“She was here, in the daylight. She is breaking all her own rules. She is going to finish what she started.”

Friends, I did it: I finally read a book that takes place in the woods that didn’t scare my pants off! Sure, it made me uncomfortable at times, but it didn’t give me nightmares (yet). Instead, Some Kind of Animal by Maria Romasco Moore used a creepy setting to create thriller centered around the love two twin sisters have for each other.

When I first heard the premise of this book, I was immediately intrigued. It follows the story of Jo, a fifteen year old girl who lives in a small town. She is being raised by her aunt, and has been told her whole life that her mother died after giving birth to her at the age of 15. However, Jo is convinced that her aunt and grandma are hiding the truth.

Why? Because she was also told she’s an only child, which isn’t true. Jo has a twin sister, Lee, who lives by herself in the forest. No one believes Jo whenever she brings up Lee in conversation, but that doesn’t stop her from going out every single night to see her sister. People might think she’s a liar, but she’s not.

From the reader’s perspective, you spend a lot of time going back and forth, wondering whether or not you believe Jo. Her background suggests she is an unreliable character, but her evidence is pretty convincing at times. Does she actually have a feral twin sister that she visits every night? Or is she delusional?

Once you begin to form a decision for yourself, the plot will start to pick up and a lot of things will happen very fast. Even if you do guess correctly, there are new characters and events that will help keep the story interesting.

I’ll admit that I personally struggled with this book a bit. At times it did seem slow and a little predictable, and the ending seemed too easy considering everything that happens throughout the story. There were some plot holes left unanswered as well, and not in a fun, mysterious way. However, I reminded myself that this is a YA book, and I was reading it from an adult’s perspective. I’m confident that a younger version of myself would have loved this book, and been completely engrossed in this unique, haunting story.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Some Kind of Animal by Maria Romasco Moore came out on August 4, 2020, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.