Thank you to NetGalley and Logan-Ashley Kisner for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Old Wounds!!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | 5/5

Let me start out by saying that anyone who rated this book low is just a hater. I BAWLEDDD reading parts of this book. This book reads like how movies are watched and it is so so well done. As a trans person myself, feeling and understanding what Max goes through this entire book made me SO emotional; his relationship with Erin is strained at parts, funny at others, and overall an inseparable connection between two trans kids just trying to get by in life.

And honestly, with monsters prowling about with eyes like aurora fires, who can blame them?

Their encounter with Charlie and his group just made my teeth grind together so much — yet it showed the truth and the odd knot of awkwardness and pain when seeing someone - or being someone - who others just dismiss the identity of entirely knowing one thing. Max and Erin fight not only to survive this small Kentucky town, but to fight for who they are.

This book tackles real themes of the struggles that trans kids go through, the cruel reality that some people will never accept us for the way we are, and what it means to survive even in the worst of the situations. Old Wounds combines cult-classic monster themes and edge of your seat suspense to really bring this book home. It’s a must read for any trans kid and allies alike.

Two teens, who once dated find themselves together again, this time in an awkward situation that's getting creepier by the minute. It didn't grab me from the beginning and took me a bit to get into mainly because the background and motivations of both characters had to be revealed for the larger setup-- that both are trans kids and their horrific new situation means that one might have to be a sacrifice.

It wasn't a riveting read for me but I liked the idea of it more than the execution. Maybe it was that it lacked atmosphere for being a thriller? I can't quite place my finger on it. Maybe it was overwritten?

Definitely know I'll recommend it to teens, it simply wasn't a favorite for me.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and the subject matter highlighted. I thought it was going to be more scary right off the bat, but it focuses a lot on character development. I think it shines a positive light on what teenagers in the trans community go through, especially when they’re from a small town or community. I really enjoyed the horror aspects when the story really kicked in. I would recommend this book to anyone open to all people’s genders and enjoy horror!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I want to start by saying I loved the two leads in this book. Their struggles with identity, societal pressures, and feelings for each other were written so well. They were likeable characters without being perfect, which is wonderful.

The human villains of this story and the two leads fighting against their misogyny and transphobia felt like a very timely message as trans youth is villainized more and more in the media and politics. This made them all the more terrifying, and it made the story quite harrowing.

My biggest complaint is that this novel feels a bit falsely advertised. The cover and description lead me to believe there would be a lot more monster action. While I appreciate the choice to make the more terrifying evil the human one, I still couldn't help but wish for more monster page time. The monster hardly shows up for having such a prominent picture on the cover and in the description.

All in all, a good book, and one that is needed for our time, just a little disappointed with the monster/fantasy aspect.

Publication date: 10 September 2024

I really enjoyed this. It was a fun twist of the girl eating monster and small town run by an evil sherif. I also liked how gory this was for a ya novel. It felt very natural for this story. This is definitely one I would recommend for the Halloween season.

I’m glad I read this book in 2 ways - it was a good, creepy book and it gave me new perspective on how it must be to be a trans person. Erin and Max were well developed characters and they showed how each trans person’s journey is individual. Plus it was a scary story - perfect for October!

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.
Trans horror has always felt so raw in a way that other horror doesn't and this book was absolutely raw, tense, and filled with heart and terror.

Raw. True. Heartfelt. This story held so much of the trans experience within it, with such a strong focus on being trans in a small and conservative town. This book was painfully raw and there wasn't a single chapter that didn't have me absolutely hooked. Normally I wouldn't be a fan of stories that spend entire chapters as flashbacks but in this story it actually added so much depth and insight into the characters that helped me understand them and their motives behind their choices so much better. Truly an emotional and amazing story of trans pride, love, and survival. I could probably go on for ages about just how wonderful both main characters were and how there were times I was just as annoyed with them as I was in love with them.

2.65 stars. This is a book with good characters and good representation but a bad plot. I didn’t have much fun reading this story. I’m not a huge fan of monster in the woods that’s not really that explained but looming over the plot type things. I would’ve liked more explanation and involvement. Idk the character writing was good and I enjoyed the trans rep, but the story itself was hard to read.

4.25/5 stars

Old Wounds is an atmospheric slow burn that strikes the perfect balance of creepiness, horror, and social commentary.

Kisner effectively explores Max and Erin’s different journeys with their transition and how each journey can drastically differ from another. He also was able to perfectly show how the real monsters of the world are not the ones that you can’t see, but the everyday bigots that freely roam around.

The first third of the book is mostly exposition to set up the latter 2/3. However, I found myself so enthralled by the Kisner’s writing and the characterizations of Max and Erin that it never felt boring. The horror scenes were also striking and Erin especially gave me 80s/90s final girl vibes.

I do wish we got a bit more on the cryptid and more on a particular person that was brought up, but overall this was an amazing debut and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Everyone should read this FANTASTIC queer horror story! I loved the trans representation and was legitimately creeped out by the spooky elements in the book. The transphobia was at least as scary as the big bad, but everything was written so well!

