Such Sharp Teeth

May 1, 2022

In Jackal, a debut from Haitian American author Adams, a Black woman named Liz has returned to her predominantly white town for a wedding shattered by the disappearance of the bride's daughter--one of several Black girls who have vanished recently in the town's creepy woods. From Bram Stoker finalist Davidson, The Hollow Kind sends Nellie Gardner fleeing from an abusive marriage to a crumbling house in a Georgia forest, where son Max hears whisperings in the uncommon stillness and realizes that they're still in danger, this time from an ancient evil connected to his mother's family (35,000-copy first printing). Such Sharp Teeth, mutters Rory Morris when she is attacked by something in Bram Stoker finalist Harrison's latest; then, stronger and suddenly captivated by the moon, she starts transforming--but is she in danger or getting in touch with her true, wild self? With If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe, Pargin adds to his terrifying but funny "John Dies at the End" series as John, Dave, and Amy tremblingly face supernatural threats in a town rife with interdimensional parasites, paranormal cults, and a plastic egg that encourages the unwary to commit murder and feed it the body parts (75,000-copy first printing). YA novelist Thorne set her first adult effort on Lute, an island where the residents experience unusual peace and prosperity--but every seven years comes the Day when seven people die (100,000-copy first printing). Unlike friend Dinah, Little Eve loves the gloomy Scottish isle where they're raised among the Children by spooky and controlling Uncle, and they offer very different accounts of a massacre there (250,000-copy first printing). From Shirley Jackson/August Derleth honoree Ward.

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August 15, 2022
Harrison (The Return) tries and fails to carry a metaphor about “the secrets our bodies keep” into a story that simultaneously wants to be body horror, a reckoning with the trauma of childhood sexual abuse, and a cute teen-crush-revisited romance. Rory Morris returns to her podunk hometown to help out her pregnant twin. The move, which she insists is temporary, puts her back in contact with her mother, who refuses to take responsibility for the abuse Rory experienced as a child at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, and with Ian Pedretti, Rory’s high school crush whom her sister still thinks she should date. But Rory has more immediate problems when a bite from a mysterious creature turns her into a werewolf, complete with superstrength and violent, skin-sloughing transformations at the full moon. There are moments of cathartic rage as Rory puts an aggressively drunk partygoer in his place and visits a smash room with Ian, but she never really gets to work through her issues. The comedic tone of Rory’s social interactions rubs weirdly against the trauma plot, and the ultimate management of Rory’s werewolf-ism feels too pat, with Harrison failing to drive home an analogy between the transformation and Rory’s inner turmoil. It’s an emotionally confusing and unsatisfying mess. Agent: Lucy Carson, Friedrich Agency.

September 15, 2022
Rory Morris is spending some time in her hometown to help her twin sister with an unexpected pregnancy. She is not happy about the situation: the town holds bad memories. After accidentally hitting a large animal with her car, she is viciously attacked by a horrific creature with red eyes. Quickly after this, Rory starts to go through a change that she does not fully understand. At the same time, she is dealing with her sister, her mother, and past trauma, as well as rekindling a love affair. She doesn't want to tell anyone what is happening, so she struggles to figure out the right course of action to stop the change on her own. The chaos in her life is reflected in the change she is undergoing, and her method for dealing is ignoring and drinking. Rory definitely does not have all the answers to help with her love life, family drama, or becoming a monster, which will endear her to readers. Rory is a strong character, and this new spin on a werewolf novel is a great way to look at personal transformation.

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Starred review from August 1, 2022

Harrison's (Cackle) latest is a rip-roaring, bloody adventure that also explores the wounds trauma can leave on both the body and the psyche. Aurora has come home to help her pregnant sister when the unthinkable happens--Aurora is transformed into a werewolf. But that is just where the story begins. Through explorations of femininity, childhood, family, growth, and facing fears, Harrison crafts a compelling story that is extremely difficult to put down. Beyond the basic horror tenets that a werewolf story embodies, the novel also grasps the deeper consequences of transformation and trauma. The author's style is gripping and will keep you reading way past your bedtime, although it instills enough gory goodness to make sure that your eventual sleep is troubled. VERDICT Any library looking to acquire a gut punch of a horror novel that will appeal to a broad audience would do well to add this to their collection. It will also appeal to fans of Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones and Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado.--Jeremiah Paddock

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.