Starred review from April 1, 2024
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.
April 15, 2024
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(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
May 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 "I wish we didn't have to be the brave ones." Eleven-year-old Paz and her misfit crew know two things: a monster stalks the lonely spaces in small-town Bridlington, and the adults won't do anything. Paz and her friends, bullied or ignored because they don't fit in, are the monster's primary prey. When it claims one, they take the fight to its lair in the abandoned paper mill. Their story dovetails with that of Asher, a 17-year-old trans runaway trying to make a new start in Bridlington, only to learn that the monster he's running from is there, too. Debut author Cerilli excels at setting an ominous mood: the forest is a "dark, toothy shape," an open car trunk is "waiting to swallow something."" Multiple narrators at different points in time tell the horror story of this small town, from its supernatural hauntings to its everyday monsters, teasing alternative futures and foreshadowing inevitable tragedy--though some characters earn a hopeful ending. Experimental, metaphorical, and poetic, this quiet novel is for thoughtful readers not averse to horror themes.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
August 23, 2024
Gr 9 Up-There's a monster in Bridlington, and 11-year-old Paz Espino is determined to kill it. As she sets off on her journey, she veers further apart from her popular sister, Marcela. As Marcela tries her best to better understand Paz, she eventually meets town outsiders Asher and Beetle. Asher, new to town, tries his best to blend in but harbors a secret: he is unhoused. Ex-local Beetle Hoang returns to Bridlington, but quickly starts plotting his grand escape. Asher and Beetle are trans, but whereas Asher spends most of his time trying to blend in and not make waves, Beetle stands out with his blue hair and acerbic personality. Marcela, Beetle, and Asher all start to feel the ephemeral monster everywhere. When the connections between Paz, Beetle, Marcela, and Asher are finally exposed, the kids quickly learn that the supernatural is at work and vengeful spirits are out for blood. Is there a way to talk down the ghosts and save the town? Cerilli's debut is both unsettling and engaging. There's a fair amount of jumping around from the perspectives of all the different characters, including Asher's dog, Bird, and of play with the time line of events-the book is not told in a completely linear format, but readers don't discover this until they are about two-thirds of the way through. Despite some of the more confusing elements, this novel does tell a fairly original story that manages to keep pace with the climactic end. VERDICT A recommended supplemental purchase for YA collections.-Ryan P. Donovan
Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.