This was a heartfelt, exciting, wonderfully complicated characters in gnarly, life/world-altering situations, this novel has everything I love in Mira Grant’s writing. The writing is really delightful, with convincing dialogue and a strong interiority that is emotional and descriptive without ever feeling purple. The prologue is a storytelling narrator, talking to the audience, and that really draws you in, makes you complicit in the story. This was a complex story with the internal intricacies, it was also an incredibly eerie read about an actual alien invasion.

Thank you to publisher and to Netgalley.

I'm always excited for new books from Mira Grant (Into the Drowning Deep has long been a favorite of mine), so as soon as I saw Overgrowth announced I knew I was going to have to check it out. This premise sounded pretty wild, and if anyone can tackle weird, it's Mira Grant.

Anastasia is an alien. She has known this since she was a kid, and she has made sure to tell anyone and everyone this fact, along with the additional information that one day her fellow aliens were going to invade Earth. Naturally, no one believed her. But one day, an alien signal is picked up by humans on Earth and suddenly it seems possible that maybe, just maybe, Anastasia has not been lying and/or delusional her entire life...

What a premise, right? I was certainly intrigued to see what Grant would do with it, and while I appreciated the story she created, I'll be honest that I was left feeling this story was a bit hit or miss for me.

I really liked getting to know Anastasia, or Stasia, and I enjoyed learning about how she has lived her entire life in this world as someone who believes/knows that she is actually an alien and isn't actually the same human as everyone else. It's also a fascinating dynamic to have her aware that there is an impending invasion set for Earth, but also to not know when or how or exactly what. She's clever and very perceptive, but also intensely introverted and prefers not to be overly social, and I appreciated hearing her thoughts and takes on the world and people around her. Stasia is also currently in a relationship with Graham when the story begins, and this was a couple I found quite lovely to follow. Their dynamic felt real and full of empathy, respect, and understanding. I particularly appreciated some of the background we got about some of their past relationship struggles and how they worked through them to be the strong couple they are today. I know this book isn't about their relationship and it's not a romance, but it is about the human race and I thought they provided a really good example of what human connection is and how empathy and passion can build even when it's not expected.

What I found didn't work for me with the characters was the fact that they felt much younger than they were. If I recall correctly, I think they are generally supposed to be in their thirties (?), and throughout this book I would've easily believed they were early twenties at most. And this also leads me to the fact that this book really felt like it could've been a YA story. I never say that as an insult or to disparage YA, but there is definitely a vibe these days in YA and a lot of tropes/types of characters that show up, and I kept having to remind myself that this was not, in fact, a YA story. It felt like a lot of the adult books that YA authors have now been writing, or a lot of the adult stories that show up in popular book box subscriptions, etc., where they are basically YA but just... older. The main positive I will say is that Grant is generally very good at writing characters, and that does appear to hold true here. No matter what age or perceived age people are in this story, they are typically fairly well-developed and have some interesting insights to bring to the story based on their own perspectives and experiences, which I always appreciate. Grant just knows how to build an atmosphere and develop some really compelling, complex characters.

I also think Grant generally handled this entire premise well, but the execution didn't always work for me. The pacing felt quite glacial at times, and it just didn't feel like there was always that many worthwhile things happening, but rather some filler here and there. This book's page count is in the high 400s, and I really don't think it needed to be. I would think, "surely this must be close to the end," and then realize I still had 20-30% of the story left. If I think back on the book right now, I couldn't even tell you what fills all of those pages. There is a lot of introspection by our characters to be sure, which isn't a bad thing, but also a lot of minor plot points or just very slow movement that didn't feel like it needed to be there.

What I did love about Grant's writing in this book was her tackling of some many themes and moral questions that popped up. For instance, what's the morality around aliens vs. humans? Is one inherently more full of worth than the other? Is that worth affected by whether one is able to feel more emotions than the other? What about invasions--especially if the ones being invaded aren't taking care of their planet? And what exactly is humanity--what makes up being a human? And how does that differ from other living beings? All of these and more are explored, and it's topics like these that are really why I read and love speculative fiction so much. We don't get to experience things like what happened in this book in our everyday lives (which is probably a good thing, don't get me wrong), so I always relish the chance to explore new ideas and questions whenever I can through creative stories.

