Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl (Magic Mutants #1) by Erin Grammar
Synopsis
"Holly Roads uses Harajuku fashion to distract herself from tragedy. Her magical girl aesthetic makes her feel beautiful—and it keeps the world at arm's length. She's an island of one, until advice from an amateur psychic expands her universe. A midnight detour ends with her vs. exploding mutants in the heart of San Francisco.
Brush with destiny? Check. Waking up with blue blood, emotions gone haywire, and terrifying strength that starts ripping her wardrobe to shreds? Totally not cute. Hunting monsters with a hot new partner and his unlikely family of mad scientists?
Way more than she bargained for."
My Thoughts
This book was such a wild ride! The humor and the banter between the characters were fantastic, biting, and had me rolling with laughter. I LOVED the dynamics between these characters which leant to the strong found-family vibes which I am always a sucker for.
Holly's obsession with Harajuku fashion was fascinating and fun and she kicked ass all while looking cute and frilly, which I loved! She deals with some pretty intense trauma, both past and present through this story and it felt like it was handled in a really thoughtful way. Holly also has some pretty relatable social anxiety, even in situations where she should feel most comfortable. And if that didn't feel like the most relatable thing on this planet, I don't know what would. She's also a teenager who doesn't always make the best decisions or even have the best powers of deduction, but all of it made her feel like a realistically flawed person. Her kindness throughout the adventure was surprising and so endearing.
The supporting characters in this were all super fantastic, not only in the wide range of representation they present but also in their less than perfect but totally human and doing their best way. Her best friend is maybe kind of psychic, but totally oblivious simultaneously. My one wish would have been that the one Latinx character didn't have a crime-filled past. Aside from that, I loved the characters and how human and imperfect they all were.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can not wait to read the rest of the books in this new series!
Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl is set to be released on March 10th, 2021 and you can preorder it now! Thanks to the author, Erin Grammer, and to Midnight Tide Publishing for the ARC!
Genre: lgbtqia+, contemporary, ya, sci-fi
Representation: bi MC, BIPOC, demigirl, demisexual, ace
Content Warnings: grief, depression, descriptions of intense anxiety (thought spirals and overthinking), language, gore, violence, death, parental death, underage drinking, implied drug use, PTSD