Old Wounds - by Logan-Ashley Kisner (Paperback)

About the Book

"Two transgender teens end up in a small, isolated town, where they must escape the locals who plan to sacrifice one of them to an ancient monster that only eats girls. A pulse-pounding thriller perfect for fans of Midsommar and Hell Followed with Us! Erin and Max are two transgender teens trying to get to California. Max is desperate to finally transition, and Erin is longing to understand why she's on this trip to begin with. The last she spoke to Max was when he suddenly broke up with her two years ago. But when they find themselves stranded in the middle of the woods in a small Kentucky town, they realize they have much bigger problems. The locals need a female sacrifice for the monster that lives in the woods--according to them, the sun won't come up again until the monster eats a girl... and it only eats what it kills. Fighting back is futile; no one selected as the offering has ever survived the night. When the two strangers show up, the locals believe they have the perfect candidate. The irony of the situation is almost too much to fathom. The thing is, the locals don't know who they just trapped as their sacrifice. They don't know Erin's and Max's secrets, which could be a death sentence on a good day. And the monster that lives in their woods has never faced prey who have already fought so hard to live"--

Book Synopsis

Two transgender teens end up in a small, isolated town, where they must escape the locals who plan to sacrifice one of them to an ancient monster that only eats girls. A pulse-pounding thriller perfect for fans of Midsommar and Hell Followed with Us!

A BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Erin and Max are two transgender teens trying to get to California. Max is desperate to finally transition, and Erin is longing to understand why she's on this trip to begin with. The last she spoke to Max was when he suddenly broke up with her two years ago.

But when they find themselves stranded in the middle of the woods in a small Kentucky town, they realize they have much bigger problems. The locals need a female sacrifice for the monster that lives in the woods--according to them, the sun won't come up again until the monster eats a girl . . . and it only eats what it kills. Fighting back is futile; no one selected as the offering has ever survived the night.

When the two strangers show up, the locals believe they have the perfect candidate. The irony of the situation is almost too much to fathom.

The thing is, the locals don't know who they just trapped as their sacrifice. They don't know Erin's and Max's secrets, which could be a death sentence on a good day. And the monster that lives in their woods has never faced prey who have already fought so hard to live.

Review Quotes

"A terrifying, masterful debut that's startlingly original while remaining pure horror to its bones. Old Wounds is a gripping exploration of gender, sacrifice and the real monsters we're running from." --Lex Croucher, New York Times bestselling author of Gwen & Art Are Not in Love

"Wholly original, endlessly subversive, and genuinely terrifying, Old Wounds is doing something completely fresh in contemporary horror." --Laura Steven, author of The Society for Soulless Girls

"Terrifying, tender, and unflinchingly honest. Old Wounds demands your attention from the very first page and never lets up." --Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls

"Breathtakingly tense and stunningly original, Old Wounds offers a nightmarish ride through the backwoods of rural America." --Amy Goldsmith, author of Those We Drown

"Old Wounds is a riveting, spine-chilling horror story that will shred your nerves and shatter your heart in the best and worst ways. A phenomenal debut." --Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake

"Tense, terrifying and gripping--there's a mounting sense of dread on every page in this captivating, original horror." --Ravena Guron, author of This Book Kills

★ "[A] triumphant trans-formation of horror-genre basics, standing as one of the most heart-under-the-floorboards vital debuts of the year. [A] dark, atmospheric telling shot through with new-horizon hope, strength, and solidarity, making this a powerful and crucial read." --The Bulletin, starred review

"Spine-tinglingly creepy....a hopeful story of connection and community, and a fiery ode to the trans youth who must fight for survival in a society set against them." --Publishers Weekly

"An ode to the strength of trans kids, in the face of all kinds of terror." --Kirkus Reviews

"Both a nuanced look at the complexities of being trans in our current landscape and a thoroughly enjoyable horror thriller, this book is sure to appeal to teens who love Jordan Peele films or Tiffany D. Jackson." --School Library Journal

"[A] smartly executed, propulsive thriller." --Booklist

About the Author

Logan-Ashley Kisner was born, raised, and continues to blindly wander around Las Vegas, Nevada. He graduated from UNLV with a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing and a minor in Film Studies. As a transgender man and horror aficionado, he's also spent the last few years as a historian, critic, and analyst of transgender characters and imagery often used in the horror genre. He's been published on several horror websites (including Dread Central and Slay Away With Us) and his reading of The Evil Dead as a trans narrative was published in Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror Volume II.