Following the phenomenal success of “Bunny” in 2019, a book which has been called “Frankenstein meets Heathers” this will chill and fascinate in equal measures. It is the story told in “Bunny” but from different perspectives: the mean-girl cabal of creative writing students at Warren (think about that name) College and Bunny himself. The bitchy, contentious, competitive, jealous and self-absorbed young women who discover a gruesome talent of witchery take their sinister abilities to extreme and literally evil ends. Unsuccessful at gaining their yearned-for goal and losing their beloved changeling propels them into a spiral of frustration and unhappiness.

As for Bunny, his horror at the treatment meted out by the girls grows and his own hatred for them, their methods and their motivations becomes more than he can bear and he strikes out on his own, his inability to understand the greater world notwithstanding. To the reader’s shock and dismay, the results of his vaguely understood mission become criminal as he seeks to find his place in a world that defies his comprehension. As horrible as his crimes may be, they turn out to be something unexpected by everyone, including the person reading this book.

Written with a wry and dark worldview limned with consummate skill this look at the world of literary academia, swings between horror and humor with an astonishing rapidity that keeps the narrative moving at high speed, making this an unputdownable read. Showing that both purest innocence and darkest evil can coexist within one soul, this tale of selfishness, lust, hunger for power and egotism is horror at its best. Awad has been feted as a significant voice in modern literature with this novel, a worthy addition to her already impressive oeuvre. A denizen of that world herself, she teaches creative fiction at Syracuse University. If you thought college was tough, you ain’t seen nothing yet.