Overall, I truly enjoy exploring the ideas in Mira Grant's brain and am so grateful she writes these stories to share them all with us. Overgrowth is a solid alien invasion sci-fi that I think will be a big hit for many readers.

⭐️2.5⭐️

This story follows Anastasia ‘Stasia’ Miller, who, since childhood, has claimed to be an alien disguised as a human, and warns every person she meets of an impending invasion. As the invasion looms, Stasia and her group of human friends attempt to make sense of their situation, prepare for the arrival of the alien plant species, and come to terms with what it will mean for Earth.

I was so excited to dive into this story, as this was my first Mira Grant book and I have heard so much praise for her writing. I easily fell in love with her writing style and was instantly sucked into this story. This book highlights a lot of heavy themes and isn’t afraid to point a glaring finger at humanity’s ugliness. This is evident in Grant’s environmental themes, and how people handle the complexities of identity of those who don’t fit into social structures. And while this book does have some positive themes of found family, hope, and loyalty, I couldn’t shake the anger toward humanity that clung to the pages.

What didn’t work for me was the pacing toward the end of the book. I felt the concept of this book was stronger than the execution. I was left wanting more and feeling frustrated with the reason behind the invasion. It was explained constantly, and yet, I still struggle to understand the ‘why’ behind it. While the deterrence was meant to be a twist, I found it to be ridiculous. I also found the motives of the characters to be unbelievable. Multiple characters, who openly despised the main character, constantly helped her throughout the entire story, but annoyingly complained about it the whole time. I believe this was meant to be comedic banter, but it just got tedious and added nothing to the story.

Overall, this book was a miss for me. The writing was strong in the start, but I was hoping for more of a War of the Worlds vibe. This book felt too juvenile for my liking. I am still looking forward to reading Grant’s Into the Drowning Deep and hope it holds up to the praise!

A special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the eARC approval of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**3.5-stars**

When she was just 3-years old, Anastasia Miller, wandered into the woods to locate a beautifully-smelling flowering plant. It was then that she disappeared. A massive missing person search ensued, only to have Anastasia come back home, visibly unharmed days later. It was at that point that her story truly began.

She'd been abducted by aliens. Her purpose now was to prepare, or warn, the humans about the coming invasion. She told everybody she could, her whole life, even into adulthood. People came to assume it was a quirky character trait stemming from the trauma she must have suffered during the period of time she went missing, but no one seems to really believe she's an alien.

When an alien signal broadcast around the world starts to get picked up, it's validity undeniable, it seems maybe people should have taken Anastasia's warnings seriously. The invasion is coming. Stasia's bio-family is finally on their way and their intent could put all of humanity at risk. They were warned. It's too bad they didn't listen.

This novel had such a great start. The first 25%, I was so intrigued. The audiobook narration was fabulous, and perfect for Anastasia's perspective.
The pace was very solid in the first half. I enjoyed the side characters a lot. Stasia's boyfriend, Graham, and her roommates, they all played huge roles in this story, and I liked the found family feel of their group.

The tone reminded me quite a bit of the Alchemical Journeys series by Seanan McGuire. In fact, I had to remind myself a couple of times that this wasn't just another installment to that series; even the cuckoos were mentioned.

Unfortunately, this started to lose me in the second-half. The intrigue completely flew out of the stratosphere for me when the aliens flew in. There was just something about the way that was done and presented, the direction it ultimately went, that didn't work for me. I was hoping for a vastly different outcome regarding the conclusion, however, there's no denying the quality of Grant's writing and character development.

She's a master of intentional writing. There are no wasted words and everything has meaning and depth. It's not just entertainment. There's a lot more going on within her stories, which I do appreciate so much. So, while this one was a bit of a mixed bag for me, I'm still a huge fan of Mira Grant and will continue to pick up anything she writes in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and a review. If you're looking for a Alien Invasion story, this is def worth checking out. I know many Readers are going to love this!

On its own, this is not the easiest text, charming as Grant's writing is--as always. Still, this is a urgent and heartfelt romp. Is it horror? Not exactly. For listeners of the audiobook, it will lean more toward a very character-based sci-fi; you can't help but feel for the narrator--she does an excellent job.

While the alien plotline is fun and suspenseful, Grant also seamlessly integrates exploration and expression of gender, as we know it and perhaps as an entire other world would. I think this will be a meaningful and emotional read for many folks. It isn't perfect, but it is timely and so delightful.

