Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for an ARC of Come out, Come out. written by Natalie C. Parker.

This is the first book I have read by this author but certainly won't be my last. It was super different and interesting when it came to the plot, not by just a description but as you continue to get into the story.

Mall, Fern, and Jaq meet in middle school, each dealing with something that they can't reveal to their parents or their small town, they come to find a house in the woods that is more than willing to grant the three girls a wish.

I really don't want to give away anything, Parker incorporates Horror, Fantasy, Love, and Being true to yourself so well in this novel, given the book is LGBT themed you would think the title would be a play on words, it is so much more than that.

This book was both horrific and sad. When a girl goes missing when they are children comes back when they are seniors, it makes her friends realize who they really are, and who they really love. I really enjoyed reading this novel about coming out, not being able to, and everything in between, set in the middle of a horrifying tale. I definitely recommend this novel!

My favorite part about Come Out, Come Out is the title itself. I love the play on words perfect for a horror story and a story rooted in LGBTQIA+ themes. With that being said I had a hard time giving this 3 stars.
When it comes to the horror aspect itself, it was underwhelming. There wasn't enough and it fell short for me. However, Come Out, Come Out incorporates important topics in the Queer community and I highly recommend this book for those looking for a diverse read. It's a great story of queer/trans teens finding friendship, coming out, and realizing who they are. These topics are what brought my rating back up.
Come Out, Come Out releases August 27, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced readers copy. This review was voluntary and are my own honest thoughts and opinions .

🌈coming of age
🌈found family
🌈queer acceptance
🌈ghostly entity
🌈out August 27th

This book may be my favorite coming out and coming of age story I've read in the last few years. We have Fern, Jaq, and Mal 3 young teenagers that enter the creepy forest in there town, and only two come out. 5 years later neither Jaq or Fern remember what happened that night, but a party in those same woods triggers something in both of their memories that they cant ignore.

this book touches on heavy topics like: religious bigotry, homophobia, forced cis-heteronormative standards and how horrific the result of those biases and bigotries can be. The growth Jaq and Fern experience through the entirety of the book was so well paced and warmed my heart to read and experience.

I gave it a 4/5 because the ending really could have been another 10-20 pages to really close the story out. Seeing more interaction between all the main characters after the story climaxed would have been perfect. A lot of people are mentioning that it didn't have enough horror elements but I don't agree; just because it wasn't as gory and violent as an adult reader may be accustomed to it had different kinds of horrors the main characters had to push through that most people will never have to experience.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=3.75 | 😘=2 | 🤬=3 | ⚔️=5 | 15+

summary: basically it’s about three queer people in a homophobic small town and a mysterious forest and a house but that’s a bad summary and I don’t know if the book itself even lives up to its premise?? (though it’s still good)

thoughts: so.

things I liked:

- this had really, really excellent pacing; everything was fast and moving forward in a way that made sense for both YA and horror.

- loved the characters! distinct in personality and experiences of queerness.

things I didn’t get:

- the entire supernatural element was kind of confusing to me? like it didn’t feel super foreshadowed, even with flashbacks to the past, and I feel that there were ways that could have happened. so like, a lot of the horror elements didn’t work.

overall this is pretty good, though! yay!!!!

This cover immediately caught my attention. It was a bit of a slow start for me but it didn’t stay that way. I loved the combination of supernatural terror as well as real world terrors. The author does a great job of telling this story.

The horror didn’t really come through in this. There are plenty of events and elements that could inspire horror, but for the most part, they weren’t written in a manner that particularly built dread/suspense/fear/disgust in the visceral way of the horror genre.
I was expecting the amnesia to last longer or be a bigger source of tension. There was potential for dramatic irony to put the reader on edge as well as the nauseating horror of seeing how the characters have been rewritten and twisted to suit somebody else’s fantasies of what they should be. By bringing most of their memories back very early, it put all that out of sight in the past.
The book instead pulls some horror both from the supernatural threat and the sudden knowledge the main characters gain that they are queer in an environment where it is not a safe thing to be. The latter is very real, I feel the fear in that situation, but it still reads in many ways more like a contemporary coming-of-age story than horror.
*Spoilers* I also thought the reveal that their safe space had once been the embodiment of the bigotry they needed sanctuary from didn’t have quite the emotional weight it could have. *Spoilers*