I think the author did a great job fleshing out these characters & making us care about them. Perfect read for Halloween! Thanks to NetGalley, Logan-Ashley Kisner, and Random House Children's for the chance to read and review! My opinions are my own.

I absolutely love the trans rep and viewpoints. I always want to hear those voices and educate myself. What an important book for the young generation.

Unfortunately, I found myself getting bored... wanting more horror elements.

thank you to netgalley for the arc! ahhh i don't know why this review took me so long!! i really enjoyed this take on horror and gender & it was cool to see a story where they explicitly have a happy ending as opposed to a lot of queer horror that ends ambiguously. I can't lie i love an ambiguous ending but it is also SO important to have queer happy endings in darker books

they do overhype berkeley. berkeley is pretty boring

A spooky read with suspense and realistic trans* & mental illness representation.
A good balance of a creepy story while also bringing light to real-life issues & challenges. I felt both intrigued by the story as well as moved by the characters' experiences and challenges. I laughed at their sass, teared up at their stories and challenges, and celebrated the growth they both made throughout the story.
Thank you so much, Logan-Ashley and Netgalley, for the eARC of this wonderful book!

Reviewed on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon (pending), Barnes & Noble, and Instagram.

The infusion of queer and transgender themes into horror cannon made me so happy. This feels like a natural progression of queerness explored through this genre. It wove trans experience so well into the small town monster plot masterfully.

This is a story showcasing how the reality of living as a transgender person in America can be infinitely scarier than an actual monster in the woods, ready to devour you. I also liked the question of what happens if you need to sacrifice a girl but your victims aren't cisgender? Does a monster care? What makes someone a girl?

I loved reading this in October for the creepy elements, but this would be a great read any time if you're looking for a queer horror story with a hopeful ending.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the copy.

thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for this ARC !!! all opinions are my own :)

alright get ready for me to sing this book’s praises in this review. i love it so much
the characters: max (ftm) and erin (mtf), two trans exes. their goal: make it from their hometown in ohio to berkeley, california. the obstacles: transphobia and also a giant monster in a rural kentucky town who can mess with time and also may be a tad transphobic.
i was glued to this book right from starting it, max and erin are both incredible characters that i love dearly. theyre also not perfect at all, which is nice (more messy trans characters !!!)
this is very much not a light and fluffy book, it is intense and thrilling and gory. i think a lot of andrew joseph white fans would really like this (as evidenced by myself liking it).
the writing in this is extremely vivid, and apparently according to the acknowledgments it started out as a screenplay?? which is just in general amazing

anyway yeah thank you again for this arc. easily one of my top favorites for the year and something i will absolutely recommend to people who want solid trans horror <3

Truly horrifying story of two trans teenagers, a cryptid, and a bunch of men from a small town with a small town mindset. Recommended for older teens and above.

Old Wounds
Logan-Ashley Kisner

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC eBook in exchange for my honest opinions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I felt it said some important things, and featured representation that's needed for so many marginalized groups in today's world, and that we're now thankfully seeing so much more of.

Once the book picked up steam, I found it to be a really entertaining story... with a very interesting element that comes into play. (I didn't read the summary. I rarely do.) So, going in blind was a fun experience.

My only critiques concern its length, The first half of the book sets us up for the second half. I don't know exactly what it was... Maybe it just felt too stretched out for me.

I feel like there's an amazing 200 page novel here.
But it comes in at 336 pages.
And I felt those 136 pages.

Beyond that, there's a great story here. One that I'm beyond thrilled exists for the teens and young adults of today.

I'd have been so thrilled with a book like this when I was coming up (and coming out) in the mid-90's...

All the queer horror that we've seen emerge, just within the last five years, is truly special.
And important.

4 / 5

An old story with a new twist.
Two friends, exes, go on a road trip. Car breaks down and they get stuck in a small town on the way. While there they are hunted and attacked.
We get the story from the perspective of both Max and Erin, so we get to know both of them through their own thoughts allowing us to understand their motivations, feelings, and actions from beginning to end.
Both of our leads are relatable characters even if Max was less likable in my opinion—I’m sure others will think the opposite.
The book had a good set up to the story and good character development so that you were invested in the two mains. At first the locals are only a little bit odd, telling tales and either being overly friendly or just plain mean, but as is expected this spirals out of control and Max and Erin enter into the longest night of their lives.
My biggest issue with this book was the end. I understand why it went on as long as it did after the events of the night, but that just isn’t what I look for in horror stories like this one.

This debut story was incredible; the social elements woven throughout the subplot were both thought-provoking and poignant. It was a much heavier read than I expected with a YA-Horror novel, yet it was executed perfectly. I found myself getting attached to both Max and Erin, feeling worried for them, excited for them, and hopeful for them - the author did an excellent job of making these characters realistic, and full of emotion and depth.

This was a debut book by this author, and after reading this they're DEFINITELY on my radar - I can't wait to read more!

Definitely recommend.


Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.