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A review by lilyrooke
Howl by Shaun David Hutchinson
1.0
When Virgil stumbles into town bleeding and disorientated, no one believes he was attacked by a monster. Instead, they blame him for drinking; for wandering into danger; and for not being able to move on with his life. Doxxed, mercilessly bullied, harassed at school and finding no compassion at home, Virgil finds his life disintegrating around him, as his body begins to change, and it seems the monster never left.
First, massive content warnings necessary for anyone considering reading Howl. The whole book feels like a metaphor for rape, so there's that, plus gaslighting; victim-blaming; doxxing; bullying; gay-bashing; f-slurs; homophobia; kidnapping/abduction; date rape; sexual assault; body horror. This is about as far from a cute m/m shifter romance as you could possibly expect; it definitely leans towards horror, particularly the psychological, regarding Virgil's flashbacks and the visceral nature of his experience being attacked.
Honestly I found this book incredibly sad. I would go so far as to say needlessly bleak and hopeless. Between wilfully incompetent authority figures who are arguably corrupt and certainly gaslighters, to Virgil's family who are full of victim-blamers and have no character development throughout the story, reading Howl was like being trapped in a nightmare. Perhaps that's the point, but for me, dark books like these need a touch of light, SOMETHING to make me feel there's some reason a character like Virgil wouldn't kill himself after his experiences.
I found it strange that someone who was comfortable in his sexuality would have any time for the boys he attempts to befriend, after their treatment of him alongside the fact there are multiple other characters who welcome him, and who he also seems to like and not want to push away. It felt more convenient to the plot that Virgil happens to keep going to these parties, rather than there being any need for him to do so in terms of his character development. He doesn't really ever attempt to hunt the monster actively, he's a much more passive character than he could have been, and although he's dealing with extreme trauma, I do think the story could have been stronger had he taken a more active role as the protagonist.
I think on balance Howl feels more like trauma porn than a fulfilling story, because to me Virgil's experiences and powerful inner psychological flashbacks are only there to elicit a visceral emotional response, rather than to drive him to act. The ending wraps up far too neatly for my preferences, and overall I found it an unsatisfying though disturbing read. Not badly written by any means, but not a book I would recommend.
First, massive content warnings necessary for anyone considering reading Howl. The whole book feels like a metaphor for rape, so there's that, plus gaslighting; victim-blaming; doxxing; bullying; gay-bashing; f-slurs; homophobia; kidnapping/abduction; date rape; sexual assault; body horror. This is about as far from a cute m/m shifter romance as you could possibly expect; it definitely leans towards horror, particularly the psychological, regarding Virgil's flashbacks and the visceral nature of his experience being attacked.
Honestly I found this book incredibly sad. I would go so far as to say needlessly bleak and hopeless. Between wilfully incompetent authority figures who are arguably corrupt and certainly gaslighters, to Virgil's family who are full of victim-blamers and have no character development throughout the story, reading Howl was like being trapped in a nightmare. Perhaps that's the point, but for me, dark books like these need a touch of light, SOMETHING to make me feel there's some reason a character like Virgil wouldn't kill himself after his experiences.
I found it strange that someone who was comfortable in his sexuality would have any time for the boys he attempts to befriend, after their treatment of him alongside the fact there are multiple other characters who welcome him, and who he also seems to like and not want to push away. It felt more convenient to the plot that Virgil happens to keep going to these parties, rather than there being any need for him to do so in terms of his character development. He doesn't really ever attempt to hunt the monster actively, he's a much more passive character than he could have been, and although he's dealing with extreme trauma, I do think the story could have been stronger had he taken a more active role as the protagonist.
I think on balance Howl feels more like trauma porn than a fulfilling story, because to me Virgil's experiences and powerful inner psychological flashbacks are only there to elicit a visceral emotional response, rather than to drive him to act. The ending wraps up far too neatly for my preferences, and overall I found it an unsatisfying though disturbing read. Not badly written by any means, but not a book I would recommend.