That should give you a hint as to where the story is going. This bloody, dirty, sensual, and horrific book is wrapped in luscious, baroque prose, in a monstrous creation of terrible beauty—akin, in some ways, to the regrettably canceled Hannibal. Complicated subjects of gender and race come into play within Kingdom of Little Wounds, most prominently in the case of Midi Sorte, an African slave originally brought to court as an exotic gift, while new horrors lie in store with every turn of the page, from murder to rape to unabashed greed. Even for adults, this is a deeply unsettling and disturbing book.

When Bitterblue ascends the throne after his death, she’s confronted by advisors who have stepped in to run the kingdom until she comes of age. Her understanding of Monsea begins to shift, and so do her attitudes on how to handle Leck’s legacy. What could be a fairly straightforward tale of destruction, death, and the aftermath of a deeply terrible person’s stranglehold on an entire kingdom becomes something else when the entire story is written in lilting, beautiful prose—even the awful scenery and depictions of violent abuse.

As in Bleeding Violet, this book depicts a meticulously constructed, bizarre, monster-filled, and oddly beautiful world through striking writing and sharp, vivid descriptions. Slice of Cherry comes with a much harder edge, though, coming as it does with a murder spree that’s among the least of the town’s problems; this is a book so twisted that underage serial killers seem almost normal and relatively benign in light of everything else that’s going on.

The book attracted considerable controversy in 2011 when it was included on and later dropped from a summer young adult fiction roundup at Bitch Magazine after complaints from readers concerned about sexual assault, explicit content, and a very troubling scene in which rape is effectively used as a form of vengeance. Yet, this is an interpretation that lacks nuance. Tender Morsels is a morally troubling, challenging, aggressive book—in some ways it reminds me of Sucker Punch, which was graphically, dramatically violent but ultimately took on some complicated social issues surrounding young women, mental illness, and agency. Tender Morsels is designed to be interrogated, not accepted.

The Freaks occupy their own strange community, which begins to fracture, forcing them aboveground and into the dangerous outside world. The scenery of Above is jagged, graphic, violent—but what really appeals to me about the text is the way it challenges the reader’s preconceptions of race and gender. Telling you how would, of course, ruin the experience, but it’s worth noting that nothing is what it seems in Above and it’s worth keeping a weather eye on your surroundings whilst you read.