Araminta – Minty – sees one way out of her town, the town plagued by religious people, and the memories of her late mother. And that way out is to win a battle-of-the-bands affair with her punk trio. But finding the killer lyrics eludes her, so she has a cunning plan – to worm her way into the chanting nuns of the religion, and adapt their song lyrics and persuasive delivery as her own. But the religion is a dangerous place to be, and might fight back…

The odd place they're in, what's more, is not only in the river, like the sirens in "O Brother Where Art Thou?", but in counterpoint to the science of the time, which has everyone desperately trying to keep themselves from being lethally bitten by nasty bugs. No, these women avoid all bug repellent, and let it slide if they end up needing their faith to cure them.

Now, if you can't see this as a rich pudding of ideas, then I've not done my job. This is quite the complex read, especially when you add in all the rest I've not revealed – and the fact that this is a Hi-Lo verse novel, of generous short story length, only adds to the distinction here. As regards that, it, like many seem to do, struggles a little with reported speech, although it drops all the "he saids, she saids" like it drops those interfering page/poem titles. It certainly doesn't read like verse at all, unless it's hitting a seam of assonance, as it often does. What the format brings is an immediacy, a rapidly turning page – but if you need it, no proof that this format was actually called for (other than to pad the pages out to novelistic amounts).

Ultimately this proves to be something designed to discuss the liberty allowed teenagers and other youngsters. I'd certainly welcome them being free to read this most unusual spread of ideas. It makes for a surprising success, with a memorable flavour from the combination of a bonkers amount of disparate ingredients. A tasty four stars.

Brentom Jackson’s The Way of the Wailing Women is a beautifully written, emotionally resonant fantasy that’s rich in atmosphere but uneven in execution. Its lyrical prose and mythic themes shine, though some characters fall flat and the pacing drags mid-way. A poetic, introspective read—best suited for those who savor mood over momentum.

This was a really creative and fast-paced story. So many incredibly poetic lines throughout the entire book. An excellent pick for high schoolers who enjoy musically-themed stories and suspense. Flows incredibly well, start to finish!

Thank you so much to West 44 Books / Rosen Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Araminta lives in a small religious town, her dad runs the church, her mother died due to the beliefs and she herself is about to join the Wailing Women group from the church. All so that she can win her punk rock music festival with her friends and get out of the town.

It was very creative, a whole world of a completely unique small town religion, with very niche view points that must be followed in a strict and certain way. I liked that we got the downside of this religion but also we saw our protagonist starting to understand it as time went by.

Araminta went through a lot within a short space of time, with her loss of her mom still relevant to her as she didn’t know fully what happened, her distant father who prefers the Church to her, her band and the contest they are desperate to win and the lengths she will go to ensure that. The creepiness of the Wailing Women group she joins to get inside information and lastly Douglass her best friend and love, they were so cute honestly.

This is a really great verse book, I think the story worked quite well in this format, with all the religious rules and the song lyrics. It fitted the theme and style so perfectly, the story is really interesting as it’s so multifaceted and you have a lot to explore in a short time frame.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books, and Brentom Jackson for the opportunity to read The Way of the Wailing Women in exchange for an honest review.

The Way of the Wailing Women is a HiLo novel told in a poetic verse format, and what an exceptional style! The novel follows Araminta, who wants nothing more than to win Rebellion Fest's music contest, hoping that is enough for her to escape her small town. She doesn't think her voice and her band are up-to-par for the win...yet...but with her plan to join her fathers secret church sect, known as the Wailing Women, she might learn their secrets of sound and be able to apply that to her own sound in order to win the contest.

The author's use of alliteration is consistent throughout and really adds that extra poetic bounce that fits in with the idea of sound in the novel. The author also uses list form is poetic in it's own right. The lists often take on a second-person persona in addressing the passing of events and time as Araminta experiences them, putting the reader into a unique reading situation while also simply progressing events in a very direct way.

The novel was a bit convoluted at times, possibly because I just had a hard time understanding the religion aspect, and there were some areas I didn't quite understand. Araminta was constantly concerned about having her bug repellent, and these bug that are present in this world seem to have a deadly bite, as one of her friends experiences.

Despite my personal reading and not fully grasping, the writing itself is such a draw, that I thoroughly enjoyed the novel as a whole and can relate to Araminta in her despite to escape a small town, especially one so religion-based.