I love the way Mira Grant / Seanan McGuire can craft a story. I don't want to say I was rooting for the Aliens, but I was definitely rooting for one Alien, our MC, Stasia, and her friends.
I loved the little nods to Little Shop of Horrors, and despite being in the middle of an invasion and a kidnapping by a government entity, Stasia was still worried about her cat, Seymour. Her priorities were in the right spot. Stasia herself is an introvert; she has found a few people who have become like family, but as for everyone else... well, as long as she's left alone, she's happy.

Overgrowth, while horrifying in the face of like, could this actually happen? Are aliens already here, waiting for something to call the mothership back? I would say it is more character-driven, and I really enjoyed the full aspect. It kept me invested in Stasia, her friends, and the fate of the world from beginning to end, and I can't wait for whatever Mira Grant is going to come out with next!

Ostensibly, there’s nothing really wrong with Overgrowth: I found it to be too long and I enjoyed the first half a great deal more than the second half, but it was an okay read. I guess therein remains the issue. I really don’t have much to say other than that and going into it I was hoping I’d have a whole bunch to say when I was done.


I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars or under will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

A cast of unlikable 30 somethings face an alien invasion, including one of their own that has been an alien all along. But don't worry she's been compulsively telling everyone since she was 'born' after eating a 3 year old girl in the woods that she then replaced. Such is the focus of Overgrowth. Anastasia Miller is one of many 'aliens' who were seeded across the Earth for 30+ years as they await the arrival of their fleet. It's normal everyday life of struggling to fit in when you have this compulsion and work in customer service until an astronomer releases a captured transmission that suggests the invasion is near.

First, the opening chapter is great and/or horrifying. A little child explores the woods on her own and of course it goes tragically wrong. But then someone with the same sized body and cloths returns home.

Then suddenly Anastasia is an adult living in a shared home and a cat of her own. We meet her roommates and their relationships are explained. In general it's not a terrible book, but so much of it is tied up in small group relationship dynamics. It's way less alien invasion and way more I want to be a human because I was raised one even if I don't fit in!

Anastasia is very whiny and could be read as being neuro-divergent, which in itself would be fine, if there was more to Stasia and her friends beyond these mostly one note characterizations. Lucas is the tech bro who provides housing and rides, Mandy is a second generation immigrant who's tough because she has to be. Graham is trans, which we're reminded of every page he's featured. Again, my complaint is not who these people are, but how they are presented, and that so much is repeated over and over. It also did not help that the aliens revealed their knowledge at a plot convenient rate instead of a more natural path of self discovery.

It takes forever for the invasion to actually start. It made the possible end of the world all the more appealing.

And the aliens had such promise! Plant based people who feed on blood and meat and have been spreading through the universe in search of other intelligent life!

I've read other Grant works, specifically the Feed series and remembered enjoying them, but I'm not sure how they'd do with a re-read. I've grown and might not connect with it. Still, younger readers might find something to enjoy here, especially ones just starting to read more science fiction or horror.

Not recommended unless you like high school drama stories set in an alien invasion.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Mira Grant books, she is one of my favorite horror authors. As this was her first book in several years, it was one of my most anticipated books of 2025, and even more so because it was about aliens/alien invasion, which is also one of the genres I find most disturbing and horrifying.

That being said, unfortunately this was probably the least terrifying of her books, and my least favorite. The premise was interesting. I absolutely loved the opening chapters, they were actually pretty scary. Also in true Mira Grant fashion, the characters were unique and were lovable. But at almost 500 pages of mostly dialogue, it felt redundant. More than half of the book led up to the invasion, and once the invasion happened, we didn't really experience the horror of humanity being destroyed, it was basically just talked about from space or in hiding. I didn't feel the tension or stress I usually experience reading Mira's books, and not until the last 10 minutes of the story did the action pick up. The ending was also kind of creepy and disturbing in a way (which I did like because that will still likely sit with me) but I'm not sure if it was supposed to be hopeful or not.

This book wasn't bad, it just was not at all what I was hoping for, and it just felt really long. I enjoyed the scientific research that went into creating these plant aliens (another thing I love about all of her books - her use of science to explain and create these worlds and creatures), but overall it just wasn't my favorite or something I'll find myself rereading in the future, like her Newsflesh series or Into the Drowning Deep.

