When Devils Sing is an intriguing Southern Gothic young adult novel that focuses on the fictional rural town of Carrion, Georgia, and the devils that haunt it. I understand why Kaur chose to tell the story from several perspectives, but I found Neera to be the most compelling of the four characters. Isaiah was a close second, which makes sense considering these two were the closest. While I appreciated Kaur’s choice to have Neera play classic rock and folk songs while performing, I think it would be more in line with her character to have her write and play at least one original song. In other words, Kaur reimagines folk legends so effectively that I was expecting to see this carry over into other aspects of the novel, so it was surprising when Neera didn’t write or play any of her own music. I’m excited to see what Kaur does next, as this was a promising debut novel.

The ATMOSPHERE of this one -- my God. The oppressive humidity of the South combined with the sense of encroaching danger was palpable in Kaur's prose. That sense of atmosphere and setting was definitely the strength of "When Devils Sing," and kept me turning pages. The characters and folklore here, too, were well done, but the constant use of some phrases - like, for instance, characters "materializing" something when there are any number of other words that could have been used instead to keep from becoming repetitive (and, honestly, I'm not sure that "materializing" was even the right word in many cases) - got a little irritating. I also couldn't help but feel like the climax was a little unsatisfying, and too quickly wrapped up once we hit it. But overall, it was a decent read for a debut, and I'll probably be recommending it to folks as spooky season approaches.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ arc review ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧


This book was a thrill and thought provoking. Well though out storytelling and world building, especially with the gothic elements. The paranormal aspects along with real evil were terrifying and entertaining. The pacing was great, the characters were complex and felt very much real. They gave diversity and it addressed how racism, classism, sexism, and wealth, and the power that comes with it, intersect. A book I highly recommend.


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to Xan Kaur and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.

Enjoyed the character building in this book! The interwoven classes mixed with nature and those cycles. I thought it was a clever and thought provoking book!

When Devils Sing was a highly anticipated book for me as I followed the author’s journey on social media. WDS did NOT disappoint and I will be recommending to everyone I know. My introduction to southern gothics but surely not my last taste!

I want to start by saying that I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, so a big thank you to them and Henry Holt and Company.

This is probably one of the best YA novels I've come across in a long time and, quite frankly, does not read like YA in the slightest. When we are introduced to all four of our main protagonists - Isaiah, Reid, Sam, and Neera - all of them feel fleshed out with their unique backstories and voices that resonate as deeply original and their own.

Sam and Neera shared in the same sense of overwhelming dread, loss, and ache to belong throughout the entire story. Their stories were shattering and heartbreaking; something relatable to everyone, no matter where you are in life. I loved all the small details we learned about the four of them throughout the story, with Isaiah's grandparents being such a small piece but a memorable and enjoyable one for me.

Even the use of the devil(s) in this felt incredibly original and a take on them that I thoroughly enjoyed. I think it's part of the reason why I couldn't officially give the novel an entire five stars. While I know this story is about the four individuals we meet along the way, I would've loved a few extra pages with some more added history and information on the devils. They were incredibly unique, so that you can feel the author put a lot of thought behind their appearance and purpose. Also, the ending, while it in no way felt rushed, necessarily, I think could've used just one more POV to flesh it out and come to an ending that didn't feel entirely abrupt.

Outside of those minor details, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The atmosphere the author created, dialogue, and use of modern podcasting were well-crafted. I've read other novels that have done this, and they fell short of what they wished to accomplish. When Devils Sing did it wonderfully, using it to add to the story and never take away from it. The characters were complete individuals, and their presence only stood to enhance the story with each further chapter. I highly recommend giving this book a try if you enjoy supernatural, thriller, and mystery vibes because When Devils Sing delivers in spades.

The hook: "A true blood-soaked Southern Gothic for the modern age.” —Andrew Joseph White, New York Times–bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us and The Spirit Bears its Teeth

I’d also add true detective to that! Prob would have enjoyed more if it wasn’t YA though.

Truly one of the most immersive books I’ve read in a very long time. This one will stick with me. An amazing representation of the south.

When a book gives you a pot in your stomach till the very end, you know it was an engrossing read. This book really brought the rural South to life while exploring the dark past and the classist divide. I'm impressed that this was a debut novel and how well crafted it was. Definitely will recommend this book to others. I do wish that we got to see more though at the end, like how Sam got to live with her brother and Isaiah's relationship with his dad.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the gifted ebook to read and review.

When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur is a contemporary southern gothic that follows four teens in Georgia. Kaur uses gothic elements to bring forth social commentary on classism, racism, and gentrification. The setting of Carrion and Lake Clearwater is haunting and immersive. She brings to life the classic song The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band. Our main characters are diverse and come together from different backgrounds. They are flawed and make mistakes, if you count making a deal with the devil a mistake, but you are rooting for them the whole time. When Devils Sing is great for fans of Mexican Gothic.

<i>*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*</i>

4.5

This was such an impressive debut! Set in rural Georgia, When Devils Sing is a layered and slow, Southern Gothic novel that follows 4 teens as they are drawn into in an investigation over a missing boy that takes them places they did not expect.

This is a slow moving story and at times it feels like it, but mostly it doesn’t because of the way that it flips through character perspective. For the majority of the book the 4 teens know of each other because it’s a small town, but their stories don’t really crossing over. Because of that, I feel like the story took some time to get into because this chapters felt short and we jump from character to character, so trying to keep the details of each of them straight was challenging. But as the plot starts ramping up and especially once they united in their request to find the missing boy, it became hard to put the book down.

