"Dead Girls Walking" by Sami Ellis, narrated by Tamika Katon-Donegal, is an engrossing and atmospheric audiobook that masterfully combines suspense and dark humor. The story follows a group of young women who find themselves navigating the complexities of life, friendship, and the supernatural, all while confronting the ghosts of their pasts—both literal and metaphorical.

Sami Ellis crafts a compelling narrative that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats. The plot is well-paced, filled with unexpected twists and rich character development that makes each character relatable and memorable. Ellis’s sharp writing brings the story to life, blending poignant moments with eerie undertones that resonate throughout.

Tamika Katon-Donegal’s narration is nothing short of outstanding. Her voice captures the emotional depth of the characters, bringing authenticity to their struggles and triumphs. Katon-Donegal skillfully shifts between tones, enhancing the tension during suspenseful scenes while delivering humor in lighter moments, making the listening experience immersive and engaging.

Overall, "Dead Girls Walking" is a captivating audiobook that skillfully balances themes of friendship and self-discovery with supernatural elements. Both Ellis’s storytelling and Katon-Donegal’s narration create a hauntingly beautiful experience that will linger with listeners long after the last chapter. Highly recommended for fans of gripping tales with a twist!

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis was a great read with great character development and plot points. Loved it!

Dead Girls Walking is a summer game horror featuring serial killers and ghosts, all elements for a fun adventure. On the whole, our MC Temple is an unlikeable character, which can make it hard to root for her on occasion. Despite not liking horror or children, she manages to get a job at a horror themed summer camp, however, she is there with an entirely different task in mind. It is the only way she can get onto the grounds of her family home, the home where her serial killer father has sent her. Temple is hoping to find answers, whilst hiding her true identity.
Dead Girls Walking has a really interesting premise, especially from a debut author, however it felt far too long. I think this could easily have lost around 100 pages and worked just as well, with the plotbeats being more concise, and a faster pace.

The audiobook was very well presented, with the narrator adding more personality to the MC than the book gave her. If I were to recommend Dead Girls Walking it would be in the audio format.

Unfortunately two stars is probably generous here. I should have DNF’d this. However I persevered; but didn’t really gain anything except more confusion in the end. I know this is a debut novel by a young writer. I understand what was being attempted; however, it was so poorly executed I’m shocked this was the ‘best’ final product. Sometimes when you are sent away by many, many publishers it’s because your book needs too much work. More work than an editor can reasonably provide. I believe that to be the case in Dead Girls Walking.
To keep this from being me ranting let me summarize some of the key issues I had:
- no rules are ever really set-up for the world and it’s resurrection style magic. There’s an attempt early-on but every time I turned around a rule is proven wrong
- it is possible to have too many twists and turns. In order to make a book feel cohesive, readable (ie: plot can be followed), and seem ‘realistic’ inside the confines of magic set-up it needs to have some stickiness that keeps it all together. Dead Girls Walking is a flat hot mess of jumping around, attempts to be clever that all fall down because nothing seems to fit together properly
- our leading girl is annoying. Her obsession with identifying herself as a monster for no real reason (besides her father is a serial killer) really bugged me. Especially as you learn some of the spoilers in the story… she clearly knows right from wrong even early on in the story. I think a survivors guilt complex would have been a smarter way to go
- the attempt to connect this all to a fictional novel written by a person close to the family is bizarre. We never get any real info about the novel (some excerpts with little context), and our heroine hasn’t read the book (which is also weird…); as she is our only POV we get snippets of the novel in the text but no real analysis of it. In some ways the inclusion of the novel tries to set boundaries for the magic (and maybe solutions?) but it felt gimmicky and incomplete
- finally, the first third of the book feels like it’s about a completely different type of ghost/horror story than the rest. The ghost set-up went from tiny to huge with little transition. I really want to read what the story should have been within the confines of the set-up of the first part of the novel. Instead it grew so quickly and by the halfway point Dead Girls Walking had become outrageous and out of control. There’s no real pacing, attention to timeline details, or magical rules to help define the world. Unfortunately for me that means it just didn’t ‘stick’ together well.

