Natural Selection

From the ragged bear-slashed neon pink cover, revealing three silhouettes of teenage girls with a determined step, to the visceral prose and gory imagery within, this edgy, fierce and uncompromising debut YA feminist thriller has a savage bite. Set in the wild, rocky terrain of Montana in the heart of hunting country, it exposes the toxicity and scars left by a patriarchal system where the teenage girls of Riverside are objectified and preyed upon. Natural Selection is a departure for author Clare Edge, known for Accidental Demons, her magical Middle grade series about a diabetic witch.

Structured in three sections with pithy, insightful headings, Grin and Bear It, It Was the Bear and Claws Out, Edge’s narrative catapults the reader into a small-town nightmare where mysterious deaths occur in grisly circumstances and the victimised discover their teeth and claws.

Told in the distinctive voices of three conflicted girls who are damaged by events unfolding over a series of teen gatherings and haunted by the memory of a missing girl, it deals with disturbing issues including degradation, homophobia, prejudice, scape-goating, sexual assault and voyeurism.

Hockey star Outlaw [otherwise known as Megan Lawless], shiny plastic Megan [set to be valedictorian and Prom Queen and dating popular jock Kevin] and Tarot card reading Goth Meghan [known as Bee] are unreliable narrators with memory gaps [reflecting the effects of Rohypnol] who are hiding secrets from themselves and each other. Can they keep their friendships and budding romances on track while confronting past traumas and embracing their inner strength?

Taught from infancy to be ‘bear aware’, self-confessed witch Edge suffuses her pacy rage-fuelled plot with her local knowledge of Rocky Mountain terrain and a supernatural energy which roars through an eerie, frost-bitten landscape. Featuring scenes redolent of the macabre trappings of a gruesome gothic fairy-tale, her novel will appeal to teens looking for sensitive queer representation, fans of contemporary horror, revenge fantasy and dark academia. While it has elements of the cult, darkly comic 80’s movie Heathers and Ryan La Sala’s sinister The Honeys, more importantly it is thought provoking and balanced with Outlaw’s brother Aiden being a respectful force for good in a town ruled by guns and men. As Edge explains, her story is based on an emotional truth and is meant to be cathartic.

With a second speculative YA thriller entitled Cruel Instincts pitched as Cruel Intentions x The Birds and her first novel for adults, a Shakespeare-infused, gothic fantasy Hamlet and Juliet planned for 2027 Clare Edge is one to watch.