Where Monsters Pray

Unicorns, zombie parasites, murderous designer cats, and tentacled women populate this satisfyingly gruesome collection of queer and feminist stories. Wooldridge (Shadow, Ash, and Prophecy) explores what it means to be a monster, as her outsider characters seek revenge, escape, connection, and redemption, leaving chaos in their wake. In “The Last Unicorn Sacrifice in New Hampshire,” two teen girls uncover the truth behind their prosperous religious community. “Heart of Frankenstein” finds Frankenstein’s monster trying for decades to permanently revive his bride, Ingrid, but each successive fleeting resurrection causes them to drift further apart. In “Turnpike Mary Answers Prayers,” a young woman praying for her friend’s hospitalized mother makes a terrible mistake. Each story alternates with a thematically related poem, providing an welcome change of pace, though the poems themselves often verge on the overwrought, and the first, which is smugly titled “Content Warning,” may put off readers hoping for an actual content warning. Still, Wooldridge’s confident voice and reclamation of monstrosity will appeal to creature-feature and pulp horror fans seeking a feminist twist on traditional tropes. (June)