For a horror book, I actually found it more sad than scary most of the time. I really felt Anastasia's internal struggle as she battled her instincts as a predatory, invading species against the way she felt for the people who were "hers". The ultimate nature versus nurture! Adding to the tension was the interesting concept of plants preying on mammals - or in anything else as we see in the collective memories. I think this book will stick with me for a long time.

Yes Please to all Mira Grant books!

This one is about an alien invasion that begins like none I have read about before less green humanoid men or scary killer beasts and more botanical in nature.

The story begins with a little girl going into the woods and is lost for three days. When she comes out everyone is so happy to see her however she will tell everyone. She isn’t the little girl. She is an alien and the invasion is coming.

I really enjoyed it. I love the writing. It just dragged a little at times. But absolutely recommend. Audio was great.

Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan audio for an alc

3.5 stars

The nitty-gritty: A weird, thought-provoking alien invasion story, Overgrowth won me over with its ideas but suffered from inconsistent pacing.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about Overgrowth, which I’ll attempt to explain below. Overall, this was one of the most unique alien invasion stories I’ve read in quite some time. Mira Grant, who is Seanan McGuire in disguise (in case you didn’t know) has quite the imagination, and I loved a lot of her ideas. However, I do think the execution suffered in some ways, and I’ll admit I have some issues with Grant/McGuire’s dialog across all the books of hers I’ve read, so those issues come into play with my overall thoughts of the book.

The story takes place in 2031 and revolves around a woman named Stasia Miller who, as a three year old child, went missing for three days in the woods near her house. When she finally reemerged, she told everyone she was an alien and her people were coming to invade Earth. Of course no one believed her, because she still looked like Stasia. What her parents don’t know, and what the reader does, is that while in the woods, the real Stasia was devoured by an alien plant and what came out of the woods was indeed an alien.

Stasia is compelled to tell everyone she meets “I am the vanguard of an invading species of intelligent alien plants,” but you can guess how well that goes over. Until one day, an astronomer intercepts an extraterrestrial message from space: the aliens are on the way, and the invasion is imminent.

What follows is a tense countdown to the invasion as Stasia, her roommates and her boyfriend Graham attempt to make sense of what’s coming.

There’s a lot of good in this book, so I’ll start with the positives. The story starts out with a bang, as the prologue describes how everything starts: an alien seed pod flies through space and lands in a forest in Washington state, where it takes root and grows into an unusual flower. This idea of alien life sprouting from plants is so cool, and as you get further into the story, even more interesting details about this invasion are introduced. The opening scene when little Stasia is killed by one of these plants was horrifying, and it set the tone for what’s to come. I also liked the author's nods to stories like Little Shop of Horrors and The Day of the Triffids, and Stasia even names her cat Seymour.

Grant often infuses her stories with issues that are important to her, and in Overgrowth she tackles some big ideas, like what it means to be human, how we fit into the universe, and do humans have enough “good” in them to be considered non threatening to an alien race. Colonialism is a big theme in the story as well. The aliens are the invaders who plan to colonize Earth, but there are also some sections where government agencies find out about Stasia and arrest her in order to perform experiments on her. It was never clear who was “good” and who was “bad,” which is one reason these themes worked so well. Stasia herself seems to be conflicted over the answers to these questions, even though she isn’t technically human and is in fact part of the coming invasion.

Which brings me to Stasia’s character, who I liked a lot. Stasia doesn’t really like humans, and she’s what we would call an introvert. But over the years she's managed to find some humans who become very important to her—her boyfriend Graham and her roommates Lucas and Mandy—and here’s where the conflict comes in. Of course, she doesn’t want anything bad to happen to them when the aliens arrive, but as she becomes more alien and starts to develop certain, let’s say appetites, her alien nature starts to take over. I loved the way the author handled this change in her personality, and it solidified the fact that yes, this is a story about bloodthirsty aliens, despite some of the more feel-good, found family moments. 

