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Unique plot styling is the clearest marker of a Shaun David Hutchinson novel. In Howl, fifteen-year-old Virgil Knox's parents are divorcing and his dad has just moved with Virgil from metropolitan Seattle to small-town Merritt, Florida. His dad grew up in Merritt and Virgil's grandparents live here, so the plan is to live with them and earn money to buy a home. Virgil sees the people of Merritt as hayseeds, but resentment morphs into panic on the night of a party when Virgil is attacked by a monster and left bleeding. No one believes a razor-clawed monster assaulted him, not even his dad or grandparents. Virgil longs to return to Seattle where his best friend and boyfriend are, but his dad make it clear that isn't an option.

Those who don't care either way about Virgil's monster story despise him for being gay or his leftist cultural attitude. At least he has drama class with Mr. Hilliker, who understands his craving to disappear into the arts. Virgil's emo cousin Astrid is a decent sort, and he makes friends with quirky Tripp Swafford, whose family history of mental illness helps him understand Virgil's angst. Virgil can't seem to forget the monster, how it slashed his body and left ghastly lingering wounds. Jarrett Hart, a popular high schooler, tries to befriend Virgil, but there's cause to suspect Jarrett had something to do with the monster attack. And what of Jarrett's friend Finn Duckett, whose motives are equally dubious? The monster is still stalking Virgil, and if he can't catch the beast in the act, Merritt will never be a safe place.

"Memories have a unique power...They're not just records of our past that we file away. They're living, breathing bits of us that we can revisit whenever we want. Memories fuel the engine of our souls."

—Mr. Hilliker, PP. 100-101

I usually like Shaun David Hutchinson's stories, but Howl was not enjoyable. Certain repeating scenes that detail Virgil's injuries are gratuitously gross; they upset my stomach and hindered my sleep. The book as a whole confuses me; was there a literal monster, or is it entirely metaphor? The sepsis of politics also infects the novel, resulting in a town and its populace who feel like caricatures instead of authentic characters. I'm not sure Hutchinson can write about small-town America fairly. I rate Howl one and a half stars; it could have been terrific, but carries too many self-inflicted wounds.