Tori Bovalino

In the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania, they fear the Lord of the Wood almost as much as they fear God. According to legend, the ghosts of the wood steal the babies of the town if they’re left unattended. But this legend has just become a way to scare local kids—until Leah Jones’s brother disappears. Leah has no hope for a future outside of Winston, and her only remaining solace is her music. She’s on the verge of dropping out of high school, barely balancing her job at the gas station with her duty to care for her baby brother, Owen. But when Owen is taken by the Lord of the Wood, Leah must face the dangers of the forest to write a song that will win Owen back—and discover the truth of how her life went so very wrong.

My Throat an Open Grave

Ellie M.

Thanks to Tori Bovalino and Page Street Publishing for sending me a complimentary copy through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This doesn’t affect my thoughts about the book in any way. 

Perfect for fans of Darcy Coates, My Throat An Open Grave is a heartbreaking paranormal thriller set in the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania. Growing up, Leah Jones, like every other kid in their religiously conservative town, was taught to fear the Lord of The Wood, an evil entity who believers say takes unholy, corrupt girls. Therefore, she takes on the responsibility of taking care of her younger brother Owen after school to live up to the church’s standards and be the good girl everyone expects her to. But one night, Owen is suddenly taken in his crib after she falls asleep. Carrying the guilt for the loss of her brother, Leah determinedly ventures into the woods in the hopes of bringing him back. However, she soon discovers that her town is hiding something… and it involves the mystery behind all those missing girls. 

What I really liked about this book was the inherently human characters. I easily felt anger and sympathy through me while reading it and how this book explicitly tackles religious trauma from the Christian church and their lack of compassion for women’s autonomy and reproductive rights. This was my first Tori Bovalino book, and she is excellent at painting a naturally chilling, gloomy, and agonizing atmosphere with beautiful lore. I thought I was going insane reading this. The twists in this book were truly unexpected and will pull you in deeper as you go further into the book. As I see it, I loved how My Throat An Open Grave tells a story of reclaiming one’s life and autonomy and acknowledging grief.

My Throat an Open Grave

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