Beasts is an intense and gripping YA horror novel following Abdi and his younger sister Alva on their desperate escape from the beasts that have invaded the world, and their hopeful journey to reach their father.
This book shows how different individuals handle grief and loss in the wake of a devastating national event. I was rooting for Abdi and Alva to arrive safely at their destination the entire time.

Following a young girl confronting ancient forces in a foreboding landscape, Bjerkeland’s prose is lyrical yet accessible, creating a detailed, immersive world. I just wish it were longer, and didn't end quite so abruptly.

I enjoyed this children's/YA dystopian horror horror novel. The conflict and the monsters are, perhaps, not the most original, however I think tweens and teens will find the story suspenseful. The characters are engaging, and the trauma they endure throughout the story is heartbreaking. The horror is not extreme or graphic in any way, and I think this is appropriate for readers ages 10 and up.

I had requested the ARC for this book, not realizing it was a YA story. I usually read mostly adult horror. The premise of this novella sounded good, but didn’t live up to it’s promise for me. It seemed to rely too much on worn out tropes and previous apocalyptic survival stories and left me wanting more. I wanted more character development and a more intricate plot. The ending felt a bit rushed. While it had echoes of A Quiet Place and The Road, it didn’t deliver. It may be the case that I just wasn’t the appropriate audience for this one.

This is short, but far from sweet. Two children are on the run from vicious beasts after the death of their mother, and everything that can go wrong, does. You can feel the desperation of the protagonist as he races across the country, sister in tow, trying to keep her safe while he keeps his sadness and overwhelming fear in check. I wish this had been longer!

I went into this not realizing it would be more on the YA of things. So that felt a little meh for me. But it also just felt like a standard apocalyptic story with monsters. I wanted a bit more from everything. And the ending? It made me SO angry because of how abrupt it was.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! This book sucked me in and didn't let go. Post-apolyptic meets Naussica meets the Hunger Games. AAAGH. I loved it and am going to follow this author forever!

Acknowledgements and grateful thanks to NetGalley and Levine Querido for the opportunity to read and review this e-ARC: 'Beasts by Ingvild Bjerkeland'. All opinions are my own and are not a reflection of the publishers and/or author, of which I have no association with.

Three out of five stars (3/5 stars).

<B><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217187787-beasts">Beasts</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14847929.Ingvild_Bjerkeland">Ingvild Bjerkeland</a> is a short translated horror story about the end of days — the end coming on swift hooves with silky black fur. </b>
<I>THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.</I>

<B>TRIGGER WARNINGS:</b> <I>Animal harm and death, death, violence, suicide and monsters.</I>

<B>Pre-Read:

<I>//Ive always enjoyed monster books so I'm looking forward to this ARC.//</I>

Review:</b>

<I>"From Norway comes an international horror hit that is shudderingly terrifying and deliciously original.

The world has been overrun by hitherto unknown beasts. Society has the power is gone, cars are abandoned across the highways, and anyone left is hiding from the terrifying creatures -- and one another. "</I> — the GoodReads website for Beasts by Ingvild Bjerkeland.

— I absolutely love monster books with original monsters. I think it's why I enjoy Doctor Who so much, is the creative force behind it.
This small novel is actually pretty fantastic for younger readers. It keeps the scary edge without a lot of gore, violenc and/or bad language. I do love a good story that doesn't <I>need</I> those things to keep people on the edge of their seat. Not all readers prefer that though, I do know that over the years I've become more of a prude so it's probably more of a me thing than a people thing.

I was supposed to be reading my non-fiction books today, but this caught me by the hair and dragged me right into the middle of the action. Just how I like it.

We join the two children: Thirteen-year-old Abdi and his five-year-old sister Alva as they are on the run from the beasts that have swarmed Earth. There's nowhere safe to hide, at least, not for long. Stay a while and listen to their story be told as they try and find safety in a world lost to evil.

