Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything

Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans // 384 pgs

⭐⭐⭐

Murder most fowl? In this sardonic and campy YA thriller, an anxious, introverted nonbinary teen birder somehow finds themself solving a murder mystery with their neighbor/fellow anime lover, all while falling for a cute girl from their birding group . . . and trying not to get murdered.

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, like Fear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders from the birds to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbor’s life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choice—succumb to their long list of fears (including #3: Murder and #55: Breaking into a Dead Guy’s Apartment) or investigate what happened.

Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Bianca’s crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13: Beautiful People, #11: Parents Discovering They’re A Raging Lesbian), the trio uncovers a conspiracy much larger—and weirder—than imagined. But when the killer catches wind of the investigation, Bianca’s #1 fear of public speaking doesn’t sound so bad compared to the threat of being silenced for good.

In this absurdist, bizarrely comical YA thriller that is at turns a deceptively deep exploration of anxiety and identity, perhaps the real murder investigation is the friends we make along the way.

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I enjoyed this one, though Bianca did annoy me a bit. I went in knowing there was a LGBT focus in this, but the questioning of Bianca’s gender identity did surprise me a bit. I think it’s a really good concept to explore in a teen book, and I do enjoy that there wasn’t ever a focus on coming out, but just accepting yourself and just being who you are. I do wish those moments came up a bit more organically; one chapter we’re focusing on a murderous bird cult and the next their gender identity. There was just some tonal whiplash, but it was a nice inclusion!

The side characters were good, though honestly a little too nice and affirming. I think it could have been interesting to have a bit more struggle on that end, since realistically not everyone is going to be accepting of someone’s gender identity. Anderson was a great character, and I think he and Bianca had some great chemistry and character development. The anime references did get a little annoying, but those also slowed down a bit when the stakes became more serious.

The murder mystery itself was very predictable, but I still had a fun time! I liked how absolutely absurd it all was, and a lot of aspects reminded me a bit of Hot Fuzz, which definitely left me entertained. Overall it was a fun, quick read with a focus on LGBT characters; I can’t help but like it.