I wasn't feeling this one and after reading some reviews, I decided to walk away rather than lower the rating of a book that I would recommend to someone who is looking for a story about growing up having to hide your queer self. Or just learning about how to accept yourself in a society that doesn't want you.

This book would have been a fantastic contemporary look into growing up queer in an overly conservative/queerphobic world. It's the horror/mystery parts that were really lacking for me. Honestly, I was a bit bored. I can see how people are rating this highly and I understand why they are liking it but for me, it just wasn't a great execution of blending the two.

3.65 stars. I thought Fern and Kaitlyn were so cute. I liked the other ship too but not as much. This was an interesting story and the characters were written well with progressive storylines! Leave it to an ancient dead man to steal your gay.

This story explores themes of queer self-erasure, conversion therapy, and coming out in an unsupportive environment.

It's a very interesting horror novel where the horrors are both real and supernatural, sometimes at the same time. The story follows two teens, Jaq, a lesbian, and Fern, who is non-binary. Years ago, they were best friends--along with a girl named Mallory--but when the story takes place, they're near strangers living straight-passing lives and not remembering anything any different.

As their past starts to haunt them, they reconnect, remembering Mallory and who they really are.

Thank you NetGalley for providing the e-arc for me to read! Honestly though I struggled with this book. I found myself putting it down over and over. I did not find the characters very engaging and wanted so much more from it.

I absolutely devoured this book.

I really enjoy queer horror, especially when the horrors of real-life are so accurately portrayed and blended with the supernatural elements.
Natalie C. Parker did a fantastic job with all of the characters and had me completely sucked in.
This was chilling, emotional, and a bit hopeful in just the right amounts.
I hope the folks who need this book find their way to it.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.
All opinions are my own.

“A message from God that He was still here for her. This was the symbol that had brought her so much comfort for so many years, promising unconditional love and redemption for trespasses. Except, it was conditional. She’d just seen it in the community room, in the eyes of her parents. She’d heard it in the voices of her friends. The conditions may not exist in Heaven, but here they were violent and biting.”

The representation in this novel was really great! It's classified as a YA horror, but I think its more a queer coming of age with horror elements. The biggest portion of the novel is devoted to girls discovering themselves and the girls they love/loved. There are creepy parts, but the more horrific elements is the homophobia and the fear of what would happen they accept who they actively are. With parents who weaponize religion, and even parents who are TERFs obsessed with femininity. I think now, in this year of 2024 books like this are so important in light of the climate here in America. When queer people feel like they are unsafe just being alive.

I really enjoyed this novel.

The story follows Fern and Jaq, who, five years after their friend Mallory’s mysterious disappearance, are now haunted by a spirit resembling Mallory.
The chilling presents forces them. To confront their past. and their true selves
This is a gripping LGBTQIA+ YA horror novel that masterfully blends supernatural elements with poignant themes of identity and friendship.
If you enjoy a mix of horror and heartfelt storytelling, this book is definitely worth a read

I love a good queer horror story but I really loved this one because instead of being scary, the real world was more the terror. Acceptance is the main focus of the book & I loved that. I know I say it a lot but THIS is the book I needed when I was younger.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Queer ya horror novel
2 girls are trying to be forced to conform to what society wants. When they were younger something happened to them that they can quite remember.

I enjoyed this! The characters are likable and it's paced good. This is a unique horror book that I would recommend! Special Thank You to Natalie C. Parker, Penguin Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5 stars!

I originally picked up this book because I thought it was going to fall in line with a "haunted house" story. The story instead is a heartbreaking telling of a group of friends figuring out how to navigate their lives despite their parents and influences in their lives. The house in the woods feels more like a secondary part of the story, but overall its a hauntingly deep story that will have you flying through the book.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really really hate DNF’ing books, but I just really couldn’t get into it. I thought it was very boring, and unfortunately the writing style wasn’t for me.

Come Out Come Out was a solid read. It alternated between the current day perspectives of Jack and Fern, as well as flashbacks from Mallory as they all try to come to terms with what happened to them in the woods as young teens. Jaq and Fern's lives are upended as they suddenly "wake up" and realize their adolescence has not fully been in their control. and their town legend of the Patron is not as generous as they initially thought.

The characters were likeable, though at times Jaq acted like Fern and Fern like Jaq. Their voices/behaviors were similar. The setting worked for the story. And scarier than the big bad were Mallory and Jaq's families, which made the theme of found family was bittersweet. While not exactly groundbreaking, it treated Jaq and Fern's identities with care, and there are kids who will see themselves in Jaq, Fern, and Mallory.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!

