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The Saw Mouth
For fans of The Last Bookstore on Earth and Compound Fracture, a heart-pounding rural horror following a genderqueer teen who survives a near-apocalypse, only to be hunted by a mysterious monster whose very existence is entwined with their own.
From a breathtaking new voice in YA, this story is for anyone haunted by the sins of past generations—and fighting to right them.
When Cedar was a child, fragmented, tortured souls woke up in the world's most complex machines, destroying them and pushing technology back decades. A fall. The Fall, some said, and they called it Autumn.
Ten years later, following a family tragedy, Cedar moves to the nowhere town of Sawblade Lake only to find something hunting them. A long, bent shadow that reeks like rot and has the mouth of a deep crevice. It's after Cedar, and it’s willing to go to any lengths to break them, including preying on Cedar’s new queer family.
The closer it circles, the more it seems to weave through Cedar’s whole life. It might stretch back to their mother’s gruesome, inexplicable death, to the murk of their missing family, to the house they grew up in. Back and back and back to the first day of Autumn.
Cedar thought they understood how their world had changed, but they’re far from dredging the bottom.
From a breathtaking new voice in YA, this story is for anyone haunted by the sins of past generations—and fighting to right them.
When Cedar was a child, fragmented, tortured souls woke up in the world's most complex machines, destroying them and pushing technology back decades. A fall. The Fall, some said, and they called it Autumn.
Ten years later, following a family tragedy, Cedar moves to the nowhere town of Sawblade Lake only to find something hunting them. A long, bent shadow that reeks like rot and has the mouth of a deep crevice. It's after Cedar, and it’s willing to go to any lengths to break them, including preying on Cedar’s new queer family.
The closer it circles, the more it seems to weave through Cedar’s whole life. It might stretch back to their mother’s gruesome, inexplicable death, to the murk of their missing family, to the house they grew up in. Back and back and back to the first day of Autumn.
Cedar thought they understood how their world had changed, but they’re far from dredging the bottom.
379 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 12, 2026
About the author
Cale Plett
2 books40 followersCALE PLETT is a nonbinary, genderfluid writer who lives on Treaty One Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their YA novels span everything from high school rock bands to nightmares in the woods to reality TV gone wrong, and their poetry and short fiction can be found in a whole variety of journals. Whatever genre they’re writing, they try to create spaces where queer characters can exist safely within their identities. Their karaoke is tuneless, and the last time their car was broken into, the only things left behind were their mix CDs.
Wavelength, a runaway popstar queer YA romance, was their 2025 debut novel from Groundwood Books (House of Anansi). Their second YA, a queer horror novel called The Saw Mouth, is coming out May 12, 2026 from Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House), to be followed by another standalone queer YA horror novel, Stranglehold, in fall 2027.
Cale Plett is represented by Amy Tompkins at Transatlantic Agency.
Follow them @caleplett on Instagram to stay up to date and for little glimpses into their life and brain.
Wavelength, a runaway popstar queer YA romance, was their 2025 debut novel from Groundwood Books (House of Anansi). Their second YA, a queer horror novel called The Saw Mouth, is coming out May 12, 2026 from Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House), to be followed by another standalone queer YA horror novel, Stranglehold, in fall 2027.
Cale Plett is represented by Amy Tompkins at Transatlantic Agency.
Follow them @caleplett on Instagram to stay up to date and for little glimpses into their life and brain.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
April 16, 2026
Got an arc from the Penguin audio app,
So dystopians, even near dystopians like this, are something of a hard sell for me, but it’s a genre we get asked for a lot by kids at work so when I had a chance to read this early I took it.
While this wasn’t entirely my cup of tea, there were things I liked about it. I often say that I love books that remind me of the vaguely haunted feeling of visiting my godparents as a kid, where we’d roll up usually late at night in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania woods, and this absolutely captured that specific feeling unique to me specifically. I liked the way the book balances the use of Ada’s pronouns as a fellow she/they and the way that was incorporated. Some of it felt a little clunky/info dumpy in a way that I feel like I maybe wouldn’t have noticed if I was reading this at the target age. Nonetheless, I think I know the exact flavor of that target age I can rec this to at work.
So dystopians, even near dystopians like this, are something of a hard sell for me, but it’s a genre we get asked for a lot by kids at work so when I had a chance to read this early I took it.
While this wasn’t entirely my cup of tea, there were things I liked about it. I often say that I love books that remind me of the vaguely haunted feeling of visiting my godparents as a kid, where we’d roll up usually late at night in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania woods, and this absolutely captured that specific feeling unique to me specifically. I liked the way the book balances the use of Ada’s pronouns as a fellow she/they and the way that was incorporated. Some of it felt a little clunky/info dumpy in a way that I feel like I maybe wouldn’t have noticed if I was reading this at the target age. Nonetheless, I think I know the exact flavor of that target age I can rec this to at work.
May 12, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
It fucks. Like, literally what can I say. I was drawn in by the cover, somehow didn't realize there's no description on Goodreads until right before I started reading, and was pulled in from page one. A complete knockout. Holy shit, man. Read this book.
The pros: Like I just said, this grabs you from page one. There are times where the prose just casually becomes almost poetry in its imagery and formatting, and it's fascinating. I am a notorious 1st Person hater, but something about it in this clicked with me immediately. Everything about Autumn and this world recovering from an apocalypse is so intriguing, and it's not even really the main plot (like obviously it's connect to the plot but the book is not ABOUT the apocalypse or the world recovering from it). I love the town of Sawblade Lake. I love everyone we meet in it. I love the epistolary sections. I love the overt queerness. I love Cedar, and their struggles, and how much they love their friends and family. This is a book about the power of love, really, and those are some of my favorite kinds of stories.
The cons: Honestly, all I have are nitpicks. I didn't see much point in the book being divided into sections the way it is. The very-vague sex scene was well written but it felt a tad much for a YA book. I lowkey didn't like the truth about the titular Saw Mouth but I also didn't hate it.
Really, a stellar read. If you can handle AJW, you can handle this, and you should read it!!
It fucks. Like, literally what can I say. I was drawn in by the cover, somehow didn't realize there's no description on Goodreads until right before I started reading, and was pulled in from page one. A complete knockout. Holy shit, man. Read this book.
The pros: Like I just said, this grabs you from page one. There are times where the prose just casually becomes almost poetry in its imagery and formatting, and it's fascinating. I am a notorious 1st Person hater, but something about it in this clicked with me immediately. Everything about Autumn and this world recovering from an apocalypse is so intriguing, and it's not even really the main plot (like obviously it's connect to the plot but the book is not ABOUT the apocalypse or the world recovering from it). I love the town of Sawblade Lake. I love everyone we meet in it. I love the epistolary sections. I love the overt queerness. I love Cedar, and their struggles, and how much they love their friends and family. This is a book about the power of love, really, and those are some of my favorite kinds of stories.
The cons: Honestly, all I have are nitpicks. I didn't see much point in the book being divided into sections the way it is. The very-vague sex scene was well written but it felt a tad much for a YA book. I lowkey didn't like the truth about the titular Saw Mouth but I also didn't hate it.
Really, a stellar read. If you can handle AJW, you can handle this, and you should read it!!
June 5, 2026
I don’t need much convincing to read a queer horror book. So, when my librarian asked if I wanted to check this out, of course I did.
And, I mostly enjoyed this book???
I appreciate the whole diverse cast of queer characters we get. They are all embedded seamlessly into this eerie, haunting wasteland of a world that has been ravaged by a long “Autumn”. It has left many things and some folk “faulty”. More to the point, a beastly creature is tearing through the community—something our leading enby Cedar will sacrifice themself to stop.
Conceptually and aesthetically, this was very cool.
The writing and storytelling reminded me a lot of the new king of queer horror Andrew Joseph White—which is a high compliment.
We’ve got lots of gory, arresting imagery paired with some deeply sad, tragic circumstances—and the train on the track cannot be stopped.
There’s also clearly this connection being made between this existential awfulness and the queer, coming of age journey. It’s a struggle, a battle—made easier by friends and community.
So, anyway.