Grant also includes a trans-man character (Graham) and describes what seems to be a very healthy and normal relationship between two adults. Graham and Stasia have gone through many ups and downs during their relationship, and despite the downs they are deeply in love and have managed to stay together for years. A few other characters were standouts for me, especially Toni, the scientist who intercepts the alien transmission, a woman who was also attacked by an alien flower as a child (just like Stasia) but managed to get away (and she has the physical and mental scars to prove it), and Jeff, another alien who Stasia meets and bonds with during the invasion.

Now for a few issues I had, starting with the pacing. After an exciting opening, the middle section of the book stalls and becomes repetitive in places, only to rev up the pace in the last 20% or so. Overgrowth has a fairly large page count, almost 500 pages, and for me it was just too long. Some sections could have been cut entirely and others trimmed. Grant has a lot to say, especially about the emotional state of her characters, and often the action screeches to a halt so everyone can discuss their feelings in detail.

I also had a hard time believing that Stasia, Graham and her roommates were in their mid-thirties. Their dialog comes across as almost YA in tone, and sometimes the issues and themes the author is addressing interfere with natural dialog, as if the characters decided to step up on their soapbox and lecture the reader. I wanted the themes to be more integrated into the story, but instead the dialog often came across as forced.

And without giving too much away, I will mention there are some very goofy things that happen in the last section that didn’t work for me at all. It was almost as if creepy alien plants with killer tentacles weren’t enough, so Grant decided to add in a few additional and completely out of place creatures to cause even more havoc. 

Stasia, who is telling the story, telegraphs quite a bit throughout, saying things like “it was never going to end well” or “we warned you,” leading the reader to believe that the coming invasion is not going to be a peaceful one. I found the ending rather depressing overall, especially since there was a twist late in the story suggesting that humanity could be saved, if only someone had done this one particular thing.

But complaints aside, Grant has written a complex, thoughtful and chilling alien invasion story that gives readers a lot to think about. Despite my quibbles, I’m very glad I read Overgrowth.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

I went into this book expecting a fun sci-fi horror romp. I got that and SO much more.

The narrative truly captivated me. At its core, the story explores themes of choice, morality, and love, and I must admit, I found myself unexpectedly moved. While the plot boasts a complex internal structure, it also delivers a genuinely eerie portrayal of an actual alien invasion.

The pacing is deliberate, allowing for rich character development. Anastasia's relationship with her boyfriend, Graham, is portrayed beautifully, characterized by a love and support that felt utterly unconditional. The friendships forged and nurtured throughout the story are incredibly thoughtful; even as the world faced destruction, these characters chose unwavering loyalty, a theme I found particularly powerful.

While certain segments of the story progressed at a more measured pace, this did not detract from the overall impact of the narrative. I found the listening experience to be thoroughly enjoyable, exceeding my initial expectations and instilling in me a renewed sense of optimism regarding humanity.

In Overgrowth by Mira Grant, she has created riveting characters and a story that is a cross between Day of the Triffids meets Cuckoo. Stasia immediately is captivating and the story has a powerful beginning with a vivid voice especially when illustrating how those who are different are treated by others around them something that immediately resonated with me.
One of the skills the author brings is the ability to create an idea that readers connect with and characters that are compelling. I love how brilliant Stasia is but also the connections she has built to others around her as they try to figure out what to do about both the invasion and humanity’s reaction to the strangers among them. The concept is believable especially the reactions of humanity and I like how the aliens are designed. This is a haunting story of what could be, if humanity does not mature.
If you like alien invasion stories with brilliant characters and writing that drags you into the story, this is impossible to miss. I loved the horror of the invasion but also the psychology of humans that is built into the story. I love how captivating it is with riveting characters. Stasia’s dilemma being torn between her true family and her human friends is complex and original. And I truly connected with being different. So many of us understand those emotions, hopefully we can learn from them and from stories like this one.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book, but unfortunately it just really didn't work for me. I liked that the protagonist was quirky and a bit neurotic, I do think that it takes a good amount of writing skill to pull off a character in that way. While the story is definitely heavily allegorical, it didn't work for me as a story outside of that. The tone felt a bit all over the place at times---the very beginning sets up the story so well, but then we quickly divert from that. Additionally, the pacing felt inconsistent. The novel front-loads (so to speak) the gimmick of the story, but then the actual invasion and all the action of the plot happen in the second half of the book. I can see where people will enjoy this story, but unfortunately it just really wasn't for me.

