Pet

Pet is a 2019 young adult fantasy/speculative fiction novel by Nigerian non-binary author Akwaeke Emezi. It was followed by a prequel Bitter, released in 2022. Background With Pet, Emezi focused on writing the book they wanted to read while they were growing up. To them, including a Black trans girl character who was supported by her parents and community — and who goes on adventures but is not in serious danger — was particularly important. Lucille, the setting of the novel, was inspired by settings that Toni Morrison used in her fiction. The town's creed ("We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s business. We are each other’s magnitude and bond") is a quote from Gwendolyn Brooks' ode to Paul Robeson. Plot Jam is a teen girl living in Lucille, a town in the US. Lucille is a type of utopia; its official historical record saw angels defeating monsters. In Lucille, there are no more monsters. Or so everyone believes. One day, Jam trips and falls onto her mother's painting (a type of assemblage with sharp objects incorporated within.) Jam's blood releases the creature that her mother painted: Pet. Pet informs Jam that it is here to hunt a monster living in Lucille.