When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur

Good morning, afternoon, or whenever it is that you read this. I start off my Halloween readathon with When Devils Sing. Check out the content warnings in the hyperlink, as there is some disturbing graphic content. When Devils Sing is a YA southern gothic horror story by Xan Kaur. Southern gothic is a genre near and dear to my heart. It is a rebuttal to the sanitized, idealized version of the American South. It is about rejecting the concept of the genteel southern gentleman, confronting the largely unresolved sins of the former confederate states, and pointing out how rotten the 'good ole boys' actually are. When Devils Sing follows four point of view characters, all coming from different backgrounds. What I really enjoy is the maliciousness toward these characters for their differing ethnic identities or sexual orientations is more systemic than personal. The real tension here is in the iron grip of the Langley family - the local patrician family that runs the town - and the wealthy…