Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH. The premise was unique, the characters were divine, and the horror aspect was everything I wanted and more! It was different, abstract, and delivered eerie WELL. I am obsesseddd and will be keeping an eye out for future novels by Ms. Parker!!

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐! Full review forthcoming but if you're on the fence about adding this to your TBR don't be! This isn't my normal genre and wanted to try something new and I'm so glad I did!

Dynamic, complex characters. Emotional storyline and plot twists. A unique take on telling local folklore and scary stories in a particular town.

Come Out, Come Out was such a powerful coming of age story, and, more importantly, a self discovery story meant for lost, opressed teenagers, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Not all kids and teenagers are lucky enough to grow up with supportive parents. Parents who love them unconditionally and only wish for a their safety, happiness, and success in life.

The heartbreaking take away here was: No one should have to feel unsafe or ashamed to show who they truly are. Parents should not push their own beliefs and prejudices on their kids. Religion should not be forced on, or introduced to, kids who are too young to truly understand it. Family should be loving and supportive and the only expectations should be for members to be themselves and do their best at whatever they apply themselves to in life.

Bigotry, racism, sexism, religious hatred etc. are such ugly, vile things, it's sometimes hard to believe that they don't originate from a sinister, supernatural source. Come Out, Come Out had some Nightmare on Elm Street vibes, but the real horror was the afore mentioned issues. The author created a beautiful story of friendship, love, loss, and coming to terms with, not only who you are, but, finding love and support from found family, and not being ashamed of how you feel.

Thank you Penguin Teen for the e-ARC!

ARC Review!!!
Fern, Jaq, and Mallory have been living in fear of coming out to their families. They form a friendship during times where they don't know that's happening to them or how to describe it to other people. There's this lore in their town about a "Patron" who will grant kids wishes and keep them safe when given something. Fern, Jaq, and Mallory knowing this head into the woods with the intention of getting away from their parents and wanting to live their true lives.

Once night heading to the woods to get their wish granted, Mallory never made it back. Fern and Jaq did but don't remember that night or the friendship they formed throughout their hard times.

Five years later, Fern and Jaq are seniors and ready to continue with their life after high school. They have all these plans figured out and a path set but they begin to see a spirit who looks like Mallory and keep getting these flashbacks and hearing voices. As these continue to happen, both Fern and Jaq start to remember who they truly are and what happened that night.

This was written so well!!! It was so good to read, had that hint of triller and mystery where the reader had no idea what was going to happen next! It flowed so nicely! The beginning through me off in the beginning with that night in the woods and then the time jump! But as it continued shortly after the time jump, it flowed so nicely!

I personally can't imagine what it must feel like to hide yourself from those around you and feeling trapped within your own body but these characters made me feel that. They were written so well that I was able to relate to them and connect to them on something I have never experienced. The plot was amazing! The ending is everything! It's such a sad but good ending and made the book even more perfect!

Come Out, Come Out is a different style of horror than you may be expecting. It's more speculative queer horror with some paranormal horror and elements at the core of it. We all know that real people and actions can be scarier than any made up creature.

This is a story about what happened to 3 young queer friends living in a community rampant with homophobia, parents who won't accept queerness, some attempting to erase their identities, and the terror of not only not being able to be yourself, but being afraid of people finding out who you really are. It is also a journey to self-acceptance and courage.

The book was steadily paced, kept my interest, and the representation and thought provoking content was well-done. The title is clever and I like the double meaning.

First off, I LOVE the cover of this book! Without even reading the synopsis, I was instantly drawn in by the colors and the artwork on the front.

Come Out, Come Out is a perfect example of why even as an adult I still love reading YA horror/thrillers. The characters in this story are diverse, the story has just the right amount of scare mixed with excellent writing, and those two things combined make for one of the best YA books I've read all year.

