Old Wounds: The freshest YA horror thriller of 2025

OLD WOUNDS...new monsters. Two trans 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... This is the freshest YA horror thriller of 2024, perfect for fans of Darren Charlton and Aiden Thomas.Erin and Max are two trans kids, just trying to get to California. Max is desperate to finally be able to transition, and Erin is longing to understand why she's on this trip to begin with, after Max suddenly broke up with her two years earlier. But when they find themselves stranded - and eventually separated - in the creepy woods of rural middle-America, they suddenly have much bigger problems. First, there's the creature that, according to legend, feeds on girls, hunting them through the shadows. And then there are the locals, who are searching for a female sacrifice. If either of them hope to survive to see the sunrise, Erin and Max will have to come together and stop running: from their attackers, from each other, and, ultimately, from themselves."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"Wholly original, endlessly subversive and genuinely terrifying." Laura Steven, author of The Society for Soulless Girls"A terrifying, masterful debut... Old Wounds is a gripping exploration of gender, sacrifice and the real monsters we're running from." Lex Croucher