4.5 stars

Why you may not like this book: This book is a snapshot book-- we are looking at a specific window of time for our main character. It is incredibly atmospheric, but doesn't have a strong plot or a ton of driving action. This story keeps you off balance and you remain as in the dark as our main character is for the majority of the book. And then it ends and there isn't too much resolution. For readers who struggle with open endings, this might leaver you feeling unsatisfied.

cw: death of a loved one, medical experimentation, racism, hallucinations, assault, alcohol use, gore, tooth trauma, body horror

Why I loved this book: I love atmospheric books. This exists at the intersection of sci-fi and horror, and while it wasn't scary in a traditional sense, it was eerie and uncanny. She also manages to balance that with observational wit that gave me so much to think about, not only about the vast history of medical experimentation, but generally about being young and black, existing in broken systems, about families and legacies.

Everything Giddings does, from characterization to shifts in narrative style, is incredibly effective. I even think the ending works, feeding into the haunted feeling of the work. I also love a well-deployed open ending.

I truly haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished.