A Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares is what happens when the Adam’s Family has a baby with a murder mystery novel. I read it hungrily all in one day, not managing to put it down once whilst even getting my hair cut.

Magic and Death are both real in this book, but it’s such a refreshing take on the whole narrative. When I read the first excerpt of this book, I was worried that it was just going to be a ‘kooky family have hi-jinks’, but instead it’s a glorious mixture of superstition and mystery. Eugene, the twin brother of Esther, our protagonist, sometimes becomes transparent and then disappears, returning ‘smelling of the grave’. It’s a wonderful representation of how mental health does make people disappear into themselves, and also how things in this book are not what they seem.

The protagonist, Esther, is a costume wearing, illegal cupcake baking, red-headed girl who knows that her absolute worst fear will kill her, as it has killed everyone else in her family. I absolutely adored reading her, she made me snort with laughter, and also makes pop culture references that never stand out compared to the setting of the book. She felt like she could be a person, albeit, a weird person that you were too nervous to talk to because she was that cool.

The second most important character in this book, Jonah Smallwood, is a gem of a character. He’s described as looking like Finn from Star Wars, which instantly made me love him, and also Krystal Sutherland’s character descriptions. Jonah is funny, and smart, and brave, and loves his sister to the point that he is suffering for it. He’s stuck in an abusive home, but still understands that his father is a person, and loved, and lost.

His relationship with Esther is so evocatively described, that I wished I was both of them at once. They love each other in all the right ways, and they make each other better. Jonah paints Esther a mural, Esther holds Jonah and tells him stories. I loved how Jonah wasn’t the ‘bad boy’, here to whisk Esther away. He was just Jonah. Halfway through the book, I wanted the two of them to make love so badly that I had to close my Kindle app and eat a biscuit. This is coming from a gay reviewer who hates straight relationships in books so much that she considers banning them.

I won’t spoil what actually happens in the book, because I want people to experience it for themselves. However, I do have to talk about the Death aspect of the book, most importantly, the missing children. I hungrily eat up anything that deals with missing children, in fact, my Photography dissertation revolved around it. Children in this book go missing, and they are found too late. There is a part in the book, where two little girls are found, where I sat and cried, because I was angry and upset, and the girls felt so real. Sunderland’s writing makes you hurt for people who do not exist.

Overall, A Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares is an amazing, thought provoking book, that tackles mental health, and letting your fears overcome you head on. Esther is a delight to read, she’s allowed to make mistakes, and have panic attacks, and dress up as her favourite women from history. I love her, and I want to be her, and most of all, I want to give her a hug and tell her she’s going to be okay. That we’re all going to be okay.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for a review.

Ester's family is unusual, her best friend is deaf and her new friend, Jonah became her friend after pickpocketing her!
Jonah also has family troubles as at home he is beaten by his father whilst his mother died years ago. Meanwhile, Ester's family are in money trouble which makes her mum very tearful while her grandad still feels guilty over a murder he never solved...

The two have death plaguing their families but the two come together to complete a series of Ester's fears that solidifies their friendship and possibly even more could become of them.

I found the book a bit weird to be truthful over it's death curse on her grandfather but then again oddness embodies this family! It was very different and I commend Krystal for that greatly.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

What a great quirky story. Amazing characters, intriguing plot and so far the best writing I've ever read on mental illness particularly fear/social anxiety. Usually books on mental illness work in one of two ways for me; they make me sad or I think they're over dramatic and get zero emotion out of me. I've very rarely come across a story that inspired me in any real way and this one actually made me get up and go face a fear and it's true "everything you want is on the other side of fear."

On a side note I would have probably given this book a 5 star however the ARC I got seemed quite corrupted or badly edited which was hugely distracting. However it's a testament to the great writing and story that I didn't get the itch to give up because of that.