To the strange, and the mad, and the monstrous.Imagine a city divided in two, where violence has created deadly monsters, not the kind that hide under your bed.
Imagine two families: the Harkers, ruthless, powerful, who let the monsters roam free; and the Flynns, who are willing to do anything to keep the monsters away from the city and don't let the truce crumble.
Now, imagine two teenagers, a boy and a girl, the heirs of a divided city. Kate, Harker's only child, who wants to prove to her father how ruthless of a human she can be; and August, Henry Flynn's son, who all he wants is to prove to himself how human of a monster he actually is.
I am not a monster, that's what he wanted to say, but he couldn't. He hadn't found a way to make it true.This book had me at hello. Truly. I watched people raving about this book for a long time before actually placing an order on the ever trusting Amazon. I don't know what exactly kept me away from it, and why I was so hesitant to pick this up but I'm a newbie when it comes to Schwab's books, I like to play it safe when it comes to authors but I wanted to know what the fuss was all about and so I read it. And BLOODY LOVED it. It only took me two days to read it, it was SO ACTION PACKED and never boring, not even a second, I kept reading and reading and used almost a whole pack of sticky notes I placed on EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE.
The whole concept is fascinating: the monster that wants to be human more than anything else always does something to my heart (the Salvatore brothers will never be forgotten) and let me tell you, August Flynn is my new cinnamon bun.
But let's talk about it, shall we?
This Savage Song starts strong. Kate Harker wants to go back home and be reunited with her father and in order to do that, she commits a few crimes here and there (like burning a whole chapel down) just to keep things interesting and let her father know that she's ready to be the daughter he deserves, the one more like him than her mother. But Verity City (or V City) is dangerous, even for her.
Monsters are real and even if her father has the majority of them under control, there are others who still hunt and they wouldn't stop, not even in front of a Harker.
But eventually, her father gives in and Kate returns in her town, the same town she was dragged out of by her mother, and in a new school, one who hasn't burned to the ground, yet. Here we meet August and I have to admit, it would have been very easy to let them fall in love right there in the schoolyard but Schwab had other plans and boy if I fell for them.
They become friends and here comes trouble! When your only friend is a monster, a Sunai, and he could kill you with a little serenade with his fancy violin, there's not really room for feelings, is it? And yet, there was. These two stole my heart from the very beginning. When an assassination happens, inside their school, killing humans and trying to blame it on the Sunai, the two form an alliance that will go beyond survival.
"Why are there so many shadows in the world, Kate? Shouldn't there be just as much light?" "I don't know, August." "I don't want to be a monster." "You're not," she said, the words automatic, but as she said it, Kate realized that she believed it, too. He was a Sunai - nothing was going to change that - but he wasn't evil, wasn't cruel, wasn't monstrous. He was just someone who wanted to be something else, something he wasn't.
This book was everything and much more. Even if it was about monsters, things that don't actually exist, it was very human and very relatable: August with his anxiety and Kate with her desire to be strong but at the same time she was missing something, a family, a human connection that, weirdly enough, she finds with someone who is everything but human. Together, they will fight, they will go against their families and everyone they love to protect each other.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
- deadly monsters
- a lot of running (like A LOT. I felt tired from how much they ran! Like when E.T. drinks the beer and Elliot gets drunk.)
- a lot of blood
- very cute adorable moments
- brotherly love (Ilsa was PHENOMENAL! Leo, not so much)
- badassery all the way from page one
- dysfunctional families
- deadly music
- beautiful, strong friendship that will steal your heart
- beautiful, lyrical writing
WHAT I ABSOLUTELY ADORED:
- August (duh!)
- Kate's badassery and vulnerability
- the lack of romance
- Ilsa & August (these cuties tho!)
- very funny dialogues
- amazing world building and action
Overall, this book was PHENOMENAL! I will absolutely continue reading Victoria Schwab's books because she's SO DAMN GOOD with words and world building and the characters are to die for!
I recommend this book to EVERYONE, seriously! Whether you're looking for some family drama, terrible monsters, badass female characters, brotherly love, you name it, this book has it. Except for romance, that you won't find but believe me when I tell you, it was SO MUCH BETTER THIS WAY!
THIS SAVAGE SONG
Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city, a grisly metropolis where the violence has begun to create real and deadly monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the inhabitants pay for his protection. August just wants to be human, as good-hearted as his own father - but his curse is to be what the humans fear. The thin truce that keeps the Harker and Flynn families at peace is crumbling, and an assassination attempt forces Kate and August into a tenuous alliance. But how long will they survive in a city where no one is safe and monsters are real...
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