The only thing that never fully came together for me was the poetic formatting that occurred frequently throughout this book. I get the concept—but, I also felt like the content could’ve been integrated into the standard text and would’ve had the same effect. It seemed more aesthetic than necessary.
Otherwise, I’d definitely recommend checking this book out—and any other one your local librarian recommends~
And, I mostly enjoyed this book???
I appreciate the whole diverse cast of queer characters we get. They are all embedded seamlessly into this eerie, haunting wasteland of a world that has been ravaged by a long “Autumn”. It has left many things and some folk “faulty”. More to the point, a beastly creature is tearing through the community—something our leading enby Cedar will sacrifice themself to stop.
Conceptually and aesthetically, this was very cool.
The writing and storytelling reminded me a lot of the new king of queer horror Andrew Joseph White—which is a high compliment.
We’ve got lots of gory, arresting imagery paired with some deeply sad, tragic circumstances—and the train on the track cannot be stopped.
There’s also clearly this connection being made between this existential awfulness and the queer, coming of age journey. It’s a struggle, a battle—made easier by friends and community.
So, anyway.
The only thing that never fully came together for me was the poetic formatting that occurred frequently throughout this book. I get the concept—but, I also felt like the content could’ve been integrated into the standard text and would’ve had the same effect. It seemed more aesthetic than necessary.
Otherwise, I’d definitely recommend checking this book out—and any other one your local librarian recommends~
May 26, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!
DNF at 10%. The writing style was simply not it. The awkward telling rather than showing felt very juvenile and took me out of what could have been a very compelling premise, and the continued descriptions of every character's outfit was just too fanfic for me. "I'm a lanky teenage enby having a femme day" -- who talks like this?? Morgyn felt like an edgy cardboard cutout. The exposition dumps about Autumn/the machines waking up were jarring and didn't feel like the same world these characters were living in. I stopped reading when a neighborhood girl came to pick the protagonist up for a house party??? (complete with a full outfit description of course) Why is there a house party happening in the apocalypse? Why would anyone find that a compelling topic when there are so many unexplored questions? Oof.
DNF at 10%. The writing style was simply not it. The awkward telling rather than showing felt very juvenile and took me out of what could have been a very compelling premise, and the continued descriptions of every character's outfit was just too fanfic for me. "I'm a lanky teenage enby having a femme day" -- who talks like this?? Morgyn felt like an edgy cardboard cutout. The exposition dumps about Autumn/the machines waking up were jarring and didn't feel like the same world these characters were living in. I stopped reading when a neighborhood girl came to pick the protagonist up for a house party??? (complete with a full outfit description of course) Why is there a house party happening in the apocalypse? Why would anyone find that a compelling topic when there are so many unexplored questions? Oof.
June 1, 2026
I had a great time with this story!
What an intriguing take on dystopia, a mix of no/broken tech but what is left is super dangerous and has left some of the humans...altered and called Faulty.
The characters are very well done, Cedar in particular was my favourite. I love the care the author took to ensure that pronouns were represented and done with care. I think this is a great example of what a queer book should be.
The atmosphere is haunting, the monster is creepy yet sad (a heady combo when you want to just hate it) and a group of found family and friends you root for from page one to the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books/Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read and review this title. My thoughts are my own.
What an intriguing take on dystopia, a mix of no/broken tech but what is left is super dangerous and has left some of the humans...altered and called Faulty.
The characters are very well done, Cedar in particular was my favourite. I love the care the author took to ensure that pronouns were represented and done with care. I think this is a great example of what a queer book should be.
The atmosphere is haunting, the monster is creepy yet sad (a heady combo when you want to just hate it) and a group of found family and friends you root for from page one to the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books/Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read and review this title. My thoughts are my own.
September 26, 2026
Thank you, Penguin Teen Canada, for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: 1.75/5⭐
Spice: 2/5🌶️
Quick Summary: Set in a world where a mysterious event known as Autumn caused technology to collapse after tortured souls began awakening inside machines, The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett follows Cedar, who moves to the isolated town of Sawblade Lake after a family tragedy. There, Cedar discovers that something is hunting them—a creature with a long, bent shadow and a mouth like a deep crevice. As it begins targeting Cedar and their new queer family, its presence becomes increasingly connected to Cedar’s past, including their mother’s death and their missing family. Cedar must confront the possibility that the creature’s origins reach back to the very beginning of Autumn.
Read if you like:
⚡️young adult dystopian horror standalone
⚡️the unknown that lurks in the darkness
⚡️LGBTQ+ representation
⚡️tortured souls haunting complex machines
⚡️small-town horror with an eerie, decaying atmosphere
If you like this, read this:
📚They Bloom At Night by Trang Thanh Tran (for more ya dystorror with queer romance)
📚The Honeys by Ryan La Sala (for more ya horror with queer main character)
📚Kill Creature by Rory Power (for a non-dystopian ya horror read)
*full list of trigger warnings can be found at the end of this review
**SPOILER-FREE REVIEW**
Short statement: I would've preferred if Cedar never went to Sawblade Lake in the first place.
Things I liked: I like the dystopian aspects of this book (shocker!), but I wish we were given more information as to how the "almost" apocalypse happened. We know where we are today, but we don't know much about the first day of the "almost" apocalypse. I say almost because there was this weird souls-in-technology thing that happened, but instead of causing societal collapse, everyone just found ways to adjust to their new souls-in-technology lifestyle.
Yeah... that's about it for this section. I wouldn't even say I liked the horror stuff. Oh! I like the cover. The cover is cool. Okay, NOW that's it for this section.
Things I didn’t like: Why do authors write a prologue that practically spoils the ending of the book? I genuinely get so upset when authors do this because it takes away the whole shock factor. If I want to read the ending of the book before starting it, then I would just jump to the last page. Let me make that decision on my own! If you feel the need, as an author, to put the end of the story at the start, then that tells me the story itself isn't enticing enough on its own for me to want to stick around to the end.
As a book marketed as horror, I have a question. Is this book supposed to be scary? Cause it isn't.
Why is the main character so horny?? In one chapter, we have to listen to Cedar fawn over a girl named Morgyn, and then the very next chapter it's alllllll about Ada. Listen, I've read my fair share of love triangles, but this isn't even that. This is pure lust. I was not a fan of it at all. This book could've had great romance, but instead the author chose to make it all more lustful than romantic. Cedar, why are we thinking about one girl when you're with the other??
Listen, I have read many LGBTQ+ books, and I love them, but what I don't love is when it is shoved down my throat. Let me set the scene. Our main character Cedar's pronouns are revealed on the back of the book as they/them. In the book, the introduction to our main character's gender identity is done so well. The quote goes, "She peels off her sweater and hands it to me, revealing a pink bikini set that reminds me of something I might have worn by default back when I assumed I had binary gender." I think that is such a good way to introduce our character. You get a big piece of their identity without pulling the reader out of the scene. You might be thinking, Emmy, where is the problem with this? Well, my answer to that is what is said on the very next page. Cedar then meets someone and says, "I'm Cedar. They/them." Why are we trying to hit it home? Plus, it feels so awkward. It doesn't feel like natural conversation. It isn't the fact that Cedar shared their pronouns; it's that it sounds so awkward. And this wasn't the only time that I felt this book was trying to fit into the LGBTQ+ book category. This is just the most memorable.
Magic?? Seriously?
The author said this book is a book about love and fear. Fear? Maybe. Love? You've got to be kidding me. As I said earlier, this book does not portray romance or love. This book is lustful. The main character is with one person while fantasizing about another. If this book was about love, then that wouldn't happen. And before you say something about family love or self-love, that isn't portrayed in this book either. This book was very disappointing.
If this is/was a series, would I continue? no.
Is this a genre/type of book I would normally read? yes
If no, did the genre/type of book affect my rating? n/a
If I had a kid in MIDDLE school, would I let them read this? no.
