Spanish Book Discussion: Mandíbula por Mónica Ojeda

Mandíbula es una novela sobre el miedo y su relación con la familia, la sexualidad y la violencia. Narrada con una prosa llena de destellos líricos, símbolos desconcertantes y saltos en el tiempo, toma rasgos del thriller psicológico para desarrollar el juego mental que se produce entre alumnas y maestras, y escarbar en las relaciones pasionales entre madres e hijas, hermanas y mejores amigas, recreando un mundo de lo femenino-monstruoso que se conecta con la tradición del cine de terror y la literatura de género.

Fernanda and Annelise are so close they are practically sisters–a double image, inseparable. So how does Fernanda end up bound on the floor of a deserted cabin, held hostage by one of her teachers and estranged from Annelise?

When Fernanda, Annelise, and their friends from the Delta Bilingual Academy convene after school, Annelise leads them in thrilling but increasingly dangerous rituals to a rhinestoned, Dior-scented, drag-queen god of her own invention. Even more perilous is the secret Annelise and Fernanda share, rooted in a dare in which violence meets love. Meanwhile, their literature teacher Miss Clara, who is obsessed with imitating her dead mother, struggles to preserve her deteriorating sanity. Each day she edges nearer to a total break with reality.