Gripping, profound and eerie every step of the way, Natalie Parker’s COME OUT, COME OUT is nothing short of sensational. Parker masterfully blends supernatural elements with real-life horrors in a haunting tale that’s simply unforgettable.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn’t work for me. Well, not all of it worked at least. As far as dealing with heavy topics? This book did well, but when it came to being a horror, this book fell short. This was more of a coming-of-age story with some creepy undertones at times and that’s not what I wanted going in. I really did appreciate the three young people dealing with homophobia in their everyday lives. I live in a very purple area, and a lot of gay people aren’t able to live their true lives because of fear. My closest friends can’t even hold hands while they walk their dog because of comments they get directed at them, it’s horrible. So, reading books like this is important, it helps people learn that this type of behavior is unacceptable. And while I loved this part of the book, I really wanted a YA Horror story, I’m not a huge coming of age fan. The horror element was confusing to me and I don’t feel like it was fully developed.

I would recommend this book to a younger YA audience, even perhaps middle grade as it reads very young.

Overall, I didn’t dislike this book, it just wasn’t what I was looking for.

3.5 Rounded up

This book had a veery important message and it was interesting to read from character's perspectives who are going though such tough and intricate journeys. I do think the metaphor of coming out of the house, while simultaneously trying to come out to their families and accept themselves as who they are was a little heavy handed and obvious. I wish that this was done with a little more nuance and subtlety but an interesting concept nonetheless.

I haven't read many stories featuring a genderfluid character, so i appreciated being able to see a little more inside their head. I think that the message is important, i just wish the execution was a little more gripping. It felt a little bit like i was reading too much of a memoir, and not enough of an actual fiction story.

A 5 star Horror for me. I typically don't have any issue reading horror but this one freaked me out. It had JUST enough paranormal going on that I was scared half the time. This book touched on a LOT of heavy topics related to identity and queer-ness. SO MUCH homophobia so PLEASE check triggers! That being said, this was the top horror of the year for me so far. I loved the relationships, the found family, the gore. It kept me guessing. There were twists that I didn't see coming, which for a YA, I feel like, is super rare. I enjoyed this SO MUCH!

I really enjoyed this story of two teens coming to accept themselves and choosing to be who they are even in the face of hardship and rejection from others. I loved that that the horror elements of the novel had real meaning and significance in their connection to the very real horrors faced by queer teens every day. I do think the more traditional horror aspects fell a bit flat and weren't as built up/suspenseful as they should have been, but I was ok with being pulled in a more emotional/thoughtful direction with the other themes, and enjoyed the journey the characters went on.
Thank you Penguin Teen for this ARC.

Coming out can be scary, but Natalie C . Parker makes it a horrifying experience! If you grew up reading Scary Stories to tell not the Dark , you will love this book !

The story tells us about a group of girls that are trying to unlock lost memories . Their friend was said to runaway , but they’re not quite sure . I love that the author gives us different queer representations , and the different issues individuals may encounter.

The girls are desperate to be accepted and remember there is a said entity that can help them … so they think …

Highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a story that has a bit blood and coming to age .

I really wanted to love this book. It has such a good concept and the title/cover art is amazing. Unfortunately I DNF’ed at around 25%. The writing wasn’t doing it for me. The story starts out in a very intense moment that we, the reader, learns is in the past after we manage to get through some chapters talking about auditioning for a musical. I was pulled out of the story really fast when it became clear that the action was going to slow down from there. There were a few jump scare moments that happened after that point but they felt predictable and not all that scary. There were also too many secondary characters introduced all at once. I found myself not caring who anyone was and hoping we’d get back to the action sooner. I was going to try to push through but found that once I hit the bonfire scene and the moments after that I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen and didn’t care to keep pushing through the story to see if I was right. I might not have been the right reader for this but I am sad because I was looking forward to a solid queer YA horror book. During to not completing the book I will not be posting review to Goodreads, StoryGraph, or Amazon as this does not feel fair to the book or author. Thank you for this ARC.

I always appreciate a good YA horror and this one delivered. It was written really well which is the most important aspect of a good book to me. The storyline kept me invested throughout the book. Lastly the characters were interesting to read about and it was fun to see where they would end up at the end.

