The Devouring. The Monsters Club, #1

Fourteen-year-old Julien Wilson has learned that silence keeps him safe. At home, silence keeps his mother calm. At Brookside High, silence keeps the bullies from pushing harder. Silence is how Julien survives. But something terrible is growing in that silence. It whispers when he is afraid. It watches from mirrors. It promises strength, protection, and revenge. Julien calls it the Monster, because calling it anything else would mean admitting the truth: it may not be separate from him at all.
Then Julien meets Zoe and George, two other kids carrying shadows they cannot explain. At a forgotten bench outside school, they form The Monsters Club-a fragile refuge built on jokes, secrets, and half-confessions. For the first time, Julien almost believes he does not have to face the dark alone. Almost. Because the cruelty around him is getting worse. The voice inside him is getting louder. And every word Julien refuses to say gives the Monster more room to breathe.
The Devouring is a psychological horror novel about friendship, shame, and the monsters we make when silence becomes the only way to survive.