I loved it.

A simple sentiment for a not-so-simple book.

As a rust belt denizen (though a transplant), the scenery and deterioration presented so arrestingly in the story is something I have seen first hand. I can feel this story down to the rust in my bones.

I don't want to say too much about the plot, as I think this deserves to be read with little to no preconceptions. Suffice it to say that a few girls in a steel mill neighborhood are changing into … something. Their skin, their hair, their bones rusting and splintering like the neighborhood around them.

Without going into too much detail, I have to say that I adored the way the Rust Maidens were portrayed. I'm still not sure exactly how to categorize them, or if categorization is even possible. They are both victim and predator. They are rebels, and they are iconoclasts, but they are also slave to a process outside their control. The question of free will comes through a lot. Do the Rust Maidens have it? Does anyone in their neighborhood, so dependent on the goodwill of Steel Mill bosses, get to choose their path in life?

And the ending! Is there any escape? How many years, miles, or dollars can separate you from the things that built you?

This is a truly wonderful book, creepy where it needs to be, sad, frustrating, and thought-provoking.

Read it.

PS - I got this book as part of the Twitterstone horror book subscription box, which I also highly recommend!