Lockjaw

Cerilli delivers a stunning debut in this gripping paranormal horror novel about queer teens growing up in a community that doesn't accept them and the insidious danger of apathy. Paz Espino is considered a "weirdo" in her hometown of Bridlington--and most Bridlington denizens don't like weirdos. Not the ones like Paz, who's often blamed for anything and everything that goes wrong around town, and not the ones like Chuck Warren, whose parents often ignore or don't notice how neighbor kids constantly bully him. When Chuck turns up dead at the old paper mill, however, local authorities rally behind the Warren family, who claim that Paz is responsible for Chuck's death. But Paz knows the truth: it wasn't an accident. Chuck was killed by a monster, and if Paz can't prove its existence, she fears that it will return to tear the town apart. Without eschewing how self-preservation instincts can sometimes perpetuate harm within queer communities, Cerilli blends present-day events, flashbacks, and supernatural happenings via multiple third-person perspectives to explore myriad queer experiences. Characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14--up. (June)

Horror lurks in a small town. People mind their own business in Bridlington. A crew of 11-year-olds, led by spirited Paz Espino, who's Latina, bike around the forbidden places in town, and the police chief and his son keep everyone in line. When Asher Gordon, a white trans runaway, comes to town, his presence stirs up tragic memories and even more tragic ghosts. Told in multiple third-person perspectives--from major characters to Asher's dog, Bird, to the town itself--the story experiments with temporality and moves forward in fits and starts, often stopping just when some interesting action occurs to go back to a different character or different timeline. There's plenty of on-page oppression; while slurs are never written out, they're described (for example, as "a break in your armor," for Vietnamese genderqueer Beetle, or adding "a 'y' to a known fact," which requires readers to mentally run through possible insults). Repetition is used to middling effect: A "rotten" smell pervades the town, slushies indicate the presence of a child, and characters' experiences of feeling too hot or too cold stand in for other atmospheric descriptions. Supernatural horror and the banality of evil intertwine as the story twists and turns, the bad guys (and gals) get their due, and those who deserve to eventually triumph. A little more challenging than rewarding. (Horror. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.