“Kraus gets under your skin with brutal, elegant efficiency. Necessarily horrifying, devastatingly timely.”–Kiersten White, New York Times-bestselling author of The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein and SlayerFrom New York Times-bestselling author Daniel Kraus comes a breakneck, genre-defying YA thriller perfect for fans of Kiersten White, Neal Shusterman, and M. T. Anderson.Liv Fleming’s … Shusterman, and M. T. Anderson.
Liv Fleming’s father went missing more than two years ago, not long after he claimed to have been abducted by aliens. Liv has long accepted that he’s dead, though that doesn’t mean she has given up their traditions. Every Sunday, she and her lifelong friend Doug Monk trudge through the woods to check the traps Lee left behind, traps he set to catch the aliens he so desperately believed were after him.
But Liv is done with childhood fantasies. Done pretending she believes her father’s absurd theories. Done going through the motions for Doug’s sake. However, on the very day she chooses to destroy the traps, she discovers in one of them a creature so inhuman it can only be one thing. In that moment, she’s faced with a painful realization: her dad was telling the truth. And no one believed him.
Now, she and Doug have a choice to make. They can turn the alien over to the authorities…or they can take matters into their own hands.
On the heels of the worldwide success of The Shape of Water, Daniel Kraus returns with a horrifying and heartbreaking thriller about the lengths people go to find justice and the painful reality of grief.
”Bent Heavens is the darkest, angriest alien horror story that I’ve ever encountered. Hell. Yes.”–Stephanie Perkins, New York Times-bestselling author of There’s Someone Inside Your House
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For many of you, you’ll have already read Kraus. A NYT Bestselling Author, Daniel co-authored both ‘The Shape of Water’ and ‘Trollhunters’ with Guillermo del Toro as well as ‘The Living Dead’ with George A. Romero. Combine that with his numerous individual releases and you find that Kraus is incredibly prolific and writing between Adult and YA fiction.
I can’t exactly recall when ‘Bent Heavens’ came onto my radar (I’m 99% sure it was on IG where Jen aka bookdenjen posted about it) but no matter, the premise was intriguing and I was excited when it made it to the top of my TBR.
What I liked: The story follows Grade 12 student, Liv Fleming, who is struggling to live her life after the events surrounding her father occurred. Her dad, Lee, used to be a teacher at her school. Then, he seemed to go crazy, convinced that he was abducted by aliens and that they would come back for him.
He goes about setting up elaborate traps in the woods behind their place, hoping to catch them, before one day he disappears, never to be seen again.
Then one day, while Liv and her childhood friend, Doug, are checking the traps, something they do every Sunday, keeping her dad’s spirit alive, they find something.
It’s from here that Kraus really races ahead. I loved the build to this moment, we get to see Liv trying to fit in with new friend’s at school, while still looking out for aloof Doug, and we see her potentially meet and fall for a new boy, someone who doesn’t know her past.
Kraus does a phenomenal job of slowly decaying Liv and Doug’s friendship, of seeing how this thing they’ve found affects them differently, how Doug wants to continue exacting revenge for taking Lee from them, this man who’d grown to become a father figure to him, while Liv wants to be protective of it, to try and find out information that might lead to the return of her father, that is, if he’s still alive.
The final quarter of this book races along, especially as truths are revealed and a new, horrific reality emerges. I absolutely loved what we discover and it reminded me of a few of my favorite books (which I won’t mention to stay spoiler free).
This book was filled with so many emotions, Kraus really knocks the reader for a loop and makes sure that you want to come back and discover more of just what is going on.
What I didn’t like: While it worked for me, the ‘learning of the truth’ section may completely derail this for some readers. I think it was really well done and the clues make sense and are unseen until revealed, making it so so heartbreaking, but some readers may not enjoy it as much as I did.
Why you should buy this: As always, never, ever, let a YA designation discourage you from reading a book. This gets as brutal and graphic as anything out there. If you’re looking for a haunting story, of a family torn apart, trying to grapple with their new life, while wondering just what actually happened, this will fit the bill nicely. Additionally, Kraus does us all a solid and gives us tangible answers, as well as a physical being that might’ve been alluded too or left out entirely by other authors and for that, we benefit.
This was outstanding and I’m so glad to have read it.
Wow, talk about different. The road to hell is lined with good intentions… A definite must read!!
This book grabbed me from the very first page and never let go. It’s a wonderfully dark and complex YA horror novel with fantastic twists. I truly loved this book, even though it scared me down to my core.
Bent Heavens is the first book I have read from bestselling author Daniel Kraus and I am intrigued to read his other novels. I was also impressed that he co-authored the book, The Shape of Water, with Guillermo del Toro.
When I read the synopsis, I was pretty excited. I am a fan of young adult novels and ALIENS are most definitely a troupe I enjoy. As a fan of Ilona Andrews’ Inkeepers Chronicles I was pretty excited to dive in.
While the beginning of this book seemed slow, I am also aware that sometimes world building and character development takes time and precision.
Bent Heavens takes us in journey of Liv’s life, her lost father, and her relationships with her friends, especially Doug. Since years after her father’s disappearance, Liv continued the tasks of checking traps. What kind of traps? Well, her father’s alien traps. Partly in hope that what her father always said was true and maybe she could find a clue of his disappearance.
Although Bent Heavens is a young adult book, the thrills, violence and intimate encounter, should be addressed to ensure fans will enjoy it. This is not your childhood ET story.
I give Bent Heavens a 4 stars and a tip of my Nerd Girl hat!!
This book review was done in conjunction of Nerd Girl Official.
Kraus gets under your skin with brutal, elegant efficiency. Necessarily horrifying, devastatingly timely.
Bent Heavens is the darkest, angriest alien horror story that I’ve ever encountered. Hell. Yes.