Overall, Dead Girls Walking has a bunch of poorly written fairly gory scenes, illogical plot jumps, a very annoying lead character, upside down twists that don’t fit, and no real cohesion. I’d love to read the story of lesbian girls at a ‘horror themed’ camp (who are obsessed with a real crime nearby) learning about the crime and themselves at the same time. That is the book I want to read. Unfortunately, while this is billed as such, it’s far from what I had expected or hoped for based on the blurb.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really creepy. I felt so freaked out while listening to this book. This book was definitely scary and will make a great spooky season read.

I’m not really sure what exactly I expected going into this book, but it wasn’t what I read. That’s not a bad thing though. There were times when I was very surprised and just like wooooooow, didn’t see that coming! This was definitely a new take on camp slasher and I am here for it.
Temple was unlikable yet likable (to me) at the same time. She has had a rough life and it seems some of the campers helped contribute to that. The rest of the characters also were unlikeable and likable. I did wish for a little more character development for the rest of the group.
I was able to listen to this audiobook and I feel like the narrator was able to keep me more engaged with the story than me just reading the ebook. She used different voices for different characters and made them stand out more.
This seemed like a bit of a slow burn, but it does pick up and made me want to keep reading. I loved the short chapters, made for easy stopping spots. Especially when listening to the audiobook and needing to stop for work or getting home.
This book has paranormal aspects, demon type possession, serial killers, gore. A little bit of everything for everyone who likes this genre.

I really liked the idea of this book, but the book just felt too long and I really didn't enjoy the twist. I really just wanted to read a serial killer story and didn't need all the extra super natural stuff. Some of which ended up a bit convoluted...like the body hopping? I don't know I just didn't love it. The POV hopping left me quite confused at times and I struggled to follow what was going on when and with who.

I really like the synopsis and idea of this book and I was excited to read it. The beginning was strong and kept me engaged. The climax of the book came at about 50% and then the story just dragged on and on. I often found myself super confused as to what was happening. And once the “reveal” was over, the book was more or less the same for the remainder.

I really wanted to like this book, but I could barely finish it. The characters are not very well developed and I didn’t feel any connection to them. We learn a lot of facts about the main character Temple (short for Shirley Temple…) and her family, but I didn’t feel any emotions.

Essentially, the plot goes something like, Temples father is a serial killer and in prison. He tells Temple that he killed her mom and dumped the body at their old family property which has since been turned into a horror camp. To gain access to the camp, Temple signs up to be a counselor. She discovers a dead body and believes that a copy cat killer is at work.

So far so good. I’m expecting Jason running around killing people, right? Wrong. Turns out her entire family (grandparents and parents) are killers who kill to gain immortality. They start possessing the campers and killing them and then possessing their dead bodies to kill the live ones. This is at 50%. For the rest of the book, we more or less stay in 1 room (or other places where the scene is not well described so I am often confused where the characters are) while the possessed killer goes on some long monologue about the history of Temple’s family.

Then we find out that Temple’s dad was killed as a 10 year old child and has been possessing bodies ever since. Ummm what? So which “body” fathered Temple? How does the biology of that situation work?

So. Much. Confusion.

And there was one line in the book which was, “if the room could have taken a shit, it did.”

I understand writing is hard. I understand putting out a book is an accomplishment in and of itself. But this book just unfortunately did not do it for me.

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on any future horror books that she narrates – I really hope there’ll be more. I see I’ve some of her books on my tbr but I think this is the only horror book she’s done. There are quite a lot of characters in here and the narrator does a fine job of differentiating them so it was rare that I got them mixed up. Which doesn’t happen often with a single narrator – unfortunately, try as they might, a lot of their voices tend to sound the same.

The story dragged a bit in the beginning but it picked up after a while and then I didn’t want to stop reading. Which I like in a horror book. I think it’s better to read a horror book quickly or read a bunch in one sitting. It helped that the story was also really interesting and mysterious so I wanted to read more quickly to fully figure the story.

