Book Review: Pet by Catherine Chidgey

Book: Pet

Author: Catherine Chidgey

Pages: 332

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~4 hours 

Plot Summary: Like every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher and longs to be her pet. However, when a thief begins to target the school, Justine’s sense that something isn’t quite right grows ever stronger. With each twist of the plot, this gripping story of deception and the corrosive power of guilt takes a yet darker turn. Justine must decide where her loyalties lie.

Set in New Zealand in the 1980s and probing themes of racism, misogyny and the oppressive reaches of Catholicism, Pet will take a rightful place next to other classic portraits of childhood betrayal and psychological suspense. 

Things I Liked: 

1. Pet is based in Wellington in 1984 in a very Catholic environment. Our protagonist and narrator, Justine, goes to a Catholic school and lives in a small community of, mostly, Catholic people. She has lost her mother to cancer fairly recently, her father has taken to drinking copiously and she, at 12 years of age, has to cook and keep house while also trying to deal with the emotional and physical changes that come with being an almost-teenager. The author brings this world in which Justine lives so vividly alive and those of us who have had a convent school education will relate with several aspects of this world. So, I loved the setting and details of this book. 

2. There are some dark and twisty characters in this book, which made it so interesting. 

First up, we have the teacher, Mrs. Price. She is young, beautiful, drives a Corvette and is of much interest to all the students in her class. She is superficially nice but deeply manipulative, conniving and cruel. She has a 'pet' amongst the students, a flavour of a month student, who got extra attention, compliments but had to do all kinds of little (and not so little) errands for her. You know Mrs. Price is up to no good when she does not stop her students from bullying a minority student right under her nose. She is an interesting character and as the story progresses there is a sense of dread built up as to what she would do as Mrs. Price is pushed more and more into a corner.

Then we have Justine. She is twelve, has recently lost her mother, suffers from epilepsy, which causes seizures and memory loss. She is embarrassed of these seizures and it is yet another thing that sets her apart in school where she just wants to belong. She, much like her classmates, idolises Mrs. Price and when she becomes the latest 'pet', Justine is only too happy to do whatever Mrs. Price asks of her, which leads to the end of her friendship with her best friend, Amy. Justine is also not the most reliable narrator given she loses time and memories after her seizures, so her recollections are not perfect or accurate. Justine, as a typical pre-teen, is very conscious of what people think of her and so, she drops Amy for the flimsiest of reasons. We may be quick to judge her but she is twelve, motherless and at a loss on how to navigate all the overwhelming feelings that come with being an almost-teen. 

I also really liked Amy. Amy is Chinese and her immigrant parents own a fruit and vegetable store. The casual racism faced by Amy and her family is so heartbreaking and anger-inducing. Amy, however, is so gutsy and strong. She believes in doing the right thing and fearlessly does so even if it led to heartbreaking consequences for her. 

3. I, especially, enjoyed reading about the ways in which extreme Catholicism impacted the lives of the characters in this book. From the school and its ethos to some aggressive pro-life people, the impact of Catholicism is everywhere in Justine's community and world. 

4. The book is quite fast-paced and gripping. It is very well written and atmospheric. You get pulled into this world of suburban Wellington in the 80s with all of its nosiness, racism and misogyny. 

5. There is a palpable sense of dread as events in 1984 come to a head. We know something is not-right with Mrs. Price and Justine's efforts to expose the truth and Mrs. Price's to prevent the truth from coming out creates a tense atmosphere and you wonder how this saga is going to end and you can feel something sinister coming. The denouement is sort of satisfactory but also leaves you to wonder and make up your own mind about certain things (sorry for being vague but I don't want to spoil anything). 

Rating: 4/5