Thomas Walsh is used to picking up the occasional odd job. When he accepts a job interpreting for an heiress who is mute by choice and uses sign language to communicate, he thinks it'll be an easy one: he has the experience growing up with a Deaf mother, after all. Sure, Vivienne's father keeps her on a short leash, won't let her out past sunset, and also kind of wants Thomas to follow her wherever she goes, but Thomas doesn't care about the weird family dynamics. He's just there for the money.
But Vivienne is not an ordinary girl. She's a little mean and sharp around the edges, and she very much does not want Thomas around. And there's also her other self: the monster she's seen in the mirror after mysteriously disappearing in a canyon when she was four who brutally murders anyone whenever she speaks. She's desperate to regain control of her life and body, feeling caged and unlovable. She needs to get rid of Thomas in order to do that, but Thomas needs the money from her parents to pay for his mom's medical bills-- and is also starting to fall for Vivienne, even while she actively pushes him away.
I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew is a horror novel about reclaiming your voice and autonomy, but also a romance about how-- even at our darkest-- we are capable of loving someone else and being loved. I adored the relationship between Thomas and Vivienne. The push and pull of their dynamic was so fun to read, and Vivienne was such a great character to root for. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who like pretty prose in their horror books and monstrous girls who ache to be loved. While this is a Young Adult novel, the characters are college aged, making it a book that adults would enjoy as well.
-Michelle J, Teen Services