I wasn't expecting this one to go where it did, but I'm glad it went there. Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I liked the way it was laid out, and the ending left you with questions in the best way.

I enjoyed the story of Madi and Henry, both of whom made some questionable decisions, but the pacing was done well and it kept you on your toes.

It really is a good story depicting grief, the lies we are willing to tell ourselves to withstand that grief, and what happens if the lies no longer work. It tells us what happens when we are ready to let go vs when we aren't.

Definitely would recommend giving this one a read.

Two words: Holy shit.

This is definitely one of the better horror novels I've read this year (and there has been many, so this is saying something!). It's the author's story but Crane is also his own character - visceral, a little morally gray, and human. His experience is mirrored in what I think a lot of trans and autistic folks face, maybe not to this same extreme, but the situations and reactions are not too far off. Being pressured by a society/group that you've joined for belonging but may not have your best interests at heart, realizing people around you may not have the motives you think they do, and how even the Staggers who do care are still under the influence of said societal norms is a powerful message and one that continually tries to be overlooked. Crane's pregnancy was a journey, one that he struggled with and took us along for. The ending was painful but also beautiful in its own way.

I also appreciated the representation for autistic individuals as well. It's a reminder that even if someone can't communicate with non-ND people, they're still whole people with their own thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs. It's so easy to overlook that and force them to go with the flow just because they can't communicate, but this highlights how wrong it is to do this and how much pain that can cause.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I would definitely give it a read if you can make it through the trigger warnings.

I enjoyed this story but the pacing was so slow. It was just a ton of speculation and slasher movie references while nothing was particularly happening. You had to struggle to find the plot for the first half. The inclusion of the essays was cute but it wasn't really necessary, imo. For me, this book was just okay.

I think it was okay, it wasn't anything that blew my mind or really improved on tropes in the genre. If anything, it felt very much like it just took pretty much every popular trope from horror movies and threw it all into one book. I thought the ending was kind of cheesy, it felt very much like "oh we're setting up the franchise for a thousand sequels" and wasn't really impressive to me. It wasn't terrible, but it was very mid.

It's always a good book when it emotionally scars me and this one definitely did this. I think it showcased complex family dynamics in an incredibly realistic way and didn't sugarcoat anything. I'm glad it had the ending it did because I was VERY worried for a minute there but it all came together in the end.

It was a fun queer romp, but the characters felt like they were written to be a lot younger than they actually were. This was definitely more of a YA novel than anything else, heavy on the young. But I enjoyed the plot, the humor was okay. Not my top read but a good filler book if you're not looking for something super in-depth and just want something light and quick.