By Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Zando, 2023. 326 pages. Fiction. 

Grieving Mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son Santiago's lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale, she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience, growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio she keeps hidden within the walls of her family's decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually, Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was, but his innate impulses--though curbed by his biological and chosen family's communal care--threaten to destroy this fragile second chance at life. 

Monstrilio is a stunning examination of grief and the lengths people will go to in search of solace. This book has beautifully written prose which complements the graphic nature of the story. While I personally loved this book, it deals with many sensitive subject matters that should be approached with caution. Throughout the story we get many different perspectives on loss, grief, family, and unconditional love. Both beautiful and horrifying, Monstrilio is an excellent horror debut novel. 

Our Share of Night 

By Mariana Enriquez 

Hogarth, 2023. 588 pages. Fiction. 

In 1981, a young father and son set out on a road trip across Argentina, devastated by the mysterious death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travels to her family home near Iguazú Falls, where they must confront the horrific legacy she has bequeathed. For the woman they are grieving came from a family like no other--a centuries-old secret society called the Order that pursues eternal life through ghastly rituals. For Gaspar, the son, this cult is his destiny. As Gaspar grows up he must learn to harness his developing supernatural powers, while struggling to understand what kind of man his mother wanted him to be. Meanwhile Gaspar's father tries to protect his son from his wife's violent family while still honoring the woman he loved so desperately 

Baby Teeth 

By Zoje Stage 

St. Martin’s Press, 2018. 304 pages. Fiction. 

An ailing woman fights to protect her family from her mute daughter's psychologically manipulative schemes, which are complicated by her doting husband's denial about their daughter's true nature.