Howl

Virgil Knox says a monster attacked him. Nobody in Merritt believes it, even though he staggered into the busy town center bleeding and bruised where everyone could see. The townspeople say he had been drinking or was somewhere he shouldn't have been, and they suggest a bear, a badger or a gator. Virgil is certain it was none of those.

As the new kid in a town where everyone knows everyone, he already stands out, and being the boy who is afraid of monsters makes it worse, so he tries to stay out of notice. But he knows the creature is still out there. He fears it will return to finish him off, or that he will turn into a monster himself.

This young adult novel by Shaun David Hutchinson combines a monster story with a gritty, raw look at the often traumatic experience of growing up.