'Beasts/Udyr' is Ingvild Bjerkeland's first translated book to be released in English for young adults and was the winner of ARK's Children's Book prize in 2023.

<B>ABOUT THE AUTHOR:</B> Ingvild Bjerkeland is a contemporary author from Norway. She was born in Haugesund in 1981. While there is not a lot about her background or her in general, Ingvild is known for her complex themes and characters. She has a PhD in film and television studies (which I assume is similar to media studies) and has attended the (creative) writing programme in Bø.

The plot kind of reminded me of 'A Quiet Place', the movie, in the way that you kind of have to stay quiet to stay alive, if any beasts came to this planet, my wife would die straight away be cause she's super noisy. Lol. I could only imagine the complexity of trying to stay alive while trying to keep quiet, keep fed and watered, it would be hard to stay quiet.

Imagination is the key here, and this book is full of creativity and complex themes that will have you buried in the novel in no time. I do have to point out that I was a little disappointed with the ending, as many have been, as it just stops out of nowhere, with no satisfying end. You're left wondering and thinking, which is not an entirely bad thing, but it does leave much to be had.

All in all, the three stars were well earned and I would probably read this again, no problem.

Beasts by Ingvild Bjerkeland is a YA horror novella, translated from the Swedish, that follows two siblings on the run for their life in a world that has been overrun by some violent beasts. Unclear how these beasts got there or why, what they look like or want - this is a very standard apocalypse story that ends without a real ending or explanation or... anything really.
It's a quick easy read, unfortunately not remarkable enough for me, but probably perfect for young readers with an interest in horror.

* I'd like to thank Ingvild Bjerkeland, Levine Querido and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this short novel.

“Beasts” have ravaged the neighborhood where our 13 year old main character lives. He, along with his five year old sister, escape to the countryside to hopefully find a safe refuge while making their way to their dad.

There are some intense scenes in the book. Very little gore, so fine for the YA audience it’s aimed for. I thought the beasts were really interesting, and I would have liked more of a backstory on them.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A solid story about a pair of young siblings on a mission to find their dad. Their resilience is commendable and I actually hoped they'd make it through it all after the ending.

The ending left a lot to be desired, but I really enjoyed the premise. Monster books always interest me! I love a translated novel so this definitely ticked that box.

2.5 rounded up. It was a very fast and quick read with steady enough pacing to keep me engaged. It very much felt like A Quiet Place, so it was hard not to imagine that while reading this. I don't care for not having some sort of ending. The way it stopped, I almost thought I didn't read the entire thing or missed something.

Thank you Ingvild Bjerkland, Levine Querido and NetGalley for this ARC.

Beasts is a novella about Abdi and Alva, a brother and sister duo trying to survive the end of the world.

I am such a sucker for “end of the world” stories; aliens, monsters, zombies, pandemics and asteroids, I love them all. I actually loved how little we, the readers, knew about what was happening, I loved how we could see that, whatever those Beasts were, they were spreading throughout Europe.

Although I was very annoyed by Alva, the little sister, her brother, Abdi, was a very good older brother and I wish nothing but the best for him (and Alva too, I guess).

I liked were the story ended because, if I’m being honest, I don’t think anything good will come out of that situation in which Abdi and Alva found themselves in.

Quite the galling novella, as thirteen-year old Abdi is guiding himself and his five year old sister Alva to a port from where they can get a boat to find their dad. There is no mother – or not any more, as the horrid, black, clawed, hooved, yet still thinly-described beasts have put paid to her as they have to society as a whole. Yes, this is one of those post-apocalyptic survival reads, where the power long went out, the food long ago became scarce, and it is definitely every man for himself. And that's fine – it makes for an enjoyable read, unless done dreadfully, and this is a far way from that. Until, that is – the ending. And I can't forgive that. I can bypass the way the beasts (so important to the world they never even get a capital letter) have a varying list of talents and abilities, so they are clever at one point and then just brute force the next, and that there is absolutely no talk of how they got here – but I can't forgive the ending, which makes a lot of this feel a waste of time. Like I said, galling.

