Book Launch: Monster in the Mirror by Janasha Prabhu
Featured Book
Monster in the Mirror - A Novel
Dark, twisty, and atmospheric debut thriller for readers of The Quiet Tenant and The Butcher.
Her uncle was a serial killer. The town whispers, could she be a killer too?
On the night Jiah Rai was found cradling her girlfriend Georgia's dead body at the bottom of Wailing Cliff, everyone suspected her. There wasn't enough evidence to charge her, but the town refuses to forget. Murder must run in the family. Jiah's uncle was a convicted serial killer, and while he died behind bars, his legacy lives on in Jiah and her sister. It doesn't matter that they've lived in Dumont their whole lives--they have never fit into the insular white community, and perhaps they never will
But legacy isn't done with Jiah just yet. A few years later, a threat from Georgia's brother threatens to crumble the shaky peace Jiah has rebuilt. Desperate to feel safe again, Jiah decides to take matters into her own hands and seeks support from her best friend, Estrella. After all, Estrella has been there for Jiah ever since they met after Georgia's death. But when Estrella never shows up to a dinner party, a series of texts lead Jiah to the beach below, where she finds a body positioned exactly how her uncle displayed his victims over a decade ago. The killer mocks Jiah, hinting they know about her secrets, too. But is Jiah really the monster Dumont thinks she is? As Jiah hunts the killer, she begins to realize she might be unable to save the next victim...and that she may not want to.
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
Join us for an event with Janasha Prabu to celebrate the release of her debut, Monster in the Mirror! Dark, twisty, and atmospheric debut thriller for readers of The Quiet Tenant and The Butcher.Her uncle was a serial killer. The town whispers, could she be a killer too?On the night Jiah Rai was found cradling her girlfriend Georgia's dead body at the bottom of Wailing Cliff, everyone suspected her. There wasn't enough evidence to charge her, but the town refuses to forget. Murder must run in the family. Jiah's uncle was a convicted serial killer, and while he died behind bars, his legacy lives on in Jiah and her sister. It doesn't matter that they've lived in Dumont their whole lives—they have never fit into the insular white community, and perhaps they never willBut legacy isn't done with Jiah just yet. A few years later, a threat from Georgia's brother threatens to crumble the shaky peace Jiah has rebuilt. Desperate to feel safe again, Jiah decides to take matters into her own hands and seeks support from her best friend, Estrella. After all, Estrella has been there for Jiah ever since they met after Georgia's death. But when Estrella never shows up to a dinner party, a series of texts lead Jiah to the beach below, where she finds a body positioned exactly how her uncle displayed his victims over a decade ago. The killer mocks Jiah, hinting they know about her secrets, too. But is Jiah really the monster Dumont thinks she is? As Jiah hunts the killer, she begins to realize she might be unable to save the next victim…and that she may not want to.Janasha Prabhu is a graduate of the University of Illinois with degrees in chemistry and computer science and is a fellow of the 2024 LitUp cycle through Reese’s Book Club.She has adored horror ever since picking up her first Goosebumps book as a kid and enjoys incorporating her experiences as a queer woman of color, her love for animals, and her interests in cooking into dark and twisted stories.Janasha currently lives in Chicago with her partner and their three cats—Grimm, James, and Harpo—and loves catching the latest horror movie, cooking a new recipe, or playing video games when she’s not writing.Accessibility: This event is hosted at the bookstore, which is a wheelchair accessible space. Masks are strongly encouraged for this event but not required. We have one industrial air purifier, two smaller air purifiers, and four ceiling fans throughout our space. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. To request ASL interpretation for this event, please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com by no later than 14 days before the event. For other access needs please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com.
Featured Author
Janasha Prabhu
Janasha Prabhu is a graduate of the University of Illinois with degrees in chemistry and computer science and is a fellow of the 2024 LitUp cycle through Reese’s Book Club. She has adored horror ever since picking up her first Goosebumps book as a kid and enjoys in-corporating her experiences as a queer woman of color, her love for animals, and her interests in cooking into dark and twisted stories. Janasha currently lives in Chicago with her two cats, Grimm and James, and loves catching the latest horror movie with her partner when she’s not writing.
About the Venue
Women & Children First
Women & Children First believes in the transformative power of literature. As intersectional trans-inclusive feminists, we believe books are tools for liberation. Since 1979, we have celebrated and amplified underrepresented voices.
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Women's Book Group
Women's Book Group The Women's Book Group is our longest-running book group, led by Women & Children First Co-Founder Linda Bubon (wcflinda@gmail.com). We meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm. SCHEDULE: March 17 - I Didn’t Come Here to Lie by Karen Lewis and Elizabeth Todd-Breland April 21 - You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson May 19 - Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche June 16 - The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill July 21 - On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder August 18 - Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green September 15 - Lawless by Leah Litman October 20 - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai November 17 - Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen December 15 - Annual Book Selection Night (This meeting only starts at 7 p.m.)
Barbara Kingsolver - Partita
We're proud to partner with the Chicago Humanities Festival for this exciting event featuring Barbara Kingsolver, a Women & Children First favorite author of all time! Barbara Kingsolver is one of the most renowned and powerful writers of our time. She’s the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Demon Copperhead, the National Humanities Medal, and the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Kingsolver joins us to discuss her newest novel, Partita, which continues her literary legacy. It explores class barriers, the risks of ambition, and the power of art through the story of a woman’s modest life — and the shocking return of her painful yet passionate past. Kingsolver will read a few passages from the novel, accompanied by a classical pianist who will bring the passages to life. There will not be a book-signing for this event.
Off-site: EXHIBIT G: Poems, Essays, and Photographs of Gaza by Fady Joudah
Join us as we welcome Fady Joudah for an off-site event at Haymarket House (800 W. Buena) in honor of the release of EXHIBIT G: Poems, Essays, and Photographs of Gaza.A Millions Most Anticipated 2026 Selection“This is poetry of the highest order, and a stunning reminder of what words can do.”—Omar El Akkad“Hold this book, read every word, study every picture, notice the prints you leave behind—a reminder that no one’s hands are clean.”—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom DreamsFrom National Book Award Finalist Fady Joudah, a collection of poems, essays, and photographs that offers a Palestinian representation of not only the staggering grief, but the unwavering resilience and prevailing life force of a people and place enduring genocide.Fady Joudah writes from the split perspective of a Palestinian American physician caring for the sick while watching the destruction of Gaza from the United States, a nation complicit in that destruction. He locates the paradox of his position everywhere: in the seed a sparrow eats from his proffered hand; in his writing in English, the oppressor’s language; in the faces of Palestinian children receiving meals from aid kitchens—a glimpse into what his life could have been, and what is being lost in a war disproportionately impacting children and their families. Throughout the book, beauty insists on its survival not only through the Palestinian people, but also through the nonhuman world in which he takes occasional refuge from the devastation that humanity brings upon itself.By placing before readers a series of carefully chosen images from Gaza, Joudah presses his reader to comprehend that the experience of both the individual and the whole are integral to an explicitly Palestinian understanding of genocide, even if that rendering is a nearly impossible endeavor. Exhibit G insists on the immensity of Palestinian interiority, and finds in this collective act of creation a hyperpresent awareness. “By claiming what is being actively erased,” Joudah writes, “I become presence.”At once an indictment of genocide, a rendering of catastrophic loss, and “an affirmation of life instead of a staging of death” (Katherine Larson), Exhibit G insists that love exists in all its variousness, and that it is the only defense against a totalizing, destructive force.Fady Joudah is the author of […], a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, and Exhibit G.