Thistlefoot

My teammate Victoria recommended this to me¹ and I enjoyed it a lot—it only took me this long to finish it because I took a break to read Babel.

Thistlefoot centers on siblings Bellatine and Isaac Yaga, who may have inherited mystical powers (and accompanying trauma) from their ancestors, victims and survivors of the Russian anti-Jewish pogroms. This family history is dredged up when they inherit a house with [checks notes] chicken legs. GennaRose Nethercott somehow manages to make that detail feel both incredible and completely within the realm of possibility. What ensues is a weird and thrilling chase across different parts of the country, in a story that mixes fairy tales, road-trip hijinks, and a zombie-like horde of infected humans.