When Anastasia Miller was three years old, she wandered alone into the woods. There, she encountered a strange plant, and what returned home to the Miller house days later was no longer Anastasia Miller. For the next thirty-some years, Stasia has been eager to inform everybody she met that she is, in fact, the vanguard of an alien race intent on invading Earth. For thirty-some years, she has been met with scorn and ridicule. And then, an astronomer captures an alien signal from outer space — and it’s getting closer.

When Tor announced their publication of Mira Grant’s publication of Overgrowth as part of their Nightfire line back in October 2024, I was immediately excited. An end of the world, alien invasion book featuring a plant-based species, and promising full-on body horror apocalypse, from the author of the Newsflesh series, Rolling in the Deep, and Into the Drowning Deep — how could I not be?

Unfortunately, that enthusiasm was short-lived. I found Overgrowth overly long, overly tepid, and overly dull, and unable to satisfyingly deliver on any of its biggest promises.

By the time we become properly acquainted with Stasia — we’re made aware of her alien status right from the beginning during the abduction and murder of three-year-old Anastasia in the book’s opening moments — she’s a 35-year-old neurotic whose compulsions to inform literally everybody she encounters that she’s an alien plant person has made it difficult for her to blend in. Her coworkers routinely taunt and bully her. Her boyfriend and roommates put up with her weirdness because they ultimately consider her harmless.

Of course, there are reasons for Stasia’s compulsion to let everybody know she’s not human and that an alien armada is on their way, but Grant takes far too long getting to the core of these explanations. In the meantime, it feels like a lot of forced silliness, as if we’ve been plunked into an episode of The New Girl by way of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. And, of course, the grand reveal behind these compulsions proves equally hokey. I couldn’t help but wonder, repeatedly, how this ostensibly crazy lady with zero ability to adapt to social cues had managed to get so far in life without being institutionalized multiple times. Personally, I’d give a pretty wide berth to anybody insisting they were an alien plant from outer space and that doomsday is coming, but maybe that’s just me (Granted, I’d be wrong about it in the context of Grant’s narrative, but at least it’d be more realistic).

Stasia’s much ballyhooed invasion, and ostensibly the book’s raison d’être, doesn’t even occur until two-thirds of the way through and then proceeds largely off-page while Stasia and her Scooby gang are off doing other, far less interesting things. Yes, yes, yes, we could do much hand-waving about how, technically, the invasion started decades ago with Stasia’s emergence as a pod person and the shower of alien seed pods that found their way to Earth, but I’m talking about the good stuff. Alien ships and technology, the wholesale slaughter of innocents, the Big Budget Hollywood sequences of large-scale disaster and entire cities being wiped off the map, the mobilization of resistance forces — you know, some real big Independence Day kind of shit. I wanted to see the apocalypse part of Grant’s apocalyptic plant-based alien invasion scenario and intense sequences of body horror that would make my skin crawl. Instead, all I got was a big ol’ nothingburger. The apocalypse is virtually swept under the rug and the body horror is so lame it’s essentially little more than skin flaking off after a bad sunburn.

To her credit, Grant’s focus on characters allows Overgrowth to function on an allegorical level, and it does succeed there, to a certain extent, even as it fails to satisfy on any level as a horrifying apocalypse. Between Stasia and her friends, Grant provides plenty of representation for diverse, neurodivergent, gay, and trans segments of society that are oftentimes missing in Big Publishing’s mainstream horror efforts. Much of Stasia’s forays into American society parallels coming out of the closet and having to face discrimination, derision, and persecution. That Overgrowth functions as well as it does allegorically, when viewed solely through the microcosm of Stasia’s experiences, feels welcomingly rebellious given the current strife these groups are facing under Republican-led administrations at the state and federal level. With Republican’s anti-gay and anti-trans legislative crackdowns, not to mention Trump’s broad array of casually and daily delivered human rights and legal abuses, including abductions and human trafficking via rogue government agencies, we desperately need art that loudly clashes with these attacks on civil and human rights. However, Grant pushes the allegory to a breaking point when we’re forced to realize that these downtrodden segments of society are essentially being represented in Overgrowth by child murdering aliens with serious Master Race vibes who travel the stars committing genocide, one whole planet at a time, insisting on universal conformity and group think. Stasia’s experiences and beliefs work well enough, to an extent, but the allegory, and one’s sympathies, falls apart the further one reaches in exploring the context Grant presents. At times, Overgrowth feels somewhat prescient, while at others it, sadly, reads like a relic despite its 2031 setting. Take for example, one character naively opining that a particular government agency can’t just disappear people forever without a second thought because “They like to have cause.” I couldn’t help having a cynical laugh at that one.