A great dystopian novella that is equal parts intriguing and suspenseful. With a little bit of the movie 'Quiet' and a little bit of 'The Road', we follow brother and sister Aldi and Alva as they attempt to make their way to the coastline and a boat to safety from the beasts who are ravaging the country. You never quite know who to trust, or where to hide, or whether to just give up. A great afternoon read.

This short horror novel translated from Norwegian takes place in a society that has recently collapsed due to the arrival of creatures referred to simply as “beasts.” They have long, sharp teeth; long legs that end in hooves; long arms with slender hands; and thick claws that spiral inward but can unfurl into “long, razor-sharp swords.” They are covered in black fur. Perhaps most terrifying, in my opinion, is that they seem to possess humanlike cunning; in one scene, a beast peers through a glass door into a house, knocks on the door, conceals itself in the shadows, and then kills the person who opens the door before entering the house.

The story follows a 13-year-old boy, Abdi, and his 5-year-old sister, Alva. They are trying to survive on their own. They saw their mother killed by a beast in their yard, and their father is away on an island; they’re hoping to make their way there to join him. As they take temporary shelter in an abandoned house, Abdi recalls some of the events that took place before his mom was killed: a trip to the chaotic local market with neighbors, some of whom insisted on bringing guns; marking the presence of the beasts on maps and strategizing about where to go.

Later they take shelter with an older woman, Lucy, whose family was killed. She takes them to her remote cabin, where they stay for a while. Though she offers them a place to stay permanently, Abdi and Alva want to reach their father.

I was totally gripped by this story. It has great pacing, and the concept of the beast is fascinating. Character development is well done for such a short book. I did want to know more—Where did the beasts come from?--but I also recognize that this is an unknown for Abdi and Alva, so it makes sense that it wasn’t explained. The not-knowing adds to the scariness. There were some genuinely frightening, tense scenes, which I loved.

Wow, the story was intense for such a short novella. Beasts follows 13-year-old and 5-year-old siblings and their journey to escape the beasts and reunite with their father. Throughout their journey, they meet other humans, who may or may not have the best intentions. The story was compelling, and it kept me engaged. I really felt for the characters and the hardships they had to experience at such a young age. I have to dock some points due to the abrupt ending. I wanted to read more!

Beasts is everything I want a post-apocalyptic tale to be. It’s fast paced, it has characters you want to root for, an air of mystery and never ending uncertainty. I absolutely tore through this YA translated novella.

I felt an immediate connection with siblings Abdi and Alva who we follow as the two try to navigate this new world after their mother is killed by the mysterious “beasts”. Similar to other stories that echo this theme, we get some glimpses of these beasts but not nearly enough to truly understand and make sense of what we are seeing.

Even though this story was short I appreciate that the author still takes the time to effectively build suspense. We don’t know who Abdi and Alva can trust and we aren’t sure they have much hope of surviving when you’re reminded throughout that the siblings are 13 and 5 years old.

If you’re in the mood for something reminiscent of A Quiet Place and The Last of Us then you need to pick this one up!

Thank you to netgalley for making this eARC available in exchange for an honest review.

Beasts is out today!

4⭐️

**REVIEW**

BEASTS
By: Ingvild Bjerkeland
Release: 4/1/25
Page count: 124
KU: No Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Billed as A QUIET PLACE meets THE ROAD. Adbi - thirteen, and his sister, Alva - five, must try to make it to their father but can they escape the monsters - both human and not?

First line: “The crows gathered around the body like a black eiderdown.”

Favorite line: “I missed grownups.”

Thoughts: This is written for upper middle grade/YA but I gotta tell ya, it’s remarkable. I can’t count how many times I held my breath and cussed the author because of what was happening in the story. I haven’t turned pages that fast in a long time. Part creature feature, part social commentary - the standouts are the characters and how you fall in love with them.

Rating: 4.5/5