Lockjaw / Matteo L. Cerilli / Book Review

LOCKJAW

He was raised on a playing-card-spoked bike, where people looked away. Away from the names on the playground, away from the kids walking into graves, or else shoved into them.

Paz Espino knows there's something wrong with this town. She's always known it, but what happened to Chuck Warren just proves it. Sure, the cops said it was just a tragic accident, but Paz knows better. There's a monster in the old mill. There's a monster stalking this town. And if nobody else will take her seriously, well, she and her friends will have to be the ones to root it out and get rid of this evil for good.

When Asher drifts into town, he's just looking for a place to call his own. A place that doesn't know him. A place that will give him a chance, with his new name and his new look and his scruffy dog. This town doesn't want to be that place, but Asher's willing to do what it takes to force his way in anyway. But with a monster stalking these streets, nobody is safe--especially not girls who don't fit in and teenage drifters looking to start fresh.

THOUGHTS

This book has such a different feel than any other YA horror that I've read, and I'm here for it! It's structured more like an adult horror, with an ensemble cast à la Stephen King, and the claustrophobic small town setting feels perfect for reading in the sticky summer humidity. Dark, unsettling, and far too real!

PROS

Ensemble Cast	It's rare to find an ensemble cast like this in a YA book--one comprised of various ages and temperaments. Each of these perspectives feels uniquely crafted, and they're all strong--so strong that I didn't once wish I was reading somebody else's perspective. Feeling the weight of this small town and its expectations on the shoulders of all of these characters who don't quite fit adds an incredible sense of pressure building throughout the book, to great effect.
Monstrous Metaphor	There are all kinds of monsters in this book, and the most insidious monster of all is the sort of close-minded, small-town bigotry that pervades. This book is steeped in claustrophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and a sort of happy-go-lucky "inclusivity" that really only includes those that play their expected part. This sort of insidious "monster"--the monstrosity of apathy, ignorance, and a toxic status quo--feels all too real, and it just buoys up the literal monster stalking these streets as well.
Devastating Twist	A little under halfway through this book, there's a revelation that turns everything up until that point on its head. I had to reexamine the timeline, the characters, and everything I thought about what was happening all along. And this twist is just the opening of a door into a deeply devastating reality. The picture gets darker, bleaker, and much more pointed. I don't want to spoil anything, but this book gets dark in a way that's as necessary as it is horrific.

CONS

While the twist I mentioned above does put some of my early timeline confusion into perspective, there are still scenes that feel a little too 80s and 90s nostalgic for a book that most definitely isn't set in those decades. As far as I can tell, this book is set mostly in or around 2016 (and later), and so this sort of retro small town vibe didn't quite jive with the much more up-to-date timeframe. Don't get me wrong. I liked the vibe of this small town. I'm just not sure any town still exists in quite this style in the 2010s and beyond.	Confused Timeline
If you can only read a book where the dog comes out alright on the other side, well... This one isn't for you. This one really isn't for you. You know who you are.	Dog-Lovers Beware
The only real issue I took here was the pacing. Don't get me wrong. I think this book is nearly perfect, even in this regard. But there were a few times when the pace felt a little bit slow, and especially for readers in the YA market, this slower pacing might not be what someone's looking for. Did it drag? Not particularly, but it definitely wasn't constant action all the time.	Pacing

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
9/10

Fans of Stephen King's Cujo will like this dive into a world of snapping teeth and foaming mouths. Those who adore Mary Downing Hahn's Deep and Dark and Dangerous will like this horror of twisting timelines and lies we tell to ourselves.

Details Publisher: Tundra Books Date: June 4, 2024 Series: N/A Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.