Review: Beautiful, brilliant, horrific, enthralling - a must read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 20, 2011
Ashley has been in a juvenile detention facility for four years after being found with the body of her friend Ian, covered in blood and screaming.  She was blamed for his death.  However, she was not responsible - it was the khlathu, a creature only she can see, that killed Ian.  Her time at the center was made more difficult by her gender dysmorphia - Ashley was born in a male body, and is too young, and too mentally unstable, to be able to take hormones or get surgery in order to correct her body to fit her self-perception.  After all this time, she is finally going home - where her mother has a new fiancé, a self-defined Christian, who does not approve of Ashley or her "lifestyle choices."  Her sister is scared of her; only her mother understands and supports her.  Ashley must cope with her new home life, going back to school and, at the same time, deal with frightening visions of creatures such as the khlathu and uncontrolled shifts into different worlds.  Is she the victim of a mental disturbance, or is she something special and rare?I have to say that this was some messed up stuff here - Goshko vividly paints the confusion and distraction caused by the things that Ashley sees and experiences while she simultaneously must deal with her gender dysmorphia and simply being a teenager.  I was really impressed with this story - it's harrowing, brilliant, beautiful, troubling and highly enthralling.  It didn't feel like the story was completely told, so I'm hoping that we will spend more time with Ashley in future books, learning more about who and what she is, and how she continues to deal with her difficult needs and destiny.  Highly recommended!