Trigger Warnings: blood, gore, violence, animal death, neglective adults, off page domestic violence, bullying, racism, internalized transphobia

Chuck Warren died tragically in the old abandoned mill in Bridlington. Everyone thinks it was an accident, but Paz Espino knows it was the monster that lives under their small town, and she’s determined to kill it before anyone else gets hurt. She’ll need the help of her crew – inseparable friends bound by a childhood pact, stronger than anything – to hunt it down. 

With shifting timelines and multiple perspectives, Lockjaw is a small-town trans YA horror story that’s sure to captivate all who pick it up.

This book took me a bit to get into, but that’s honestly because I could tell something was just off enough within the town that I was always trying to figure out what. Matteo L. Cerilli did a fantastic job at leaving breadcrumbs throughout the early pages until you get to the big twist!

While this book tackles a lot of things (see the trigger warnings up top), it also captures the feel of a small town and what the pros and cons of that can be, regardless of the reputation it may have to outsiders.

Overall, once you get your footing into Bridlington you are bound to get sucked into the monster fighting queer teens and you won’t be able to turn the pages quick enough.