This book was so magical and beautiful. In our world right now this is what we need a book that fights for acceptance of all. Also loved that it was a paranormal style book and have you seen the cover that's beautiful. This was a lot of story to take in but also super easy to read and get lost in if that makes sense. I loved this book so much and I want to give this to some of my friends when its published.

This book was a very quick read, and hit on some very heavy topics. I don't think I could give this book a proper review, but I will definitely recommend as a must read book. 3.75

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker is a third person multi-POV YA Queer horror. Former friends Fern and Jaq haven’t spoken in five years, since the death of their friend Mallory. Only, they don’t even remember they used to be friends or what happened the night Mallory died. When they finally start getting their memories back, they remember more than their friendship; they can finally voice that they are Queer.

A major theme of the story is ‘coming out’ and how so many people are not safe enough to do so. With a Pacific Northwest setting in a high school, spaces you’d think would be more progressive, Mal, Fern, and Jaq are in a Queerphobic community that has forced them into the closet for years. Mallory’s death isn’t really commented on by the community anymore but they do make note of when a student is kicked out by his parents for coming out as Queer. Katelyn, their classmate, came out as a lesbian in middle school and is the most openly ‘out’ character in the book and the very reason that Jaq, Mal, and Fern started becoming friends as the closested Queer kids in class.

Another running theme is the ‘gay awakening.’ When Fern and Jaq start getting their memories back, they call it ‘waking up’ and it does feel like they came out of a long dream that was dragging them down. Fern starts to accept their feelings for Katelyn and starts to figure out their gender identity (genderfluid) while we get flashbacks of Jaq and Mal’s first love and Jaq starts falling for a new girl in town named Devyn. Jaq is held back by her religious parents and her long-term boyfriend while Fern is unsure how to discuss things with their well-meaning but stuck-in-the-binary thinking mother.

Fern comes from a theater-loving family and gets the role of Sandy in the senior musical but Katelyn gets the role of Danny during the gender-blind casting. Originally, Fern was jealous because Katelyn would get all of the attention until they came to terms with wanting the role of Danny because it gave them a way to explore their gender. As someone who is also non-binary, I really related to Fern using the arts to explore their gender and I know other people who have done the same. It’s very common and will allow a lot of teens to see themselves in Fern.

Content warning for depictions of Queerphobia, brief depictions of self-harm, and religious trauma.

I would recommend this to readers looking for YA Queer horror where the horror has a lighter touch and fans of horror exploring the trauma of coming out

"Come Out, Come Out" by Natalie C. Parker is an engaging and thought-provoking novel that explores themes of identity and friendship. The story revolves around Mallory, who mysteriously disappears, setting off a gripping search led by her friends Jaq and Fern. As they delve into Mallory's disappearance, they uncover hidden truths about themselves and the shared secret that binds them. Parker skillfully combines a touch of speculative fiction with contemporary issues, creating a richly detailed world that enhances the narrative. The characters are well-developed, with Jaq and Fern’s personal journeys adding depth to the story. The novel’s emotional resonance is heightened by the characters’ complex relationships and their struggle to reconcile their identities with the secrets they hold. "Come Out, Come Out" stands out for its compelling storytelling and insightful exploration of friendship and self-discovery.

So So good. I don't know if I was looking for a horror book about queer girls who are haunted by an evil spirit who forces them to live a straight life but here we are. Some parts had me crying, some had me smiling and altogether left an incredibly moving read about living one's most authentic self.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. If youre a horror fan but also like books with real meaning, then this one is for you. This book sends out a really important message regarding acceptance, not only of yourself but of others, specifically in the LGBTQ+ community. Not only was it horror in the scary Paranormal sense, but also in the real life sense of not being accepted by your family and community. It also sends out strong messages of friendship, family, and love. There are many important things to take away from this novel. I'm not going to get deep into them as I think this is an important one to read for yourself. I'm rating this 4 stars as while I did overall enjoy this book, the beginning was a bit slow for me and I struggled a little but to get into it. Once the story picks up though, I flew through the rest. I'm really glad I gave this one a go.