We Hear Voices by Evie Green
Release: October 6th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Netgalley
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An eerie debut about a little boy who recovers from a sickness and inherits an imaginary friend who makes him do violent things…
Kids have imaginary friends. Rachel knows this. So when her young son, Billy, miraculously recovers from a horrible flu that has proven fatal for many, she thinks nothing of Delfy, his new invisible friend. After all, her family is healthy and that’s all that matters.
But soon Delfy is telling Billy what to do, and the boy is acting up and lashing out in ways he never has before. As Delfy’s influence is growing stranger and more sinister by the day, and rising tensions threaten to tear Rachel’s family apart, she clings to one purpose: to protect her children at any cost–even from themselves.
We Hear Voices is a mischievously gripping near-future horror novel that tests the fragility of family and the terrifying gray area between fear and love.
About the Author
Evie Green is a pseudonym for a British author who has written professionally for her entire adult life. She lives by the sea in England with her husband, children, and guinea pigs, and loves writing in the very early morning, fueled by coffee.
We Hear Voices Review:
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book!
Wow! Reading this book was a trip! It was unique and unlike anything I had read ever. It is part dystopian, part futuristic, part science fiction, part space travel, part horror and part YA, which made the story unpredictable. I had no idea where the story was going, and I loved that aspect!
Also, I loved the main characters. Nina is smart and amazing and wants to get to the bottom of what’s happening. Rachel is a mess and wants a normal life, but her luck keeps running out. Also, I loved Graham and his love for Imogen and his commitment towards helping others. And of course, Billy and his imaginary friend Delfy are creepy and make the entire story extremely memorable. Moreover, the setting of the story is very eerier as well. The story takes place in a near futuristic landscape that seems gloomy yet relatable. Not to mention the pandemic flu that spreads with the children, similar to what our world is facing now. I hope our future does not go in the same direction as what Ben Alford had in mind.
However, the only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is because I felt like the story shifted focus in the second half. The first half mainly focused on Billy’s condition, and his family (and Graham) trying to figure out what is happening. However, the second half shifted the focus to Nina and her quest. Although all the story-lines are interconnected towards the end, I wished the story had revolved around Billy throughout.
Overall, “We Hear Voices” is definitely worth reading because it is just so different and wonderfully weird!
