This is such a good book but it is so very difficult to read. And it should be, it's a story of trauma and a metaphor for so much more. I was really blown away by the absolute gut punch this was.

Growing up in a small Florida town, I immediately was drawn into this book! This was such a great metaphor for non-monster trauma, and Shaun David Hutchinson wrote this really well. The gaslighting, the physical symptoms of trauma are all approached really well. I really like this one!

I got this from NetGalley and these opinions are my own. I really enjoyed this book but I don’t know if I could explain why. Virgil moves to a small town in Florida when his parents split, at a party he’s attacked by a monster but of course no one believes him. Virgil goes through a lot of trauma as a result of the attack. I loved Virgil as a protagonist it’s just the rest of the characters that I struggled with. Well not all of them Tripp and Astrid are both amazing friends. And Reba is not terrible. But Jarrett is completely passive aggressive, not to mention Virgil’s parents and grandparents! I wanted to rage at many of them on Virgil’s behalf! I think, at least to me, the thing I really enjoyed about Shaun David Hutchinson’s writing in The Howl was the correlation drawn between the trauma Virgil went through and traumas that people could go through in real life. The fact that people don’t believe him or don’t want to talk about what happened even when there are scars. And not just the physical scars but the fact that he can’t sleep, has nightmares, loses weight, struggles with being touched. Also it was relatable to read about how these small town characters responded to someone with mental health issues. Unfortunately stigmas exist and they can do a lot of damage. I liked that The Howl discussed that, in a different way, that still allowed the reader to make those connections. Excited to read this again when it comes out!