If I had a kid in HIGH school, would I let them read this? maybe, double check the spice levels
**Content and Structure Overview**
Age Category: young adult
Fiction/Non-Fiction: fiction
Genre: horror, LGBTQ+, dystopian
Series/Standalone: standalone
Book-to-screen adaptation? no
POV: single POV, first person, present tense
POV Character(s): 18-year-old non-binary individual (Cedar)
Romance: queer romance
Spice: 2/5🌶️
Is there heavy kissing? yes
Wandering hands/mouths? yes
Is there below-the-belt shenanigans? yes, one scene is undescriptive while another is more descriptive
Is there a fade-to-black scene? there is a good bit of mentions of intimacy, but no fade-to-black moments
Is there on-page horizontal tango? no
Is there profanity? yes
F-word? yes, as early as the first few chapters
Trigger Warnings:
*disclaimer: this section contains specific details pertaining to this story; please note that character names and exact timestamps of events have not been included in the creation of this list
🚨death (car accident, unknown, broken neck, fire, fall)
🚨death of a loved one and/or family member
🚨descriptions of bodily injuries (healed burn scars, threats of slitting throat, cuts, broken ribs, bites, dislocated and reduced joints)
🚨descriptions of dead bodies (crushed, in pieces)
🚨gore (severed body parts, moving stiff bodies, blood and bloody water, sunken in eye sockets, missing teeth, emesis)
🚨gun violence and physical violence
🚨self-harm and suicide
Quotes Worth Remembering: "I've done worse for things I've wanted far less."
"When does running for cover become cowering?"
Rating: 1.75/5⭐
Spice: 2/5🌶️
Quick Summary: Set in a world where a mysterious event known as Autumn caused technology to collapse after tortured souls began awakening inside machines, The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett follows Cedar, who moves to the isolated town of Sawblade Lake after a family tragedy. There, Cedar discovers that something is hunting them—a creature with a long, bent shadow and a mouth like a deep crevice. As it begins targeting Cedar and their new queer family, its presence becomes increasingly connected to Cedar’s past, including their mother’s death and their missing family. Cedar must confront the possibility that the creature’s origins reach back to the very beginning of Autumn.
Read if you like:
⚡️young adult dystopian horror standalone
⚡️the unknown that lurks in the darkness
⚡️LGBTQ+ representation
⚡️tortured souls haunting complex machines
⚡️small-town horror with an eerie, decaying atmosphere
If you like this, read this:
📚They Bloom At Night by Trang Thanh Tran (for more ya dystorror with queer romance)
📚The Honeys by Ryan La Sala (for more ya horror with queer main character)
📚Kill Creature by Rory Power (for a non-dystopian ya horror read)
*full list of trigger warnings can be found at the end of this review
**SPOILER-FREE REVIEW**
Short statement: I would've preferred if Cedar never went to Sawblade Lake in the first place.
Things I liked: I like the dystopian aspects of this book (shocker!), but I wish we were given more information as to how the "almost" apocalypse happened. We know where we are today, but we don't know much about the first day of the "almost" apocalypse. I say almost because there was this weird souls-in-technology thing that happened, but instead of causing societal collapse, everyone just found ways to adjust to their new souls-in-technology lifestyle.
Yeah... that's about it for this section. I wouldn't even say I liked the horror stuff. Oh! I like the cover. The cover is cool. Okay, NOW that's it for this section.
Things I didn’t like: Why do authors write a prologue that practically spoils the ending of the book? I genuinely get so upset when authors do this because it takes away the whole shock factor. If I want to read the ending of the book before starting it, then I would just jump to the last page. Let me make that decision on my own! If you feel the need, as an author, to put the end of the story at the start, then that tells me the story itself isn't enticing enough on its own for me to want to stick around to the end.
As a book marketed as horror, I have a question. Is this book supposed to be scary? Cause it isn't.
Why is the main character so horny?? In one chapter, we have to listen to Cedar fawn over a girl named Morgyn, and then the very next chapter it's alllllll about Ada. Listen, I've read my fair share of love triangles, but this isn't even that. This is pure lust. I was not a fan of it at all. This book could've had great romance, but instead the author chose to make it all more lustful than romantic. Cedar, why are we thinking about one girl when you're with the other??
Listen, I have read many LGBTQ+ books, and I love them, but what I don't love is when it is shoved down my throat. Let me set the scene. Our main character Cedar's pronouns are revealed on the back of the book as they/them. In the book, the introduction to our main character's gender identity is done so well. The quote goes, "She peels off her sweater and hands it to me, revealing a pink bikini set that reminds me of something I might have worn by default back when I assumed I had binary gender." I think that is such a good way to introduce our character. You get a big piece of their identity without pulling the reader out of the scene. You might be thinking, Emmy, where is the problem with this? Well, my answer to that is what is said on the very next page. Cedar then meets someone and says, "I'm Cedar. They/them." Why are we trying to hit it home? Plus, it feels so awkward. It doesn't feel like natural conversation. It isn't the fact that Cedar shared their pronouns; it's that it sounds so awkward. And this wasn't the only time that I felt this book was trying to fit into the LGBTQ+ book category. This is just the most memorable.
Magic?? Seriously?
The author said this book is a book about love and fear. Fear? Maybe. Love? You've got to be kidding me. As I said earlier, this book does not portray romance or love. This book is lustful. The main character is with one person while fantasizing about another. If this book was about love, then that wouldn't happen. And before you say something about family love or self-love, that isn't portrayed in this book either. This book was very disappointing.
If this is/was a series, would I continue? no.
Is this a genre/type of book I would normally read? yes
If no, did the genre/type of book affect my rating? n/a
If I had a kid in MIDDLE school, would I let them read this? no.
If I had a kid in HIGH school, would I let them read this? maybe, double check the spice levels
**Content and Structure Overview**
Age Category: young adult
Fiction/Non-Fiction: fiction
Genre: horror, LGBTQ+, dystopian
Series/Standalone: standalone
Book-to-screen adaptation? no
POV: single POV, first person, present tense
POV Character(s): 18-year-old non-binary individual (Cedar)
Romance: queer romance
Spice: 2/5🌶️
Is there heavy kissing? yes
Wandering hands/mouths? yes
Is there below-the-belt shenanigans? yes, one scene is undescriptive while another is more descriptive
Is there a fade-to-black scene? there is a good bit of mentions of intimacy, but no fade-to-black moments
Is there on-page horizontal tango? no
Is there profanity? yes
F-word? yes, as early as the first few chapters
Trigger Warnings:
*disclaimer: this section contains specific details pertaining to this story; please note that character names and exact timestamps of events have not been included in the creation of this list
🚨death (car accident, unknown, broken neck, fire, fall)
🚨death of a loved one and/or family member
🚨descriptions of bodily injuries (healed burn scars, threats of slitting throat, cuts, broken ribs, bites, dislocated and reduced joints)
🚨descriptions of dead bodies (crushed, in pieces)
🚨gore (severed body parts, moving stiff bodies, blood and bloody water, sunken in eye sockets, missing teeth, emesis)
🚨gun violence and physical violence
🚨self-harm and suicide
Quotes Worth Remembering: "I've done worse for things I've wanted far less."
"When does running for cover become cowering?"
July 26, 2026
Thank you to Delacorte Press for the gifted copy!
I wanted to love this one, but the writing style wasn’t for me. I also don’t know if it was me misreading/getting people confused, but pronouns seemed to be getting switched around. I also felt like this was too YA, but then some parts of the book were NOT YA friendly.
I also found myself confused on what was going on and it did not get better. It just seemed like there was something luring behind the scenes while all these kids partied. The wasn’t really any horror elements.
I wanted to love this one, but the writing style wasn’t for me. I also don’t know if it was me misreading/getting people confused, but pronouns seemed to be getting switched around. I also felt like this was too YA, but then some parts of the book were NOT YA friendly.
I also found myself confused on what was going on and it did not get better. It just seemed like there was something luring behind the scenes while all these kids partied. The wasn’t really any horror elements.
May 12, 2026
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.5 stars
I am not the audience for this book and didn’t enjoy it overall. As such, this review will have plenty of nitpicks. Horror books, for me, are all about tension, about the build up of pressure leading to the eventual cathartic release — be it a physical fight against a monster or some evil force, or an emotional one where the character casts off what’s holding them back and is free to be their whole self — and a definitive end point where the characters are left changed by what they’ve been through. This book is more like a dream with a pervasive sense of unreality, of taking actions that make sense only to the dreamer, and not so much to the reader.
