Make Me a Monster

Bayron (You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight) explores grief, family ties, and rebirth in this tenderhearted riff on Frankenstein. As a licensed mortician’s assistant, 17-year-old Meka Redwood is no stranger to death: her family works in the mortuary arts, and she helps her parents prepare the corpses that pass through their funeral home. But when her boyfriend Noah suddenly dies, she’s forced to reckon with mortality in a new way. Her grieving process is complicated by the mysterious appearance of ominous portents, including flocking ravens—and the shocking revelation that Noah has come back to life. As Meka and her family struggle to stay one step ahead of a sinister organization in pursuit of what they believe is her parents’ apparent ability to wake the dead, Meka must reevaluate everything if she wants to keep herself and her loved ones safe. Bayron presents at once grotesque and breezily matter-of-fact horror elements via luminous prose. The characters’ intensely layered relationships, as well as the tragic romance at the heart of the novel, will stick with readers long after the final page. The protagonists are Black. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jamie Vankirk, Rainbow Nerds Literary. (Sept.)