That said, I still enjoyed a lot of the book for what it was. It was interesting to see how the main characters reconnect with their identities, how they don’t exactly fall back into them the same way as older teens as they first did. They are in that odd space where they know they’re queer but that’s it, not what that means for them, how to be comfortable with it, or how to decide what parts of their identities to show the world. This discovery phase was written well; I felt for them.

I really liked this book, but I wanted even more of the horror element. It was a book that was hard to put down, so I read it quite quickly in two sittings. But, I felt that tensions and emotions could have been heightened to take it to the next level. Parts of it were eerie, but other parts fell flat.
___
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this title. These are my honest thoughts.

I loved the book, although I would’ve loved it more if the horror vibe was more intense, it wasn’t that scary for me sadly. The characters were great!!
This book is a must-read for the fans of LGBTQIA+ stories.

Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin for this ARC.
I haven’t read anything else by this author, but after this book, I definitely will be.
I read this in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. I really appreciate that we are getting more queer YA books, and especially in the horror realm. Definitely check your triggers, I feel like a lot of the horror in this was from the very real experiences of the queer teens and those around them more than the supernatural element. That being said, it was so well done. I will be buying this book when it comes out as well.

This book gives all the October spooky season vibes. I had no idea what I was in for with this book. I absolutely loved it. It’s delightfully queer, well written and the horror aspects are so good.

I could not stop reading. Come Out, Come Out is such a clever title too and once I realized, I cackled like a hyena for ten minutes straight. This book had me feeling the cozy spooky vibes in July. I had my hot chocolate, my blanket and my emotional support pet rabbit by my side.

Fern is the coolest and I love them. So much. I will be raving about this book for months

"Come Out, Come Out" by Natalie C. Parker is a spine-chilling YA horror novel that beautifully intertwines themes of identity, friendship, and the supernatural. The story follows Fern and Jaq, who are haunted by the disappearance of their friend Mallory five years ago. As they reconnect with their true selves and unravel the mystery of that night, they confront a sinister spirit seeking revenge.

Parker's portrayal of queer teens navigating their identities in an unsupportive environment is both poignant and powerful. The horror elements add a thrilling layer to the story, keeping readers on edge. This book is a must-read for fans of LGBTQIA+ stories and supernatural horror.

First thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book for free.

I don’t even know where to start! This book was so so very good! I read it in a day! From the very beginning I was hooked! I’m an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, and haven’t come across many books that include it as much as this one did! This book was written so well! I was feeling everything the characters were feeling! The pain, fear, sadness, and confusion. The love, joy, safety, and relief. This book helped me understand gender fluidity a bit more, but also how scared they feel not knowing how to voice their feelings and identity to someone who may or may not understand. I 100%, 10/10 recommend this book!
The main characters Fern (genderfluid), Jaq (lesbian), and Mallory (lesbian) are feeling lost with nowhere to go that feels safe. Then, one day on their way home from school, they discover a new path that leads them to the Patron’s house. Here they feel safe, protected, and like they can be themselves. They make the house their safe place to hide away.
One night they have a sleepover at Mal’s house. Her parents come home and find her and Jaq kissing in her closet. Mal’s father took Fern and Jaq back home. The next night the three of them sneak out and go to their hideout. They make a wish to the Patron and it ends up costing Mal her life and the other 2 their memories of their friendship and their identities.
Five years later at a party, Fern and Jaq fall into the woods and regain their memories of everything except that night in the woods when Mal died. Feeling confused and disoriented, they try to find a way to live with these memories coming back to them. Fern remembering they’re neither a girl or boy, feels uncomfortable in their body and clothes. They’re also cast as the lead in the senior musical Grease and can’t find a connection to their character, Sandy, until they switch roles with their costar. Their costar being Katelyn Birch, who came out as lesbian their 7th grade year (which is what catapulted Mal, Fern, and Jaq to become friends). After they switch roles, Fern realizes they’re more connected to the role of Danny. Fern finds themselves more and starts to feel closer to Katelyn than before.
Meanwhile, Jaq tries to push everything away. Including her feelings toward new girl Devyn. She has the “perfect boyfriend, perfect family, and perfect life”. She pushes her true self away, until she realizes she can’t anymore. After trying to come to terms with who she truly is, she finds out their safe place five years ago, may not have been that safe. Something or someone is calling her and Fern back to the woods. Back to where Mal lost her life. Back to where they lost their memories. Back to where this all begin. Back to the Promise house…
“Come out, Come out, wherever you are; The Patron’s in the trees. Find his house, make a wish. He’ll do just as you please…”

