promised he would help Calla with Jamie but he’s usually nowhere to be found unless it suits him.

Oh, and Calla has a horrible, recurring dream of one of her brothers dying.

Then Jamie gets into a terrible mess at a protest and the Williams siblings have to go on the run. They hide at a remote cabin where they face a new threat…something more horrifying than they could have imagined. Was there a portent in Calla’s dreams?

This may not sound like horror but it certainly is. You only have to read the great first chapter, a scene with the siblings at the silver-tongued Jamie’s school to know that Viel is quite the talent; it’s interesting, engaging and witty. You learn who her characters are and want to know more. The book had my favorite guest line in awhile: “Calla was wearing the wrong bra.” Lord, don’t so many tales of woe begin this way? And also, “Calla was envious of how his bulk communicated clout where hers communicated an affinity for chicken tenders.”

However, the early promise of the book faded somewhat when the family left the city. The plot was confusing. I’m not entirely sure what happened and I definitely don’t know why it occurred, Although, still, “He could not allow himself to be arrested by white dudes in North Face.”

Anyway, as much as I loved the turns of phrase I could not love the book. I hope Viel’s next plot rises to the level of her writing.

This is a really good story of sibling dynamics. There are a lot of content warnings for this book, so I recommend everyone read those first. It deals with childhood trauma and much more. I honestly don't really understand the plot of this book; however, I did really enjoy it. Calla, Dre, and Jamie all love each other despite all of what they've been through. This story, as much as it talks of pain and resentment, is a story or love and hope as well.

Absolutely amazing storytelling! In-depth characters, slow start but it picked up around 30%. Almost gave up on it but glad I didn’t

I am not sure what I just read...
I have to admit I had to push through this one. I almost DNF'd it just because I never knew what was going on or why. I have so many questions!

Were the brothers actually alive? Did Calla have multiple personalities? Did she have entities that would show up when her brothers were in trouble? Was it all true or was it all in her head? Did the childhood trauma mess up all 3 siblings?! I don't know!!!

I can somewhat see the concept of this book, but I have to say, for me, it was very hard to follow. I am very happy I pushed through it though.

This is a 3 ⭐⭐⭐ star for me only because I felt lost all throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fast-paced horror grappling with a lot of themes and messy familial dynamics. I found the story compelling and that it found interesting angles to approach a lot of important, relevant topics. While I appreciated the fast paced nature of the book, the writing of the more action heavy sequences were a little muddled and sometimes difficult to follow. With different layers of reality and dreamscape taking place I felt those distinctions could have been clearer at times. Still I enjoyed the novel and found it to be a strong horror entry.

This is a weird, interesting, compelling fever dream of a book that is a beautiful tribute to the power of sibling relationships. And did I mention this was a total fever dream of a book? The imagery was incredibly disturbing and made you feel like you were right there in this nightmare with the characters.