Lockjaw / Matteo L. Cerilli

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.

Lunar Boy / Jes and Cin Wibowo

Lunar Boy
By: Jes and Cin Wibowo
Genre: Graphic Novel, Science Fiction, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 240
Published: May 14, 2025
Publisher: HarperAlley
Dates Read: March 4, 2025 - March 5, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Indu, a boy from the moon, has felt like he doesn’t belong ever since he and his adoptive mother disembarked from their spacecraft to live on New Earth with their new family. The kids at school think he’s weird and he’s not fluent in their language, he has a crush on his pen pal, and his stepfamily doesn’t seem to know how to connect with him. Worst of all, his mom’s so busy that Indu can’t even tell her what’s wrong.

In a low moment, Indo calls out to the moon, begging to take him back. Surprisedly, the moon answers and agrees to bring him home on the first day of the New Year. As the days pass, Indu finds friendship in unlikely places and discovers the connections to his new family that were lost before. When the moon finally calls him home, Indu must decide if he’s willing to give up what he’s just found.

I was first interested in this graphic novel because of the artwork / color palette (sunset blue and pink are my all time favorite colors), but secondly because it just won the Stonewall Book Award for Children – and boy did it do an amazing job at representation! Trans, Bi, Pan, not to mention different body sizes, shapes, and ethnicities.

This graphic novel is great for the discussion of changing family dynamics, starting over in a new place, navigating identity and friendships, and trans identity. This is aimed at middle grade readers, but I feel like those of middle grade and older would enjoy it.

Stonewall Book Award for Children 2025

The Deep Dark / Molly Knox Ostertag

The Deep Dark
By: Molly Knox Ostertag
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 480
Published: June 4, 2024
Publisher: Graphix
Dates Read: December 30, 2024
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Magdalena Herrera, or Mags, already feels like an adult even though she’s just shy of graduating high school: caring for her grandmother, working a part-time job, and taking care of her secret that lives in the basement, the one that drains her of energy. The secret could really hurt someone, even kill them, if it got out.

So, Mags keeps her head down, trying to get through the day. That is, until her childhood friend, Ness, comes back to town, bringing memories and her own secret. Mags won’t get reattached, she can’t, and she’s always been good at keeping her distance anyway.

But when darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to bring her secret into the daylight.

The art of this graphic novel is fantastic and phenomenal. It goes from back and forth between black and white and full color, corresponding well with what’s happening in the story.  

The overall storyline is about accepting yourself, even the deepest, darkest bits, and allowing someone to love and care for you and all your secrets.

Overall, Molly Knox Ostertag blew it out of the park again with this story and anyone who loves bright, vivid illustrations mixed with black and white, and a storyline that will keep you turning pages, will fall in love with the characters and this story as well.

The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics

The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics
By: The Kao (Compiler), David Daneman (Compiler), Min Christensen (Compiler)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Nonfiction
Number of Pages: 176
Published: September 26, 2023
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Dates Read: November 1, 2023 - November 3, 2023
Format: Paperback

The Out Side is filled with comics from 29 trans & nonbinary artists as they share their personal journeys of self-discovery and acceptance. 

This graphic novel doesn’t just focus on coming out, but some talk about the later processes of their life and what it means for them now.

There’s 29 different artists, so there’s 29 different styles of art and stories. Some I liked more than others, but I still enjoyed and loved this as a whole.

Highly recommend, especially for those who are trans and nonbinary as they will most definitely see themselves within these pages.

*Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review