I thought the ways that racism and classism and the reality of the American Dream were explored in this was really interesting. And I think this leaned into horror a lot more than I expected out of a YA novel. Overall, I thought it was very good, and I highly recommend!

This book was such a surprise in the best way. When Devils Sing is weird and eerie and layered in all the ways I love. The writing had this Southern Gothic small town horror vibe that made everything feel tense and sticky and heavy. Like I could literally feel the heat and the secrets in the air.

Neera was such a strong main character. I liked how smart and grounded she was but also how much she carried. Grief, ambition, identity, all of it. And the friend group dynamic really worked for me. Each of them brought something to the story. Sam was my personal fave. I loved how ride or die she was. Reid had that tortured golden boy energy and Isaiah’s moral struggle added depth.

What really stuck with me is how the horror wasn’t just monsters or curses. It was money and power and history. The way this town just accepted these dark rituals in exchange for wealth was unsettling but also very believable. It’s about generational deals and how the people in charge will do anything to keep their control. Creepy but also very real.

It did slow down a little in the middle but by the end I was fully hooked again. That final act gave me chills and I loved that it didn’t wrap everything up too clean. It felt earned.

If you like creepy small towns, secret pacts, and characters trying to break cycles they didn’t ask to be part of, this is for you. Definitely checking out whatever Xan Kaur writes next.

DNF

I tried, the writing is beautiful, but the pacing was just so so off for me. I also couldn't get past the animal cruelty. I can usually handle comments about it happening if it's brief, but this was something else.

I hope it finds its readers.

Southern Georgia is beautiful, hot and filled with folklore. When Devils Sing features some of that folklore about making deals at crossroads and superstitions around 13 year periodical cicada cycles. The towns of Carrion and Lake Clearwater are polar opposites and yet very much tied together. Carrion is a town with a high poverty rate and Clearwater is where some of the wealthiest people in the state of Georgia live. Clearwater is essentially an entire gated community where you need a visitor’s pass to get in if you don’t live there. And then Carrion is where people have to live in fear of the return of the cicadas returning every thirteen years because that’s when people go missing from their community. Four teens that are connected indirectly try to figure out what happened to a 5th teen and uncover some dark secrets rooted in the history of their little Georgian towns.

Huge, huge trigger warning for animal cruelty. It’s not just one scene, it's 2 or 3. Those were the hardest parts of the story in my opinion.

I liked the pace, the meeting each of the 4 characters, finding out about their lives and how the dynamics of the town are. Things picked up towards the end but it wasn’t proportionate to the rate of the rest of the book.
The writing wasn’t overly flowery and I could tell the characters spoke with that southern drawl. I’d be interested to hear the audio version, it would make an amazing multi cast production!
Each of the characters had a distinct voice and got enough page time to feel like real people.
The ending is where most of my gripes land. Things felt rushed and not fleshed out. Especially when I feel like the book leading up to it has a very particular pace and then all of the conclusion and wrap up was rushed.

4.5 rounded up to 5

Spoilers following:
There was a point when all of a sudden they figured out where people were being held, where the ritual would be and then something as easy as starting a fire killed the cicada god who was controlling his two brothers. Also we saw Jack after the Cicada god was destroyed but the Crow brother wasn’t brought up. I think he should have made a final appearance as well. Especially since Neera was the main character of the 4 main characters.

DNF at 66%

I really liked the Southern summer vibes of this and the podcast mystery element, but I didn't connect to most of the POV characters (there were 4) and even at 66% it felt like the main focus was on the teens everyday lives rather than the supernatural mystery element, I didn't intend to DNF but just found myself not picking it up for a few weeks and finally admitted defeat.

I really enjoyed this YA southern gothic horror/paranormal book. This books tackles themes of privilege, superstitions, and the chaotic history of old towns. I loved all of the characters in this book and thought they all had something to give toward the plot. I will say that the book felt long - there is a lot of history and buildup and the book throws all of the action and twists in the last 80%. I would have loved for it to be spread out a bit more to really keep me engaged. Overall, if you like darker horror/thriller books I'd recommend this! Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this eARC!

Absolutely stunning! The last 100 pages were amazing and the build up was incredible. I was only left with a few questions but sometimes those are better left unanswered. Overall this was fantastic and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to read this. Highly recommend for younger readers at least 18 and up.

I don't read a lot of southern gothic, but found this story a little horrifying but enjoyable. The plot was not too predictable the the characters were so fully constructed. A great example of an ensemble cast, mystery type story. It felt fresh!

1⭐️

DNF: 29%

Wow. What is there to say about When Devils Sing?!?! This book had all the making of a 5⭐️ read:

(1) Diverse Characters.
(2) An Atmospheric Gothic/Horror Background.
(3) Delicious Small Town Drama.
(4) Mysterious Folklore Creatures.
(5) A Podcast Format.
(6) A Murder Mystery/Missing Children.

Where this book messes up is that Part 1 is 27 chapters and just TOO slow. I started this book on a Tuesday and here I am on a Thursday with only 11 chapters read and no interest to continue reading. And yes. I am very disappointed. Anyone who reads the synopsis to this book will get their hopes up for an amazing read. Where the disappointed lies is during the execution. By chapter 12, the character, who has gone missing, is mentioned 7 times with no plans to find him yet. All you get is back stories of the Four Main Characters (Samantha Calhoun; Neera Singh; Reid Langley; Isiah Johnson). We go around and around and around about their struggles as teens; racism; how eager they are to leave Carrion; and how they plan to participate in the town’s Ciacada Worshiping Festival. Nothing exciting, in my opinion. It is here that I must DNF this ARC and move on to something more attention grabbing.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company (BYR) for granting my request for an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!