How to Survive a Slasher

Queer and gender-fluid 17-year-old Cassiopeia Jane Smith—CJ—lives in Satterville, Ohio, with her mother, 13-year-old brother Orion, and six-year-old twin siblings Leo and Lyra. Satterville is also known as Slaughterville, the setting of horror novels by Moon Satter, an anonymous writer whose works feature fictionalized accounts of murders committed by still-at-large serial killer, Wolf Man. Though CJ’s father survived the first attack in 1996, he was killed in a second one six years ago—an attack that CJ survived. Now their mother trains the children in self-defense in case the Wolf Man should ever return. It’s an event that seems unlikely, until an unpublished Moon Satter manuscript arrives at CJ’s door. Mixing tongue-in-cheek references to horror classics like Scream and Friday the 13th with an engaging meta premise, Winans (Wishbone) delivers a cheeky adventure thriller. Via CJ’s dry and humorous first-person POV, the author injects fun into this original novel, which features gruesomely violent murders alongside heartfelt character interactions. The Smiths read as white; supporting characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up. Agent: Patricia Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Mar.)