Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers

Synopsis

Tsalagi should never have to live on human blood, but sometimes things just happen to sixteen-year-old girls.

Following one extended Cherokee family across the centuries, from the tribe’s homelands in Georgia in the 1830s to World War I, the Vietnam War, our own present, and well into the future, each story delivers a slice of a particular time period.

Alongside each story, Cherokee artist and language technologist Jeff Edwards delivers illustrations that incorporate Cherokee syllabary.

Book Review

Overall Rating: 5/5

Spooky Rating: 4/5

“There are plenty of bad men to feed on and that is what I decided to do. Greed and avarice have no mercy. I became merciless too.”

This book took my breath away.

Not only is it stunning, but having all of the stories connected through a family line and taking place in different time periods was brilliant. It covers heavy historical events and how they impacted indigenous folks while also throwing in classic horror elements.

This is not an easy read. It made me so angry and heartbroken, and it requires a lot of effort from the reader. The author incorporated the Cherokee language, and I had to refer to the glossary many times throughout my reading. I personally found this to be a beautiful and essential addition, but some readers might find it difficult to follow.

Jeff Edwards’ artwork was impeccable and complimented each story well. For young adult horror, this collection went hard, and it quite literally changed me. I am not indigenous, but I have always been very passionate about indigenous rights. I specialized in Navajo issues when I was in college in Arizona, which only increased my passion. I loved having the honor of interviewing Andrea about young adult horror and the importance of indigenous voices in general, but especially within the horror genre. I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to share this book with you all, as it should be essential reading.

An Interview with Author Andrea L. Rogers

What made you want to venture into writing horror for young readers?

I loved horror when I was a kid, but when my own children were growing up I didn’t see anything for them with people who looked like my family or weren’t stereotypes or misappropriation of Native beliefs corrupted for scares. And, unfortunately, the history of our peoples is horrific, so it is a hard story to tell because it is built for horror. So how do you not?

It took a long time before I felt ready to write horror that existed in what I considered an authentic space, that used Western horror tropes and characters in a way that Native people could enjoy and not feel like they had read trauma porn. Yes, we have been targeted for extinction and we have to respond to that, but we aren’t defined by it.

I didn’t see a lot of stories like the ones I wanted to write out there and I knew kids wanted them, I wanted them. So, I wrote them.

How do you feel young adult horror differs from horror for adults?

Ideally, I feel like a young adult author centers the reader and tries to do no harm.

Why do you think it is important that young readers read horror?

Horror is in conversation with the world. It gives you a place where you can be scared, but then close the book. You can’t do that with the world, or at least it’s very hard. Horror helps you come up with survival strategies. Native people have had to do that for a long time. Those lessons in our stories, that’s how we remember, honor, and adapt.

How has your identity as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation impacted your horror writing?

I think the loss of language is horrific. It’s terrifying. I try to get that across in my work and remind readers we have to learn to speak now. There is no future without a present that privileges our culture through the language.

What do you hope readers will take away from Man Made Monsters? 

I want brown girls to know their survival is what matters. The world is better off with you. I also believe Indigenous ways of interacting with the world are better for the planet and people, so I hope people will consider that in whatever way works for them and their families. I want people to know that we, Indigenous people, are still here.