Ultimately, Overgrowth overpromises and under-delivers in every aspect. To borrow from the book’s tag line, you were warned. You were warned, indeed.

This is a story about growing where you’re planted.

Reading this was an amusing experience as a therapist bc I can imagine how I would experience it if a client was insistent they were an alien. This was one of the more unique takes I’ve encountered on the alien invasion trope- so if that’s something you generally enjoy definitely pick this one up. Also that ending! All my guesses about how thought this was going to go were wrong & I’m still shocked and delighted.

thanks to @tornightfire & to @macmillan.audio ! The audio was excellent and I flew through this one in both formats.

Disclosure Statement: I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher. My opinions are entirely my own and have not been influenced by either the author or the publisher in any way.

Alien invasions are a staple of science fiction and horror, going back even to 1897 when Wells introduced War of the Worlds. Wells's fiction was already reacting to a number of other popular novels as the genre of invasion fiction grew more and more popular, but whereas some of those books were more about power fantasy, Wells used the genre for stark criticism of European imperialism. It's an aspect of the horror in other novels that I feel gets frequently dismissed, but it's an aspect of Overgrowth that Mira Grant clearly wants to explore.

Center to Grant's novel is one broader question: do humans actually deserve the Earth they inhabit? And if we are to look at an alien invasion from the perspective of the invaders, which side would (or should) we want to take? Because for Grant, humans really, really suck. And they're also capable of greatness, of love and compassion and bravery. But Overgrowth isn't full of traditional human heroes who face off against incredible odds and come out ahead; it's a novel about the Othered amongst humanity's number, about how human society can be so incredibly petty and miserable that an alien invasion promising community at the expense of burning the planet down is actually generally preferable to more petty human bullshit.

There's a deep autistic coding in Grant's characters and the book's central narrative voice, and coupled with the book's other motifs of isolation, depression, trans rights, the characterization of Stasia and her friends does a lot of heavy lifting in opening up a dialogue about where we discover our community. The book is full of alienation--a society that seeks to undo fundamental human rights at every turn, a system of power with total disregard for protecting anyone but the most powerful, and a human society that doesn't even know what it means to value humanity.

That doesn't mean that the book doesn't also wrestle with the implications of imperial expansion and colonialism, but the focus is more about an inherent cynicism when it comes to human culture. It deals with alien propaganda, as if to say that nobody is immune to it, but still tends to relish in humanity's extinction. In the world of Overgrowth, humanity deserves what's coming to it. The invasion is inevitable, but humankind made it that way. More broadly symbolic, the book seems to posit that there really isn't much future for humanity--or that, if a future for humankind does exist, it won't be inherited by the elite, by the powerful. It goes to the meek, the honest, the compassionate, the Othered.

It's an interesting take on a tried and sometimes overdone trope in genre literature, and while the horror isn't quite as squelchy or as omnipresent as I might have liked for a horror novel, the dialogue it initiates is worth the engagement.

Really loved this book! I'm a big horror and sci-fi fan, especially body horror, and I felt this book was really successful. I think it would also be a good book to ease someone into sci-fi, as it isn't really "techy" which I find makes some people turn away.

The opening chapter of Overgrowth is eerie and tense, but then the story shifts gears hard. What starts as dark, atmospheric sci-fi horror quickly turns into a much cozier, YA-feeling, fantasy-esque narrative focused on Anastasia and her ensemble of friends. The tonal whiplash is real, and the rest of the book never quite recovers from it.

There were some really thoughtful, introspective conversation throughout about inclusion and belonging, but there’s so much of it that it starts to drag. The same themes and ideas are rehashed again and again, and by the time the actual invasion begins, well over halfway through the novel, it was too little, too late, with most of the real action is packed into the last 50 pages.

There was some body horror, but it’s very light and tamed. This read is a good entry point for readers who are new to horror, but if you’re looking for something intense and terrifying (and in the same vein of Into the Drowning Deep) this one probably won’t hit the mark.