Monica M. Magaña

Lucia Castillo dreams of being a hero like her grandfather. But to the people in their Texas town, he was just a strange old man who dressed up as a knight and claimed to save the world from monsters only he could see. Now years later, when Lucia and her best friend ― and trusty squire ― Sandro discover the town mayor is secretly a shapeshifting beast of Mexican lore, her parents think she's imagining things like her "Abuelo Loco." Only Lucia, wearing her grandfather’s magical helmet, can see the hidden threat.

Cade has always loved to escape into the world of a good horror movie. After all, horror movies are scary — but to Cade, a closeted queer Latino teen growing up in rural Texas — real life can be way scarier. When Cade is sent to spend the summer working as a ranch hand to help earn extra money for his family, he is horrified. Cade hates everything about the ranch, from the early mornings to the mountains of horse poop he has to clean up. The only silver lining is the company of the two teens who live there—in particular, the ruggedly handsome and enigmatic Henry.