Loved this story a lot, super fun, and obsessed with Kaitlyn and Fern. The only issue is that some of the characters were supportive all in the same way, John, Cam, Devyn, Kaitlyn. Thet were confronting in a "I know you have something you want to say, but I'll be here when you're ready" which felt one dimensional so I would of liked more different approaches to showing support. The story felt short for some reason, but I had a lot of fun with it, so maybe that's why

For the past five years, Jaq and Fern believed their friend Mallory ran away from home. They’re now enjoying their senior year of high school – Jaq plans a future with her longtime boyfriend, and Fern hopes to follow in her sisters’ footsteps to a career in theater. Until Mallory’s ghost appears to both of them and their memories about their last night together gradually return – along with realizations about who they really are. Jaq is a lesbian and Fern is nonbinary. Sadly, their small town is full of homophobes, transphobes, and more.

I immediately liked Jaq and Fern, but my heart broke for them over their situations. Both are expected to conform to the expectations of their parents, community, and friends instead of being their true selves. Throughout the course of the novel they face both supernatural and real terrors, although I’d expected a little more emphasis on the paranormal aspects based on the beginning of the novel.

Come Out, Come Out begins as a slow burn before wrapping up with a hopeful ending. With themes of love, friendship, and acceptance, it’s a novel I’d recommend to readers who enjoy coming of age stories.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

This book has so much to offer, including great rep and an unsettling atmosphere. I really enjoyed meeting these characters and going along on this journey with them.

It wasn't always easy, actually it mostly wasn't easy, but I appreciated how Fern and Jaq both grew over the course of the story. There was some great messaging involved with both of their stories.

I also felt it was a nice balance between the Horror elements and the Contemporary elements. For me, certain issues, mainly the Horror bits, were wrapped up a little too easily in the end, but overall, a strong Queer YA Horror novel!!

This was a chilling yet emotionally charged novel that blends the fears of coming out and horror. In a small town, we meet Fern and Jaq, who seem to lead ordinary lives until they suddenly realize they've been hiding the truth from themselves and the others around them. As they start to explore their feelings and learn more about what was hidden and taken from them by the all-protecting Patron, they band together to fight back for the hope of what their life could be.

This really worked for me! Though I don't have religous trauma surronding being queer, I am interested in reading books that have that in it, just to widen my knowledge and empathy towards people who do. This book had a very interesting take on it that I haven't seen before in other novels. It was really nice seeing the main characters come into themselves throughout the story and the horror was actually pretty freaky! While this book does have some paranormal aspects, the true horror is based in the reality of conversion therapy and self-erasure. This author did a really good job with the setting and atmosphere but I'm not able to give this a full 5 stars. It just doesn't feel right despite not being able to pinpoint why.

I had mixed feelings as I read this book. I really liked the idea of this book being a horror/thriller and how that was more focused on the fear that being queer in a small town comes with. I appreciated the way that the author tackled having religious parents and being queer and hiding aspects of yourself for your own safety. I never really connected with any of the characters though so I wasn't invested in them.

OMG! I absolutely devoured this book! It was the perfect way to start out my October reading!

Come Out, Come Out is about three best friends who go into the woods one night, the same woods they had found safety in so many times before. But on that night everything changed. Only two left, but neither can remember why they were there, or anything about the friendship they all shared.

The story was told in a dual timeline with three POVs (two present, one past) and I love the way Parker wove the story together through the alternating POVs and timelines.

This story is so much more than your typical horror story. Yes there is some blood and gore, a twisted spirit and strange paranormal activity. But there’s a different horror in this story too. A horror that too many queer people face far too often. Jaq, Fern, and Mallory found each other when they were young for a reason. They were different, with secrets about who they were that they were too afraid to share. The danger in being exposed was real. Being outed would come with serious consequences. Then they found a place where they could be themselves. Where they could be free. But the spirit that lurked in the woods was not quite the spirit the stories described.

Come Out, Come Out is so many powerful stories all wrapped up in one. It’s a story about gender and sexuality exploration and trying to figure out who you are while dealing with parental, societal, and religious expectations. It’s a story about coming out and coming into yourself at the same time. It’s a story about crushes and young love and first kisses. It’s a story about the risk it takes to be yourself in a world that says who you are is wrong and needs to be “fixed.” It’s about the power of friendship and the importance of queer community and found family. It’s a story about the fear and terror that often come with being a queer person in this world, but also about the joy and hope that is just as much a part of queer existence and resistance. It’s a story that will grab you by the heart and not let go until the final sentence. The emotional aspects of this story mixed with the paranormal and horror elements magnified the impact for me and made it hard to put down. This book was everything I hoped for and more!