While there is a paranormal element to this story, it's mostly a story about two people figuring out who they are and the horrors and attrocities of wraponnized religion.

Fern and Jaq have no memory of the event five years ago - including of their friend Mallory who disappeared that night. They are both living lives as ordained by their conservative parents and not being true to themselves as LGBTQIA+ teens. Until one night their memories of Mal return and they can’t hold back the truths about themselves any longer.

I thought this one was really great overall. I’m not used to YA pacing, and this one was way more YA than horror. The horror aspect was great but only started 20% from the end. It was more slice of life before that and while I’m glad to see the representation, I’m finding it harder and harder to relate to high schoolers in my old age.

Two friends stumble into the woods one evening and uncover lost memories about a friend that went missing and about who they are at their very core. As they fight to come to terms with their identities, a dark force tries to keep them away.

This was, hands down, the best LGBTQ+ book for teens I have read in a long time and maybe ever. I am straight and that probably affects the way I view these stories, but for me, this was excellent. It explored identity and coming out in a way that made it very relatable for me. The characters felt like real teenagers and you could understand their motivations as they explored their new memories and identities. I also thought the story itself was very engrossing and fast-paced. Great story.

This was a dnf for me unfortunately about a quarter of the way through. I came into this book blind & didn’t realize it was a YA. I tried to give it a chance, but it just did not keep my interest. I believe this is more suitable for someone interested in this genre/writing style.

Interesting story and characters. Not sure what I expected here and not sure how to review this. I wouldn't read it again but I would read other books by the author. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Natalie C. Parker has written a beautiful, wrenching horror book about becoming who you truly are at any cost. Three girls, Fern, Mal, and Jaq, learn this the hard way when they make a deal with the Patron, a spirit who grants wishes if you find his house in the woods. But the wish isn't all it's cracked up to be. Fern and Jaq find themselves dealing with memories from years prior flooding back after they step into the woods one night. Mallory might not just be missing and they might have something to do with it.

A compelling mystery, horror, and coming-of-age story, this book kept me on the edge of my seat. I was just as excited to find out what was going on with the Patron and the woods as I was to see the gender-blind production of Grease at the high school. The tender scenes, romantic and platonic, balanced out the horror elements perfectly. Sweet and scary, this book had the right amount of everything.

The town of Port Promise is a small town where everyone knows everyone and differences aren't celebrated. Parker did a wonderful job showing the environment the girls were facing while trying to come to terms with their identities and sexualities and how difficult it is to try on new labels while having to pretend like nothing has changed. I feel like readers working through these issues will see themselves in this story and, hopefully, see that there's always the power to own your story and your self.

I really enjoyed this book and am very thankful to NetGalley and Penguin for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I honestly can't wait for this to hit the shelves and be devoured by everyone the way I devoured it!

Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the LGBTQIA+ rep in here and I think the author did a really good job with talking about some hard topics. The poor kids really go through it in this book, but seeing them grow and learn to love and except themselves was so heartwarming.
I really wish it would have leaned a bit more into the horror however. It didn't really start getting "scary" until the last 20%. I love when horror is set in reality so this was still a fun read.