If you’re looking for a book with distant Stranger Things vibes, or a drifty horror book low on the horror, then this book might work for you.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
3.5 stars
I am not the audience for this book and didn’t enjoy it overall. As such, this review will have plenty of nitpicks. Horror books, for me, are all about tension, about the build up of pressure leading to the eventual cathartic release — be it a physical fight against a monster or some evil force, or an emotional one where the character casts off what’s holding them back and is free to be their whole self — and a definitive end point where the characters are left changed by what they’ve been through. This book is more like a dream with a pervasive sense of unreality, of taking actions that make sense only to the dreamer, and not so much to the reader.
If you’re looking for a book with distant Stranger Things vibes, or a drifty horror book low on the horror, then this book might work for you.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
June 3, 2026
book received through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
what if every piece of technology we use came alive? what if everything we touch and control with our fingertips had a soul that felt misused and trapped? what if those souls killed themselves to quit suffering? and what if you were being followed in that world?
i fell in love with cedar’s character very quickly. they had this mysterious air to them that kept me on my toes. that, mixed with the tense atmosphere of the monster and a small town made for an excellent grimy read. cedar’s love for their friends was admirable. seeing them come to terms with the fact that love makes it difficult to be alone was so real and refreshing in this setting. we all need a lucy in our lives.
immediate cg drews vibes from the writing. it did trip me up a bit at times, but its delivery choice was impactful. it wasn’t an action movie, it was a poem.
the saw mouth is bitten down nails, crumbled earth, a hot room with a pretty girl, quiet streets, friends.
what if every piece of technology we use came alive? what if everything we touch and control with our fingertips had a soul that felt misused and trapped? what if those souls killed themselves to quit suffering? and what if you were being followed in that world?
i fell in love with cedar’s character very quickly. they had this mysterious air to them that kept me on my toes. that, mixed with the tense atmosphere of the monster and a small town made for an excellent grimy read. cedar’s love for their friends was admirable. seeing them come to terms with the fact that love makes it difficult to be alone was so real and refreshing in this setting. we all need a lucy in our lives.
immediate cg drews vibes from the writing. it did trip me up a bit at times, but its delivery choice was impactful. it wasn’t an action movie, it was a poem.
the saw mouth is bitten down nails, crumbled earth, a hot room with a pretty girl, quiet streets, friends.
June 26, 2026
Oh boy this was so close to a five star. The writing was fantastic and while the characters were sometimes unlikeable, it was in ways that were so painfully human it almost didn't matter. I will also say, I have a track record for trying to guess endings and while I'm pretty good at it, even 3/4 of the way through this I was still confused right up to the big reveal.
Definitely for an older YA/New adult crowd as it deals with a whole host of issues, and the description on the cover describing it as 'new bruise tender' hit the mark.
Definitely for an older YA/New adult crowd as it deals with a whole host of issues, and the description on the cover describing it as 'new bruise tender' hit the mark.
July 21, 2026
I read an arc copy of this book, so maybe the author got more editing done before they actually published it.
The plot was interesting, and the middle especially was where it picked up. But the beginning felt very much on the younger end of YA, and I don't believe that's what the author intended. What the author was telling and what they were showing didn't match. We learn that the world is sort of apocalyptic; most of the modern technology turned evil self-destructed and Cedar's family is all gone so they have to find a relative to take them in. Then very quickly after, the kids are partying and having sleepovers and doing crushes and telling jokes. Roughly the first half of the book is more focused on setting up the love triangle than the horror story. I wish there was more subtle development of the background and foreshadowing instead.
After the beginning, the book carried on fine. I don't like how a big revelation to defeating the monster was just told to them, but it was whatever. The author also gets a few points for the creative way they tied in the prologue.
Overall, it was good for a free book. The person at the cash register called this book weird, but it was no more weird than the existence of humanity
The plot was interesting, and the middle especially was where it picked up. But the beginning felt very much on the younger end of YA, and I don't believe that's what the author intended. What the author was telling and what they were showing didn't match. We learn that the world is sort of apocalyptic; most of the modern technology turned evil self-destructed and Cedar's family is all gone so they have to find a relative to take them in. Then very quickly after, the kids are partying and having sleepovers and doing crushes and telling jokes. Roughly the first half of the book is more focused on setting up the love triangle than the horror story. I wish there was more subtle development of the background and foreshadowing instead.
After the beginning, the book carried on fine. I don't like how a big revelation to defeating the monster was just told to them, but it was whatever. The author also gets a few points for the creative way they tied in the prologue.
Overall, it was good for a free book. The person at the cash register called this book weird, but it was no more weird than the existence of humanity
October 26, 2026
I was hooked on this book for about 75% it was such an original concept and i was intrigued by the monster mystery. However magic being mentioned and the cause of the main problem killed it for me. This book didnt feel like it would dip into magic and the usage of it kind of put me out for this dystopian world.
I also felt the ending dragged on way too long. I skipped several pages and skimmed read to get to the point.
Very sad we never made it to the bunker, was hoping for a nice reveal there. Oh well!
I also felt the ending dragged on way too long. I skipped several pages and skimmed read to get to the point.
Very sad we never made it to the bunker, was hoping for a nice reveal there. Oh well!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2026
2.75 rounded up to 3
I had such high hopes for this one with the cover and the premise. I think I just can't get into this author's writing style. I also did not love how "teenage" they all acted. I understand they are teens in the story but they are written in a way that a lot of the dialogue went over my head.
I wanted more horror too, but man I will always love this cover.
I had such high hopes for this one with the cover and the premise. I think I just can't get into this author's writing style. I also did not love how "teenage" they all acted. I understand they are teens in the story but they are written in a way that a lot of the dialogue went over my head.
I wanted more horror too, but man I will always love this cover.
July 22, 2026
I think I'm officially too old for this
October 8, 2026
not very horror :(
January 21, 2026
There’s something about horror that allows you to play around with writing craft in a way that hasn’t been done before. In The Saw Mouth, I felt like I was getting a completely new way of looking at very unique characters. Throughout, we have these broken fragmented sentences that feel like poems, beautifully underlying the dramatic and unnatural weight of the way that Cedar is experiencing the world. The atmosphere genuinely and immediately felt haunting and scary, which is sometimes a really hard thing to achieve in fiction. The narration feels so grand and complicated and intense. There’s also a very mysterious urgency to the prose, as well as the tendency to skip through the parts you might otherwise think we would linger in. I never knew where it was going to go, and that was exciting.
I don’t know what I was expecting from the story but to find out that it’s some sort of machine-dystopian apocalypse while taking place in a very deserted small town (rather than a modern city) is a very interesting intersection. I won’t spoil the way that this book is dystopian, but let me be clear that it is not your average dystopian plot line. It’s got grit, empathy, and brings a new way to look at the technology we use so recklessly.
And holy cow, last but not least, all the characters are also so complex and so so so interesting immediately. I love this 22 year old gunslinger sheriff who patrols the town and keeps everyone safe. Like woah okay, so random, but so great. I love the instant connection that Cedar and I felt with the side characters. I love that love and connection is such a huge part of this horror book. Normally I find that a character-specific story is rare in horror/thrillers, but the characters were the most important part of this story for me.
I feel very special to know that I’m one of the few people in the world who has read this gem of a book. Add it to your want to reads! :)
I don’t know what I was expecting from the story but to find out that it’s some sort of machine-dystopian apocalypse while taking place in a very deserted small town (rather than a modern city) is a very interesting intersection. I won’t spoil the way that this book is dystopian, but let me be clear that it is not your average dystopian plot line. It’s got grit, empathy, and brings a new way to look at the technology we use so recklessly.
And holy cow, last but not least, all the characters are also so complex and so so so interesting immediately. I love this 22 year old gunslinger sheriff who patrols the town and keeps everyone safe. Like woah okay, so random, but so great. I love the instant connection that Cedar and I felt with the side characters. I love that love and connection is such a huge part of this horror book. Normally I find that a character-specific story is rare in horror/thrillers, but the characters were the most important part of this story for me.
I feel very special to know that I’m one of the few people in the world who has read this gem of a book. Add it to your want to reads! :)
Did Not Finish
November 6, 2025Unfortunately, Plett's writing just doesn't seem to be for me. The concept was a bit confusing but, but I think I could have bought into it had I not been turned off by the overly purple prose in the dialogue and inorganic feeling of these teenagers. I wanted to love this book because the cover is amazing and the synopsis was promising, but forcing myself through didn't seem like it was going to increase my enjoyment of this story.
Pre-review comments below
obSESSED with this cover Evangeline Gallagher can't stop putting out bangers
Pre-review comments below
obSESSED with this cover Evangeline Gallagher can't stop putting out bangers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“The Saw Mouth” by Cale Plett is one of those books that feels like a fever dream in the best possible way. It’s eerie, messy, poetic, confusing, emotional, and completely unlike anything else I’ve read recently. Imagine a creepy small-town horror story smashed together with a strange machine-apocalypse dystopia where technology has souls, monsters lurk in the dark, and everyone is carrying around grief, fear, and longing like open wounds. Somehow it works.
The atmosphere in this book is absolutely incredible. From page one there’s this constant sense of dread hanging over everything, like something is breathing just behind your shoulder. The writing style is super fragmented and poetic, almost like reading prose mixed with sharp little bursts of poetry. Sometimes it’s beautiful and haunting and hits unbelievably hard emotionally. Other times it can feel a little overdone or hard to follow, especially during important plot moments where things get intentionally cryptic. But honestly, even when I was confused, I was fascinated.
The worldbuilding is probably one of the most unique parts of the book. The whole “Autumn” event and the idea of machines becoming sentient and merging with human souls is SUCH a cool concept. The horror creatures are genuinely unsettling too, especially because they feel tragic as much as terrifying. The book really leans into the idea that monsters are created through pain, avoidance, and the things people refuse to confront. Even the creature itself ended up weirdly sympathetic by the end.
I also really loved the cast. The entire friend group is queer, messy, vulnerable, and deeply human. Cedar is such an emotionally raw protagonist, and the relationships between the characters were honestly one of my favorite parts of the story. There’s romance, tension, friendship drama, and this constant need for connection running through the whole book. Morgyn especially stood out to me, and I honestly wanted even more time with characters like Papercut and Lucy.
That said, this book definitely won’t work for everyone. The pacing is pretty uneven, especially in the first half, and there are so many characters introduced quickly that it can get hard to keep track of who’s who. The story also throws you directly into the world without much explanation, so for a while it genuinely feels like you missed a chapter somewhere. Some plot points and lore elements stay vague even by the end, which will either feel intriguing or frustrating depending on your taste. And yes, the complete lack of parental involvement while these teens are literally being hunted by horrors definitely requires some suspension of disbelief.
Still, I can’t deny how memorable this book is. It feels raw and experimental in a way that a lot of YA horror doesn’t. It’s creepy but also weirdly soft and emotional underneath all the dread and gore. The horror never feels empty because the story cares so much about its characters and their relationships. Plus, the cover art is amazing.
If you like atmospheric horror, poetic writing, queer casts, unsettling dystopian vibes, and books that feel a little strange and difficult in an intentional way, this is absolutely worth checking out. Even when it stumbles, “The Saw Mouth” feels ambitious, original, and impossible to forget.
“The Saw Mouth” by Cale Plett is one of those books that feels like a fever dream in the best possible way. It’s eerie, messy, poetic, confusing, emotional, and completely unlike anything else I’ve read recently. Imagine a creepy small-town horror story smashed together with a strange machine-apocalypse dystopia where technology has souls, monsters lurk in the dark, and everyone is carrying around grief, fear, and longing like open wounds. Somehow it works.
The atmosphere in this book is absolutely incredible. From page one there’s this constant sense of dread hanging over everything, like something is breathing just behind your shoulder. The writing style is super fragmented and poetic, almost like reading prose mixed with sharp little bursts of poetry. Sometimes it’s beautiful and haunting and hits unbelievably hard emotionally. Other times it can feel a little overdone or hard to follow, especially during important plot moments where things get intentionally cryptic. But honestly, even when I was confused, I was fascinated.
The worldbuilding is probably one of the most unique parts of the book. The whole “Autumn” event and the idea of machines becoming sentient and merging with human souls is SUCH a cool concept. The horror creatures are genuinely unsettling too, especially because they feel tragic as much as terrifying. The book really leans into the idea that monsters are created through pain, avoidance, and the things people refuse to confront. Even the creature itself ended up weirdly sympathetic by the end.
I also really loved the cast. The entire friend group is queer, messy, vulnerable, and deeply human. Cedar is such an emotionally raw protagonist, and the relationships between the characters were honestly one of my favorite parts of the story. There’s romance, tension, friendship drama, and this constant need for connection running through the whole book. Morgyn especially stood out to me, and I honestly wanted even more time with characters like Papercut and Lucy.
That said, this book definitely won’t work for everyone. The pacing is pretty uneven, especially in the first half, and there are so many characters introduced quickly that it can get hard to keep track of who’s who. The story also throws you directly into the world without much explanation, so for a while it genuinely feels like you missed a chapter somewhere. Some plot points and lore elements stay vague even by the end, which will either feel intriguing or frustrating depending on your taste. And yes, the complete lack of parental involvement while these teens are literally being hunted by horrors definitely requires some suspension of disbelief.
Still, I can’t deny how memorable this book is. It feels raw and experimental in a way that a lot of YA horror doesn’t. It’s creepy but also weirdly soft and emotional underneath all the dread and gore. The horror never feels empty because the story cares so much about its characters and their relationships. Plus, the cover art is amazing.
If you like atmospheric horror, poetic writing, queer casts, unsettling dystopian vibes, and books that feel a little strange and difficult in an intentional way, this is absolutely worth checking out. Even when it stumbles, “The Saw Mouth” feels ambitious, original, and impossible to forget.
August 9, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's Books, Delacorte Press, and the author Cale Plett for this eARC!
The Saw Mouth is not like any other novel I've ever read, and I believe that is what makes it worth your while to read. The Saw Mouth follows Cedar through the aftermath of 'Autumn'; in the near-distant future every machine has 'woken up' and the trapped souls within them cause everything in the world to fall apart. After unfortunate events lead Cedar to taking a bus to their father's hometown, they start to feel like they're being watched by someone, or something.
This dystopian future is one of my favorites I've read, and I think it's the best part of this story. Consumers are clamoring for fresh, original ideas right now more than ever, and The Saw Mouth serves that perfectly. The ideas and concept behind this novel are amazing, but the actual story doesn't deliver as well as the idea of it does. It took me a very long time to read the first half of this book, and I almost stopped reading it because of how slow it starts out. The buildup is there, you can tell that the story is going somewhere interesting, but if you're not a reader who enjoys a slow start, this book will be hard to get through. While reading The Saw Mouth I kept being reminded of the song "Thoroughfare" by Ethel Cain, a slow but beautiful winding story. There is beautiful prose throughout this novel, but it can be overwhelming sometimes and at a few spcieific spots it felt very wordy.
Outside of the world building within The Saw Mouth, my favorite part of the novel is the realness of it. Although our cast of characters are fighting a monster and running around doing things in a time that is foreign to anyone in real life, they still felt like they were just teenagers doing things teenagers do and feeling the same way as normal teenagers. Cale Plett does an amazing job of humanizing characters living lives that are anything but normal, making them relatable in ways I would not have expected. To me, being able to relate out-of-this-world expereinces to mundane and every-day is a very special skill and it's done very well in this book.
Every character is fun and enjoyable to read about, but what makes them better is the beloved found-family trope that they take on immediately. Within hours of Cedar stepping into a town they've only ever heard about they have a new best friend, and soon after a friendgroup full of people anyone would want to be friends with. There are some cringey moments but overall I really enjoyed being in Cedar's head.
While I did have some doubts in the first half of this book, I ended up really enjoying it. The creativity and care that was used in writing this book is enough for me to recommend it to any readers that enjoy a slower pace, however I know some people are picky like me so I specifically recommend The Saw Mouth to anyone who wants to read a dreamy horror story with a lot of heart.
The Saw Mouth is not like any other novel I've ever read, and I believe that is what makes it worth your while to read. The Saw Mouth follows Cedar through the aftermath of 'Autumn'; in the near-distant future every machine has 'woken up' and the trapped souls within them cause everything in the world to fall apart. After unfortunate events lead Cedar to taking a bus to their father's hometown, they start to feel like they're being watched by someone, or something.
This dystopian future is one of my favorites I've read, and I think it's the best part of this story. Consumers are clamoring for fresh, original ideas right now more than ever, and The Saw Mouth serves that perfectly. The ideas and concept behind this novel are amazing, but the actual story doesn't deliver as well as the idea of it does. It took me a very long time to read the first half of this book, and I almost stopped reading it because of how slow it starts out. The buildup is there, you can tell that the story is going somewhere interesting, but if you're not a reader who enjoys a slow start, this book will be hard to get through. While reading The Saw Mouth I kept being reminded of the song "Thoroughfare" by Ethel Cain, a slow but beautiful winding story. There is beautiful prose throughout this novel, but it can be overwhelming sometimes and at a few spcieific spots it felt very wordy.
Outside of the world building within The Saw Mouth, my favorite part of the novel is the realness of it. Although our cast of characters are fighting a monster and running around doing things in a time that is foreign to anyone in real life, they still felt like they were just teenagers doing things teenagers do and feeling the same way as normal teenagers. Cale Plett does an amazing job of humanizing characters living lives that are anything but normal, making them relatable in ways I would not have expected. To me, being able to relate out-of-this-world expereinces to mundane and every-day is a very special skill and it's done very well in this book.
Every character is fun and enjoyable to read about, but what makes them better is the beloved found-family trope that they take on immediately. Within hours of Cedar stepping into a town they've only ever heard about they have a new best friend, and soon after a friendgroup full of people anyone would want to be friends with. There are some cringey moments but overall I really enjoyed being in Cedar's head.
While I did have some doubts in the first half of this book, I ended up really enjoying it. The creativity and care that was used in writing this book is enough for me to recommend it to any readers that enjoy a slower pace, however I know some people are picky like me so I specifically recommend The Saw Mouth to anyone who wants to read a dreamy horror story with a lot of heart.
May 15, 2026
The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub: 05/12/2026 by Delacorte Press
Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Cale Plett for this ARC!
I REALLY enjoyed this novel! Cedar and the friends they make throughout the story are all fantastic and feel incredibly believable. The concept of the monster, as well as the faulty machines, is excellent and such a unique take on the typical dystopian YA horror genre. I definitely recommend this one! Also, look at that cover art!
pros: The horror is done really well. It’s suspenseful and engaging while still feeling appropriate for the intended YA audience. The novel uses body horror, creature horror, sci-fi horror and psychological horror effectively throughout.
The representation! The main character, Cedar, is non-binary, and their friends have a range of identities and pronouns as well. The book is unapologetically queer and we need more media like this.
I love these characters and the love they have for one another. I’m a sucker for found family, and they’re all so complex and messy in a way that is undeniably human.
I especially appreciated the way desire and romance were handled in this novel. This isn’t a romance, not even close, but with a cast of allosexual young adults some amount of desire and romance is expected regardless of the genre. It’s messy and complicated in a way that feels true to the young adult age group, and overall it was handled very well.
cons: The only thing keeping this from being a full 5 stars for me was the pacing. The first half of the novel felt fairly slow, though it absolutely pays off in the second half. There’s a lot of world building necessary for that payoff, so while the opening felt a bit info-heavy for my taste, I understand why it was structured that way.
Overall, this is such a solid novel and an excellent YA horror debut from Cale Plett. It’s one I’ll be thinking about for a long time, and one I’d easily recommend to fans of YA and NA horror. I’m looking forward to all of their future releases!
Pub: 05/12/2026 by Delacorte Press
Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Cale Plett for this ARC!
I REALLY enjoyed this novel! Cedar and the friends they make throughout the story are all fantastic and feel incredibly believable. The concept of the monster, as well as the faulty machines, is excellent and such a unique take on the typical dystopian YA horror genre. I definitely recommend this one! Also, look at that cover art!
pros: The horror is done really well. It’s suspenseful and engaging while still feeling appropriate for the intended YA audience. The novel uses body horror, creature horror, sci-fi horror and psychological horror effectively throughout.
The representation! The main character, Cedar, is non-binary, and their friends have a range of identities and pronouns as well. The book is unapologetically queer and we need more media like this.
I love these characters and the love they have for one another. I’m a sucker for found family, and they’re all so complex and messy in a way that is undeniably human.
I especially appreciated the way desire and romance were handled in this novel. This isn’t a romance, not even close, but with a cast of allosexual young adults some amount of desire and romance is expected regardless of the genre. It’s messy and complicated in a way that feels true to the young adult age group, and overall it was handled very well.
cons: The only thing keeping this from being a full 5 stars for me was the pacing. The first half of the novel felt fairly slow, though it absolutely pays off in the second half. There’s a lot of world building necessary for that payoff, so while the opening felt a bit info-heavy for my taste, I understand why it was structured that way.
Overall, this is such a solid novel and an excellent YA horror debut from Cale Plett. It’s one I’ll be thinking about for a long time, and one I’d easily recommend to fans of YA and NA horror. I’m looking forward to all of their future releases!
February 24, 2026
Thank you NetGallery for the eARC! 3.75 ⭐️
While there is an extremely interesting world/concept at play here, I did find the execution hard to stay interested in. The idea of technology having souls and merging with human souls is intriguing—and there’s also creatures that seek out humans and their capacity to squeeze into their souls and take over. And the cast is queer!
Unfortunately, the characters and pacing made this a weaker read for me. The first highly noticeable issue came up as I got past the first half of the book and the plot just felt like it was beginning. For a series book? Great, can be done. For what I believe to be a standalone (all the ending could allow for more…) this was a drag. Especially once Ruby became introduced so late and I was supposed to feel very worried for her state of being (which I was not feeling). There needed to be some trimming or more intriguing character connections.
There are other things that don’t aid in the help of the narrative as well. For one, I enjoyed Ada and Morgyn both being love interests for Cedar, but the chemistry felt dull. The flirty sparks Morgyn and Cedar had were soooo much more interesting than a lot of Ada and Cesar’s interactions.
I also felt Lucy and Jamie were under utilized, especially has they had such opposing reactions to Cedar’s truth and yet I felt both characters were in equal friendship.
The cast was just a little too much for the lack of coherent pacing.
This is not to say I didn’t enjoyed aspects of this book!
I thought the world was so damn unique. I want more from it, more of the history and deeper understanding of being faulty. I thought the gore and horror of this creature was fantastic. And, like I said, love a messy queer group.
There is so much promise in this book, and I think if the author continues to write, it will only improve.
While there is an extremely interesting world/concept at play here, I did find the execution hard to stay interested in. The idea of technology having souls and merging with human souls is intriguing—and there’s also creatures that seek out humans and their capacity to squeeze into their souls and take over. And the cast is queer!
Unfortunately, the characters and pacing made this a weaker read for me. The first highly noticeable issue came up as I got past the first half of the book and the plot just felt like it was beginning. For a series book? Great, can be done. For what I believe to be a standalone (all the ending could allow for more…) this was a drag. Especially once Ruby became introduced so late and I was supposed to feel very worried for her state of being (which I was not feeling). There needed to be some trimming or more intriguing character connections.
There are other things that don’t aid in the help of the narrative as well. For one, I enjoyed Ada and Morgyn both being love interests for Cedar, but the chemistry felt dull. The flirty sparks Morgyn and Cedar had were soooo much more interesting than a lot of Ada and Cesar’s interactions.
I also felt Lucy and Jamie were under utilized, especially has they had such opposing reactions to Cedar’s truth and yet I felt both characters were in equal friendship.
The cast was just a little too much for the lack of coherent pacing.
This is not to say I didn’t enjoyed aspects of this book!
I thought the world was so damn unique. I want more from it, more of the history and deeper understanding of being faulty. I thought the gore and horror of this creature was fantastic. And, like I said, love a messy queer group.
There is so much promise in this book, and I think if the author continues to write, it will only improve.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was so excited for this book, because I saw it compared to Compound Fracture and that is one of my favorite YA horror novels, but it sort of fell flat for me.
First, the parts I enjoyed. The premise was amazing, and it did do a good job of capturing a lot of the general atmospheric creepy vibes of the setting. I liked the sort-of-dystopian feeling that the book had going on.
However, the writing style really felt all over the place to me. I would just be getting into a groove and then there would be a long choppy section of writing that felt almost like poetry, usually when something integral to the plot was happening. As a result, it was hard to really get into the book or to fully understand what was happening. I think I understand the effect the author was going for, but it wasn't executed very smoothly and was overused throughout the book.
The world building was confusing - I felt like I had missed a chapter or two at the beginning, because there were aspects of the world that I felt weren't fully explained, and weren't spoken about by the characters in a way that helped me figure out what was happening, which also led to some plot holes about elements of what was going on.
At the beginning of the book, there were a lot of characters introduced all at once, and I really struggled to keep track of who was who. A few of the characters didn't really have any distinguishing personality elements from each other, which made it even more difficult to keep everyone straight in my mind, especially while trying to figure out what was happening with the plot.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
First, the parts I enjoyed. The premise was amazing, and it did do a good job of capturing a lot of the general atmospheric creepy vibes of the setting. I liked the sort-of-dystopian feeling that the book had going on.
However, the writing style really felt all over the place to me. I would just be getting into a groove and then there would be a long choppy section of writing that felt almost like poetry, usually when something integral to the plot was happening. As a result, it was hard to really get into the book or to fully understand what was happening. I think I understand the effect the author was going for, but it wasn't executed very smoothly and was overused throughout the book.
The world building was confusing - I felt like I had missed a chapter or two at the beginning, because there were aspects of the world that I felt weren't fully explained, and weren't spoken about by the characters in a way that helped me figure out what was happening, which also led to some plot holes about elements of what was going on.
At the beginning of the book, there were a lot of characters introduced all at once, and I really struggled to keep track of who was who. A few of the characters didn't really have any distinguishing personality elements from each other, which made it even more difficult to keep everyone straight in my mind, especially while trying to figure out what was happening with the plot.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
October 6, 2026
I've been very excited to read this since I first heard of it and it did not disappoint! I reminded me a lot of Andrew Joseph White's YA books so if you're a fan of those than I highly recommend reading this one. I think the monster was written very well, probably my favorite part of the book honestly. I couldn't help but sympathize so deeply with it and what the whole situation with souls awaking in machines means.
The characters were wonderful but by the end I couldn't say that I fell in love with them or anything. That's typical for YA books with a larger cast of friends. At least for me so it wasn't so much an issue as just something I noted. I find it hard to fully connect to characters when they feel like extensions of the narrative itself. Like they wouldn't exist as they do without the protagonist and plot.
Semi spoilers but not really (?), I liked the romance between Cedar and Ada, though I didn't love the romance plot with Morgyn. I wasn't upset about it, just didn't particularly like it. Anyway, Cedar was a really enjoyable character. Their story was overall compelling with their family and how that was all revealed.
I did like that Autumn was kept as a backdrop rather than the entirety of the plot. While I would have appreciated knowing a bit more about the consequences of Autumn and what the world on a broader scale looks like now because of it, I also understand that it wasn't essential to the story itself. The story was Sawblade Lake and the monster. Which I liked as a whole.
Definitely worth the read if you have the chance! I can especially see how younger queer kids would hook onto this.
The characters were wonderful but by the end I couldn't say that I fell in love with them or anything. That's typical for YA books with a larger cast of friends. At least for me so it wasn't so much an issue as just something I noted. I find it hard to fully connect to characters when they feel like extensions of the narrative itself. Like they wouldn't exist as they do without the protagonist and plot.
Semi spoilers but not really (?), I liked the romance between Cedar and Ada, though I didn't love the romance plot with Morgyn. I wasn't upset about it, just didn't particularly like it. Anyway, Cedar was a really enjoyable character. Their story was overall compelling with their family and how that was all revealed.
I did like that Autumn was kept as a backdrop rather than the entirety of the plot. While I would have appreciated knowing a bit more about the consequences of Autumn and what the world on a broader scale looks like now because of it, I also understand that it wasn't essential to the story itself. The story was Sawblade Lake and the monster. Which I liked as a whole.
Definitely worth the read if you have the chance! I can especially see how younger queer kids would hook onto this.
June 7, 2026
The concept for this dystopian world, where technology awakens with these screaming, confused fragments of souls, was a big draw for me to pick this up, and in that aspect, the book delivered. I love even the little glimpses of the machines as inhuman people and what their experiences were – from Ada and Ruby talking their medical micro-bots down and growing up with a shared life, to the idea of nuclear weapons lulled by the quiet dark of their silos or the one remaining arcade machine finding some reason to keep living through its suffering in its humming and whirling colors. The atmosphere of this world was great, as was that around the endlessly thirsty thing hiding in the shadows, ashamed to be seen in the light, with its distorted form of intelligence. However, the story was often carried by the vibes of this poetic and strange winding down of the world.
There were parts of this story that didn’t get the room to breathe, revelations that didn’t have time to sink in, plot points that popped in too late to get explored enough, or were just glossed over. Also, the characters at times felt like just another way to build the world's atmosphere, rather than fully believable people. There was a dreamlike haziness to the world that extended to the characters, reducing them rather than simply helping them fit the tone. Their emotions and conflicts were dulled, and their relationships had the air of a half-remembered past rather than a living, growing thing.
There were parts of this story that didn’t get the room to breathe, revelations that didn’t have time to sink in, plot points that popped in too late to get explored enough, or were just glossed over. Also, the characters at times felt like just another way to build the world's atmosphere, rather than fully believable people. There was a dreamlike haziness to the world that extended to the characters, reducing them rather than simply helping them fit the tone. Their emotions and conflicts were dulled, and their relationships had the air of a half-remembered past rather than a living, growing thing.
April 29, 2026
This was such a unique, atmospheric book, where the horror is ever present, always lurking just out of sight. I have a lot of feelings about this that I'm not sure I can even put into words. The writing is so poetic (though it does feel a bit overdone at times) and had a huge impact on my reading experience. It's so unsettling, but also soft, in a way.
I'm still a bit confused on Autumn and how/why that happened, but it's a fascinating concept on what happens when machines gain sentience. It's an excellent take on modern dystopia. I'm also not entirely clear on the creature itself, though I think the ending and the way its sentience was explored was perfect. Some of the plot was a bit clunky at times. The lack of parental involvement was also concerning to me, especially with Ada's sister. I have a hard time believing that their parent wouldn't get involved.
I love the characters, it's such a diverse cast and Plett wrote mixed pronouns (she/they) perfectly. There was never any confusion as to who was being spoken to or about. They were all fantastic characters, I'd love to learn more about Papercut and Morgyn!
Overall a really entertaining read, and I look forward to grabbing a physical copy. Also, can we appreciate how awesome that cover art is? It really fits the story!
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
I'm still a bit confused on Autumn and how/why that happened, but it's a fascinating concept on what happens when machines gain sentience. It's an excellent take on modern dystopia. I'm also not entirely clear on the creature itself, though I think the ending and the way its sentience was explored was perfect. Some of the plot was a bit clunky at times. The lack of parental involvement was also concerning to me, especially with Ada's sister. I have a hard time believing that their parent wouldn't get involved.
I love the characters, it's such a diverse cast and Plett wrote mixed pronouns (she/they) perfectly. There was never any confusion as to who was being spoken to or about. They were all fantastic characters, I'd love to learn more about Papercut and Morgyn!
Overall a really entertaining read, and I look forward to grabbing a physical copy. Also, can we appreciate how awesome that cover art is? It really fits the story!
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett, releasing May 12, 2026, is a YA queer rural horror novel set in a world where technology has already gone very wrong. It follows Cedar, a genderqueer teen who arrives in Sawblade Lake with something dark and strange following close behind.
The concept is what interested me most. I liked the idea of a small town, a monster tied to the main character’s past, and a world still shaped by a near-apocalyptic event where machines became something dangerous. There’s a lot of imagination in the setup, and I appreciated the queer representation and the way the story creates a community around Cedar.
For me, though, this was harder to sink into than I wanted. The writing has a very lyrical, fragmented style, and while I can see that working really well for some readers, it made the story feel a little harder to follow early on. I also wanted more forward momentum from the plot. The ideas are strong, but I sometimes felt more interested in the premise than in what was happening moment to moment.
I think this will land best for readers who enjoy YA horror with a poetic writing style, queer found family, dystopian worldbuilding, and a slower, stranger approach to monster horror. There is definitely an audience for this, especially readers who like their horror emotional and unusual, but it did not fully click for me the way I hoped it would.
3/5
The concept is what interested me most. I liked the idea of a small town, a monster tied to the main character’s past, and a world still shaped by a near-apocalyptic event where machines became something dangerous. There’s a lot of imagination in the setup, and I appreciated the queer representation and the way the story creates a community around Cedar.
For me, though, this was harder to sink into than I wanted. The writing has a very lyrical, fragmented style, and while I can see that working really well for some readers, it made the story feel a little harder to follow early on. I also wanted more forward momentum from the plot. The ideas are strong, but I sometimes felt more interested in the premise than in what was happening moment to moment.
I think this will land best for readers who enjoy YA horror with a poetic writing style, queer found family, dystopian worldbuilding, and a slower, stranger approach to monster horror. There is definitely an audience for this, especially readers who like their horror emotional and unusual, but it did not fully click for me the way I hoped it would.
3/5
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity!
I didn't really know what I was getting into with this story, but I just loved it in the end. Taking a moment to disregard the characters themselves, but the plot idea as a whole is something so new in a genre so old. It's rare to see a new idea of a dystopia, but this one was both new and interesting. The idea of all machines changing based on how and why they were used - i.e. ones used for evil being imbued with issues and negativity that destroys them. It's absolutely brilliant and I'd honestly love a series on this similar to the Infinity Train TV show - with new characters each book but similar aspects and stuff.
The characters themselves were both incredibly interesting and very realistic to that age-group today. The author did a fantastic job of keeping the humor and personality of that age-group but keeping the seriousness of the situation they were in. At times, it felt reminiscent to the Scream franchise, somehow? In a good way, of course. As well as similar to Falling Skies in the way of the world has continued to move on and we don't see the event that caused the dystopia - just the world after, and how (basically) normal it is.
This is a must-read for YA dystopia horror, for sure.
I didn't really know what I was getting into with this story, but I just loved it in the end. Taking a moment to disregard the characters themselves, but the plot idea as a whole is something so new in a genre so old. It's rare to see a new idea of a dystopia, but this one was both new and interesting. The idea of all machines changing based on how and why they were used - i.e. ones used for evil being imbued with issues and negativity that destroys them. It's absolutely brilliant and I'd honestly love a series on this similar to the Infinity Train TV show - with new characters each book but similar aspects and stuff.
The characters themselves were both incredibly interesting and very realistic to that age-group today. The author did a fantastic job of keeping the humor and personality of that age-group but keeping the seriousness of the situation they were in. At times, it felt reminiscent to the Scream franchise, somehow? In a good way, of course. As well as similar to Falling Skies in the way of the world has continued to move on and we don't see the event that caused the dystopia - just the world after, and how (basically) normal it is.
This is a must-read for YA dystopia horror, for sure.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley/the publisher/the author for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
✨
I had to check like five or six times that this wasn’t a sequel because absolutely nothing made any sense. It did not get better.
The premise of this book sounded so good. Think Stranger Things had a baby with Camp Damascus vibes. Technology became sentient and somewhat evil. A monster appears in a small town. A group of kids have to stop it.
At least, I think that’s what happened.
It was all so confusing. I genuinely have no idea what happened or why. What was the point of making technology evil? It didn’t add to the plot at all. And the monster? Biggest letdown of 2026. It barely made an appearance. Morgyn was also a huge letdown, partially because she was 20 kissing high schoolers, partially because she and her car were hyped up to be like the Winchester brothers but just…never went anywhere. I love the whole “small town where something is wrong” vibe. But this one was so boring and so confusing and so…bleh. Why burn the Church down? What the hell happened with TJ’s arm? What the fuck was up with the Mars landing that triggered Autumn? What was the monster???
I was left with so many more questions than answers.
Loved the enby rep, though. That was the only positive.
✨
I had to check like five or six times that this wasn’t a sequel because absolutely nothing made any sense. It did not get better.
The premise of this book sounded so good. Think Stranger Things had a baby with Camp Damascus vibes. Technology became sentient and somewhat evil. A monster appears in a small town. A group of kids have to stop it.
At least, I think that’s what happened.
It was all so confusing. I genuinely have no idea what happened or why. What was the point of making technology evil? It didn’t add to the plot at all. And the monster? Biggest letdown of 2026. It barely made an appearance. Morgyn was also a huge letdown, partially because she was 20 kissing high schoolers, partially because she and her car were hyped up to be like the Winchester brothers but just…never went anywhere. I love the whole “small town where something is wrong” vibe. But this one was so boring and so confusing and so…bleh. Why burn the Church down? What the hell happened with TJ’s arm? What the fuck was up with the Mars landing that triggered Autumn? What was the monster???
I was left with so many more questions than answers.
Loved the enby rep, though. That was the only positive.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
There’s a dark shape there, behind you, threading through your shadow, pursuing you, panting at your heels. The words of the Saw Mouth are the same— they follow you home, whisper to you in the dark. The Saw Mouth was a fabulous look at what happens when we can’t confront our evils, and what might follow us home if we don’t. It begins in Autumn, and after Autumn too- I really enjoyed the way the technology apocalypse was threaded in; the reader is really popped into the middle of this event and left to puzzle out the pieces in a satisfying and interesting way, much like Cedar is. The additional characters were a compelling way to push us forward, too; with each introduction: Morgyn, Ada, Papercut we learn more about the world that Cedar and the rest of these characters live in. It did take me a chapter or two to really understand what was going on (there was a lot of gathering clues for me- I wanted to know what was happening and what was going on), but once I figured out what was happening in our spooky little town I was all in. This is definitely a page turner, and I spent several nights staying up late to finish this book! Many thanks to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Cale Plett for this fabulous ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Saw Mouth is about fighting for your family, both the blood and found variety, when an unnatural horror is after you. Cedar has just arrived in Sawblade Lake to stay with their grandmother when they see a monster with rows of gleaming teeth. They've seen it before and they realize they were followed.
The world the book is set in is interesting in that they don't have any modern technology, due to an event that happened a decade ago. It made me think about how much I rely on technology each day. Cedar makes friends, and gains a love interest, who help them with the monster problem. I really like their grandmother. She's kind, accepting and caring. Their friends are good too. You can tell they really care about each other and the cast is largely queer.
The characters spend a big part of the second half of the book trying to solve a problem and it felt like it slowed down at times. It ramps back up at the end though and is left open ended as to if there will be a sequel or not.
This will be good for fans of dystopian books and small town horror. I won an arc of this book from the author through an IG giveaway. All opinions are my own.
The world the book is set in is interesting in that they don't have any modern technology, due to an event that happened a decade ago. It made me think about how much I rely on technology each day. Cedar makes friends, and gains a love interest, who help them with the monster problem. I really like their grandmother. She's kind, accepting and caring. Their friends are good too. You can tell they really care about each other and the cast is largely queer.
The characters spend a big part of the second half of the book trying to solve a problem and it felt like it slowed down at times. It ramps back up at the end though and is left open ended as to if there will be a sequel or not.
This will be good for fans of dystopian books and small town horror. I won an arc of this book from the author through an IG giveaway. All opinions are my own.
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