The Hills of Estrella Roja

In this spooky, queer YA graphic novel debut, a paranormal podcaster visits small-town Texas and teams up with a cute outsider with secrets to unearth the truth behind the haunting red lights that float above its hills. But something hungry lurks beneath the strange stars and the two teens discover that in the hills of Estrella Roja, some things should stay buried.

When college freshman Kat Fields receives a mysterious email urging her to visit an isolated, relatively unknown Texas town with a history of witchcraft, strange sightings, and “devil lights”—glowing red stars that appear above the town’s hills every night—she ditches her plans for spring break and takes a solo road trip to Estrella Roja to investigate the lights for her podcast, Paranormal Texas, catchphrase: “Y’all stay spooky!”

Meanwhile, Marisol “Mari” Castillo, is also headed for Estrella Roja to attend the funeral for her abuela whom she hasn’t seen since childhood, when her mother cut ties with the family and left town. Feeling lost and maybe a little bored, she decides to help Kat investigate after a chance meeting at the local diner—and, okay, it doesn’t hurt that Kat is super cute.

As the two girls grow closer not only to each other, but to uncovering a dark legacy that the town was built on, they accidentally unleash an ancient danger that could threaten everything they love and have come to love about each other.

Delightfully creepy and unapologetically queer, in this horror romp of a graphic novel sometimes dreams do come true. Nightmares are technically dreams, after all.