Temple was an interesting character because it’s almost as if she doesn’t want the readers to like or root for her. She’ll show all the darker parts of herself, show you why you shouldn’t be friends with her but every now and then she’ll say or do something and I’ll want to like her. So, yes, she is an unlikable character. She pushes everyone away, she doesn’t want to share herself with others (though with her family who can blame her, I guess). But then she did. She opened up to others, she made connections, chose to trust others – which is a huge feat for anyone, let alone herself.

The premise is what initially drew me in. Camp setting in the horror genre? It’s classic for a reason. And all of the members are LGBTQ+ Black teen girls obssessed with horror? That’s all I needed to know. What I got was just so much more. I’d actually thought it was just horror, I didn’t even know that there was a fantasy/paranormal element to it until it actually happened. Which made me be even more interested because I really like paranormal horrors.

But this was also just more than a simple paranormal horror. It’s about secrets, family and how they can help and harm you. About keeping your self to yourself until you decide to show yourself, trusting others to understand you. I liked that with Temple it was with new people and not any friends (well she didn’t have any). Through literally every terrible thing that happened in here to her, she still decided to open up. She decided to get close to people and make friends.

Katon-Donegal did a fine job when it came to the plot and all the plot twists. It was another reason why I couldn’t put it down. The intrigue kept me going, had me saying ‘one more chapter’ because I had to know what was lay next in store for the characters. If you’re a reader who loves a plot that takes you places you won’t believe your eyes or ears are seeing.

Despite sounding like it would be very cool, this book fell somewhat flat for me.

The plot was interesting but not well executed and at times, I had absolutely no idea who was narrating, what had happened, or how we had gotten to where we were. I listened to the audiobook and constantly had to "rewind" to go back and see if I'd missed something.

I saw someone on Goodreads say that the narrative style of the book "felt like being dropped off at a movie halfway through, taking multiple bathroom breaks, and still being expected to understand what's going on."

And that sums it up perfectly.

The POV swaps from character to character were mind-boggling and hard to follow, and I just couldn't keep track of what was going on half the time. Plus, all of the characters were very similar and kept running together in my head. Also, the horror elements weren't all that horrific. They felt forced in many places.

Suffice to say, this one just didn't work for me. But I do appreciate the representation of queer POCs. That's always nice to see, especially in a genre like horror where they rarely appear.

An eerie trio of YA Horror stories that will get your heart racing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the pubisher for this ARC in exhcange for an honet review.

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, Recorded Books, Amulet Books, Sami Ellis, and Tamika Katon-Donegal (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of Dead Girls Walking in exchange for an honest review.

Temple Baker's Troubling Legacy
The main character, Temple Baker, is the daughter of the notorious North Point Killer. Told from a third person perspective, the reader sees how she is at odds with her dark family history. Her father, a convicted serial killer, left a haunting legacy by branding his victims. Despite rumors and suspicions surrounding his crimes, Temple always believed in her father's innocence regarding her mother's murder. He would never do such a thing, even if he killed so many others. However, his shocking confession from death row forces Temple to confront the past and search for evidence to prove her belief that her father never would have killed her mother.

A Twisted Scenario
Temple returns to her father's former hunting grounds, now a camp for black LGBTQ girls who love horror. As a camp counselor, Temple infiltrates the camp and navigates unfamiliar social dynamics all while maintaining her hidden agenda: find the truth about her mother and father. Amidst the camp's eerie atmosphere, a sense of foreboding grows as a mysterious death raises chilling possibilities.

Unraveling Dark Secrets
As Temple delves deeper into the camp's secrets, a sinister pattern emerges. Fearing a disturbing connection to her father's crimes, she races against time to protect the campers and uncover the truth. The unsettling realization dawns on Temple that the shadows lurking in the woods hold more than just her father's legacy, hinting at a malevolent force beyond her worst nightmares. Something is going on in the woods, and it may hint to her father's confession falling with an inaccurate murder count...

