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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i really enjoyed this book. fans of andrew joseph white, add this to your to-read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
Moderate: Hate crime, Self harm, Transphobia, Suicide attempt
When two trans teenagers decide to run away from home to escape to California and live free as themselves, they wind up in a fight for their lives when they’re waylaid by a cult who sacrifices girls to a mysterious monster living in their woods.
The beginning of this book is fairly slow, and in all honesty if I hadn’t known this was classified as a horror up until about the 50% mark, I’d have assumed it was simply a literary novel surrounding the issue of being trans in a world that is unaccepting. However, once this novel picks up it picks up FAST, and once the story finally hits its stride it doesn’t let up until everything is finally resolved.
Like the debate both Max and Erin ironically have before they realize the danger they’re in - are cryptids transphobic? If the monster only eats girls, who does it go after? Erin - the trans girl, or Max - the trans boy? When the cult tries to answer this question for the monster, the monster responds with something that no one - including the ones feeding the monster - ever expected.
All in all, this was a fun ride and I enjoyed the horror and survival thriller aspect of this book. Erin fits very well into the Final Girl archetype, while Max is the comedic relief dead-set (perhaps literally) to die while mocking the ones trying - and failing - to kill him. Together, they’ll figure out how to survive this nightmare they’ve found themselves in - and perhaps, eliminate the threat so no one else has to die to fulfill the whims of the men in this town.
A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Random House Children’s for providing this e-ARC.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot but I think I was expecting something different from it.
The characters were great and I enjoyed their relationship, they felt quite real and I massively enjoyed the cryptid conversation.
My issue with this book was that I didn't find it all that scary- which was what I was looking for. Respectively, the situation was scary when I imagine it first hand but I think the 3rd person narrative made me feel a little more detached? I'm not sure. I also struggled with the decision making towards the end and middle.
I think I will be reading more books from this author though
The characters were great and I enjoyed their relationship, they felt quite real and I massively enjoyed the cryptid conversation.
My issue with this book was that I didn't find it all that scary- which was what I was looking for. Respectively, the situation was scary when I imagine it first hand but I think the 3rd person narrative made me feel a little more detached? I'm not sure. I also struggled with the decision making towards the end and middle.
I think I will be reading more books from this author though
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really love this spin on the classic horror "there's a monster in the woods" trope. The terror you feel from what happens is palpable—but like every good monster story, the gripping dread you feel isn't from the unknown beast lurking in the dark, but rather the interpersonal and societal fear faced by the characters and how the monster represents said fear.
With that being said, however, I'm not entirely sure what the monster is supposed to "be"? Perhaps I'm slow on the uptake, but it seemed a bit inconsistent to me on if it was simply an undercurrent with which to move the story along, or if it was representative of something else.It only attacks when it knows its prey fears it, but only eats what it's able to chase down and kill ... It doesn't discriminate its victims, even though the society it's based in claims that it will only eat their definition of a woman. I feel like I'm close to grasping what it's all meant to be, but falling short, and I'm not sure if that's a failing on my part or perhaps on the author's in conveying the meaning.
… Or perhaps I'm reading too much into it.
But the frustration I felt when the monster itself was never addressed in the end and simply left alone, along with the case surrounding the other missing girls—seriously, I wish we had a better answer than just "fuck the police but we have no choice but to give them this case"—definitely exacerbated my confusion.
Nonetheless, Max and Erin are compelling characters whose journey I happily went along with. I particularly loved the way they contrasted one another, and while Erin was my favourite of the two, I really appreciated the way Kisner depicted Max in particular as a messy trans boy who's grappling the heavy combination of perceived inferiority, transphobia, and all the big and messy emotions you experience when you're 17. It made him feel the most human in this book, to the point where I wonder if perhaps Kisner wasn't pulling from real life in some way (either from their own feelings or from someone they loved).
Another aspect that resonated with me was the way transphobia in society is depicted, and how true to form it was. It's scary and real and can kill you for the innocuous and innocent crime of living! When I read about the various scenarios Erin and Max found themselves in, not at the hands of the beast but instead their fellow people, I genuinely felt afraid and often thought about moments when I had been scrutinized and placed in life-threatening scenarios solely for occupying the socialized space of a marginalized person. That being said, however, I'm not sure how to feel about the invocation of real trans people' names in this novel. Maybe it's just a personal thing, but I couldn't help but notice that all of the murdered trans peoples' names—whether directly stated in the text or the dedication—were all ... white. Which definitely left a sour taste in my mouth, though I'm still unsure if it's the direct reason why I feel mixed about their inclusion in Max's narrative.
Old Wounds isn't anything new if you're looking for queer horror, but it is something representative of how I'd like the publishing industry as a whole to move towards normalizing it. Give me more messy trans characters! Give me trans characters who talk about their trans identities! Give me trans characters whose identities are integral to understanding them as people! And give me trans characters who fight monsters and cops and the horrors of cisheteronormative hegemony!!!
With that being said, however, I'm not entirely sure what the monster is supposed to "be"? Perhaps I'm slow on the uptake, but it seemed a bit inconsistent to me on if it was simply an undercurrent with which to move the story along, or if it was representative of something else.
… Or perhaps I'm reading too much into it.
Nonetheless, Max and Erin are compelling characters whose journey I happily went along with. I particularly loved the way they contrasted one another, and while Erin was my favourite of the two, I really appreciated the way Kisner depicted Max in particular as a messy trans boy who's grappling the heavy combination of perceived inferiority, transphobia, and all the big and messy emotions you experience when you're 17. It made him feel the most human in this book, to the point where I wonder if perhaps Kisner wasn't pulling from real life in some way (either from their own feelings or from someone they loved).
Another aspect that resonated with me was the way transphobia in society is depicted, and how true to form it was. It's scary and real and can kill you for the innocuous and innocent crime of living! When I read about the various scenarios Erin and Max found themselves in, not at the hands of the beast but instead their fellow people, I genuinely felt afraid and often thought about moments when I had been scrutinized and placed in life-threatening scenarios solely for occupying the socialized space of a marginalized person. That being said, however, I'm not sure how to feel about the invocation of real trans people' names in this novel. Maybe it's just a personal thing, but I couldn't help but notice that all of the murdered trans peoples' names—whether directly stated in the text or the dedication—were all ... white. Which definitely left a sour taste in my mouth, though I'm still unsure if it's the direct reason why I feel mixed about their inclusion in Max's narrative.
Old Wounds isn't anything new if you're looking for queer horror, but it is something representative of how I'd like the publishing industry as a whole to move towards normalizing it. Give me more messy trans characters! Give me trans characters who talk about their trans identities! Give me trans characters whose identities are integral to understanding them as people! And give me trans characters who fight monsters and cops and the horrors of cisheteronormative hegemony!!!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated