YOU'VE AWOKEN HER

Gabriel Nieves loves a good horror movie, but that doesn’t mean he wants to be in one.

Over the summer before Gabi’s senior year, his mother needs to leave Queens, and she presents him with two choices: head to the Hamptons to visit his newly rich bestie, Ruth, or go stay with his abuela in Puerto Rico, where he’ll sit on her porch, “watching the plants grow with Paco the toothless Chihuahua.” Unenthused about either option, Gabi, who’s queer, settles for Long Island. On the way, he receives an ominous warning from a woman at the train station: “They woke her! They woke her and she’s angry!” Ruth seems changed by her new circumstances and wealthy friends—she’s even dating Frost Thurston, a boy from an influential family who’s “concave-is-the-new-black thin.” At a beach party, Gabi swears he sees a giant tentacle emerge from the water, drowning a woman—and when the list of victims grows, he realizes that a sinister force is at work. With its uneven, meandering tension, this work will appeal to those seeking scares that aren’t too intense. Astute readers will spot the bad guys early on, making the story more about how they will be defeated rather than who they are. Much of the teen dialogue feels forced and awkward, but this slow-build thriller culminates in a satisfying ending.

A coastal summer thriller with light scares.