Confronting Monstrous Truths
In her quest for justice and safety, Temple confronts the haunting reality that evil may have deeper roots than she ever imagined. There's more to the murders than a possible mock serial killer. With her resolve tested and danger closing in, Temple faces a harrowing journey to unravel the mysteries shrouding her family's dark past and the sinister forces at play in the haunted woods.

Final Thoughts
This novel has all the right thrills and chills with the narrative offering elements of mystery, suspense, and horror throughout. Temple's troubled family past goes even farther back than she can imagine, but one is not the deeds of their families' past. While friendship does play a part in this novel, it really revolves around Temple's quest to prove that her father would never kill her mother. 

The old farm-turned-camp offers many dark secrets, and the longer Temple remains in the guise of a counselor, the more at risk she is of being discovered as a serial killer's daughter, and the lives of the girls at camp become further and further endangered. It will take the power of confronting the truths that a person never wants to face to come away from what was uncovered...hopefully alive. 😬

I really enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook. She really made the book feel the way it should: black  girls-only LGBTQ camp for horror lovers waiting like a cabin in the woods... This novel is certainly a thrill that any young adult horror lover will devour.

I had to do a double take this book doesn’t read YA. But if you’re a fan of YA horror especially black horror stores get into this book! Character development could have been better but this book is enjoyable

An unexpected and delightful trio of wildly different teen girls band together to destroy evil in this slasher style horror novel. The twists keep you hooked as the story continues to build toward shattering revelations.

I really loved the plot of this book, but I had a hard time getting into it. I think the audiobook was part of the reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have, I feel like I would have really liked it if I had read it on paper. That may just be a me issue. I’ll most likely still pick up a physical copy and try again!

Dead Girls Walking ist aus mehreren Gründen ein sehr guter Roman.
Sami Ellis, die Autorin, ist selbst queer und Schwarz, es ist also ein own-voice Roman und dies merkt man. Es geht in dem Roman nicht vorrangig um die Probleme, die man als Schwarze, queere Teenagerin hat, sondern um Dinge, wie sie vermutlich jedem und jeder von uns passieren könnten. Genau diese Art von Büchern braucht es öfter!
Außerdem ist "Dead Girls Walking" ein Slasherroman in Buchform und hier schlägt mein 80er-Horrorfilme-Herz automatisch höher. Der Roman hat mir gezeigt, dass dieses Format nicht nur als Film funktioniert, sondern auch in geschriebener (vorgelesener) Form.
Im Gesamten ein gelungener Roman und eine Autorin, zu der ich gerne zurückkomme.

This book had so much potential, I just think it wasn't for me. I know that I've been aging out of YA but I still really enjoy YA horror and thrillers, especially when they're super campy and silly. I think this book had everything that makes a "perfect" YA horror for me so I was super excited going into it! I had an overall good time reading this! My biggest complaint is that things got a bit too serious by the end but seriousness wasn't the tone throughout the rest of the novel.

I do think the audiobook narrator might have contributed to the weird juxtaposition of the tone throughout the book, because in the ending "fight" scene, the tone of the narrator also changed.

Overall, I had a good time reading this and it was really good for a debut!

This Black YA horror novel truly delivered on the chills and kept my heart pounding from start to finish. The audiobook was a standout, bringing the characters vividly to life and enhancing the eerie atmosphere. The slasher horror elements were intense and relentless, propelling the story from one disaster to the next. However, the rapid pace left little room for developing characters and relationships in the early chapters. Despite this, it was a thrilling and fast-paced read that horror fans will appreciate.

Twisted family legacy AND murder obsessed queer camp?? Say less.
This book is definitely not for the weak gore wise, some of that imagery was downright vile and I also could have finished it last night but I got too stressed and decided to listen to the rest on the way to work this morning instead.

I did listen to this on audiobook and my only critique was the different girl's voices were really hard to tell apart sometimes and I didn't know who was talking.

Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook!

This was a fun Black YA horror book that actually scared me and had my heart beating fast the whole time. The audiobook really brought he characters alive and gave atmosphere to the whole book! Cant wait to read more from this author!!!

4.25⭐️