Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda

 

To read Ojeda's Jawbone is to be drawn into a disorienting world where the line between clique and cult is perilously thin. 

Ojeda's use of language and structure is unusual and resists momentum. I often found myself needing to reread sentences. Before it even begins it is bold, indulgent, excessive: there are ten (ten!) epigraphs ranging from Lacan to Mary Shelley. The first page is a jumble of references, impressions, and thoughts that evokes the character Fernanda's confused mindset: She's regained consciousness in a strange place to find the new teacher at her parochial girls school has kidnapped her.

Then we meet, through Fernanda's memories, her best friend Annelise and her followers, other wealthy, bored high schoolers. Annelise introduces them to a flashy "drag-queen god of her own invention," as the back of the book puts it, as well as an abandoned half-completed building where this god is invoked through increasingly dangerous dares and disturbing story-telling inspired by their favorite creepypastas. 

This is a book I already want to reread. While the setting is Ecuador and the girls reference viral videos and Lana Del Rey, there is something both timeless and placeless about the story itself. It's about the confusing time between childhood and adulthood, complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, burgeoning sexuality, but most of all, how totally scary high school girls are. 

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Adam Silvera writes a melancholic story about two boys who find out how to live on the day they die. The beauty of growth through true connection is something elegantly shown, as both Mateo and Rufus show each other what they’ve always felt they’ve lacked, drawing out each other’s true nature through simply spending their last day together.

The story is set in a dystopia that is almost identical to the world we live in except for one key difference: Death-Cast, a service that calls people from 12AM to 2AM to let people know they will die within the next 24 hours. Created to ensure that everyone lives out their last day how they choose to, it is now a societal norm. Anyone can receive a call, and everyone will receive one at some point, regardless of how sheltered, or reckless, you’ve been living your life. This is what happens to both Mateo and Rufus. After meeting on an app, the two set off to figure out how to live their last day the way they want.

The story follows a multiple perspective narrative style, showing the perspectives of not just Mateo and Rufus, but many of the other side characters. Each new perspective immediately tells you whether or not the person will die that day, and they all play a role in the outcome of the events, building tension for us readers, and even catching us off guard with what is revealed. Furthermore, each perspective is time-stamped, showing at what point throughout the day that it happened.

If you’re looking for a book that will push you to tears over star-crossed lovers, give this book a read. If you like it, check out the prequel The First to Die at the End! Feel free to share your thoughts on both! I’ll leave you with this:

What would you do if you knew you’d die within 24 hours?

- Leo H.

The Ruins by Scott Smith

 

The Ruins is a fast-paced thriller I've returned to several times since first reading it a number of years ago. It's a horrifying story that hooks you with its character depictions. 

Two young American couples are (mostly) enjoying a vacation in Mexico, where they venture with a couple other tourists to the site of an archaeological dig. They are warned by a local that the place they're headed is no good, but do you think they listen? If they did, there wouldn't be much of a story! I won't go into detail, but once there they find themselves trapped and in peril.

The twists keep on coming with this one, but what I love so much about it is the insight we get into the minds of the four main characters. The perspective moves from one to the other and you really get a sense of who these people are and what motivates them. Their reactions to the increasingly dire situation make sense.

The sympathy he builds between the reader and the characters makes it all the easier to imagine yourself in their place which really opens the doorway to horror. What the young people are facing is ever decreasing hope and the realization that they may not survive their vacation. It makes you wonder, if in their place, who would you be? 

Pritty by Keith F. Miller Jr.

Keith F Miller Jr. brings us a story of two boys finding love and safe haven with one another as they get caught in the crossfire of the drama within their communities and families. As they journey through teen angst, confusion, and trauma, they not only come to find each other, but a deeper understanding of themselves and what they are capable of.

The story follows Jay and Leroy, two teenage black boys who live on opposing sides of town, a town that is heavily affected by gang life. The gangs currently exist in harmony thanks to the efforts of the Black Diamonds, an underground organization created to protect the people within the town. However, when a mysterious enemy threatens the peace, the two families become intricately connected with the violence, dragging Jay and Leroy in along with them. 

Throughout the book, the narration splits perspectives between the two boys. Jay’s perspective is written in more of a standard narrative style, while Leroy’s uses much more African American vernacular. The book is filled with beautiful references to black culture and community, and shows how amazing it can be to grow up at the intersection of blackness and queerness.

Miller uses elegant figurative language to envelop you in the story world and put you in the shoes of the boys, with the story reading almost like poetry. As we experience each moment with them, the style tugs at our heart strings until we’re almost brought to tears; and the climax itself is just as satisfying, as you see the culmination of both boys’ efforts to heal and unite. The story ends implying there is a second book, so if you like this one, there’s likely to be a sequel coming soon.

If you’re looking for a dramatic, yet heartfelt story involving queer black teens, this is the book for you. Please feel free to check it out, and if you read it, I’m always happy to hear what you have to say!

- Leo H.