...visceral ... Booth’s book got me from Page 1 ... Booth’s ability to create an emotional quest around Alice’s dilemma is gripping. And when she describes the victims of the disease, well, it’s enough to make your skin tingle.
...[a] sharp, savvy second novel ... From an entirely scientific perspective (and also an editorial one), Booth isn’t quite able to make Cutis a believable disease. As horrifying as it is, it does require a great deal of suspension of disbelief ... Sealed is constantly stressful, terrifyingly believable most of the time, and horrific in many ways. There’s a feeling of impending doom from the very start ... It’s no spoiler to say that Sealed peaks with one of the most visceral, intense, and raw childbirth scenes you’ll encounter in a long time. This is an astute, worrying little novel, heavy with mood and thick with fears of the future of our planet, our bodies, our babies. And rightfully so.
...a bracing, discomforting read ... The elements of speculative fiction, meanwhile, are given an interesting edge because they are shown through the eyes of a woman who is heavily pregnant—and hugely paranoid ... Booth does a good job of making us question both Alice’s world and our own reactions to it, even if she sometimes falters ... I had to suspend my disbelief in parts, in order to remain caught up in the story. I had many unanswered questions ... But this is just an unfortunate blemish on writing that is otherwise sharp, insightful and physical. Booth makes us feel the weight and discomfort of Alice’s pregnant body, as well as newly aware of our own skin. There are some fine descriptions ... There’s genuine emotional tension, especially as the book builds to its admirably gory ending. I didn’t quite believe in every aspect of these bloody final scenes—but there was more than enough to keep me going. This is a promising debut novel.
It is a terrifying concept ... Booth has this amazing way to paint scenes and make you feel Alice’s frustration ... Booth does an amazing job of showing me in excruciating detail what [pregnancy] is like. I felt every stretch of skin, every push on bone or lung, every stare as someone judged Alice for moving to that town ... The theme of being sealed permeates through out the book, trapping you within the pages ... I did find somethings I didn’t like ... Overall, it’s a great and terrifying story of something you can’t stop. There are tons of gory descriptions for the gore fans, but it’s not so over the top that you feel dirty after. And there is enough of a heart and brain to the story that it’ll feed those looking for something with substance.
... more depressing and upsetting than Margaret Atwood’s apocalyptica ... a scary book, at the macro, society-is-breaking-down level, but also at eye level. It’s also a deeply internal book, shored up with exceptional description, with spiraling thoughts and memories that take up entire chapters. Alice is a complex character, an introvert whose fears extend to the metaphysical ... It’s one of the most harrowing pieces of prose I have ever experienced. The body horror quotient of the book is already pretty high, because being sealed in by one’s own skin is pretty intense, but Booth’s description of birth evokes a degree of body horror even Cronenberg couldn’t touch ... The final pages of Sealed have a tiny degree of redemption, but it isn’t enough ... For so many reasons, it’s unforgettable (despite its weirdly forgettable title), but you will not find a more distressing read this year.
In this compelling, anxiety-inducing debut...Sealed refuses to be categorized: it is a pre-apocalyptic cautionary tale, an intense psychological thriller, a fable on motherhood, and pure body horror all wrapped in an unsettling package that will stay with readers long after they turn the final page. Fans of Margaret Atwood will enjoy this but librarians should also target readers who enjoyed The Grip of It (2017), by Jac Jemc; Annihilation (2014), by Jeff VanderMeer; and The Rust Maidens (2018), by Gwendolyn Kiste.
Delivering bone-chilling suspense, debut author Booth reimagines dystopian SF as a terrifying modern tale of motherhood ... Booth paints a picture of good, everyday people under attack from their own bodies; the consistently tense imagery and tone create a vulnerability within the characters that is about individual biology as much as widespread disaster. Readers looking for an all-too-real dystopian scare will find this subtle, intense, deeply unnerving novel makes their skin crawl in the best way.
