MY THROAT AN OPEN GRAVE

A young woman reckons with the consequences of being an outcast and the risks of defining her own truth.

Stuck in the dead-end Appalachian town of Winston, Pennsylvania, 17-year-old Leah has few plans and little hope for her future. Having to watch over Owen, the baby brother everyone fawns over, only fuels her frustration. When Owen goes missing from his crib while under her watch, Leah is forced to confront the dangers of the nearby woods. She takes responsibility for what happened, repeating self-recriminations that at times slow the pace, and enters the home of the mysterious Lord of the Wood, a feared otherworldly entity responsible for generations of missing children. Despite her lifetime of indoctrination with town lore warning against the perils of anything to do with the Lord, Leah proposes a bargain in exchange for Owen’s safe return—but failure would come at a steep price. The more time Leah spends away from home, the more she’s drawn to all she was raised to fear as she aims to redress the wrongs of Winston’s lost kids in a slow-burn, supernatural interrogation of what it means to be a “good girl.” Bovalino explores how young women attempt to balance social pressures and desire, and the result delivers slightly more suspense than terror. Leah reads white; there are brown-skinned supporting characters.

A mild but satisfying blend of folk and psychological horror.