I would like to start by saying that Tamika Katon-Donegal is a great narrator and was probably the main reason I stuck with the book. I did really love the set-up - a summer camp full of queer black girls obsessed with serial killers. I did like that an attempt was made to have things unfold in an interesting way. I really hate books that tell and never show so kudos for the writing there. I think that the main problem was that things were a bit too disjointed. Maybe if this were a movie where visuals could help piece together the past and the present and such...but as a novel and especially an audiobook, I found myself lost more often than not. The narrator did a great job of distinguishing the characters but I can't remember most of them because they were all very similar on paper. There were a lot of parts to this book and I'm not quite sure that they all matched up in the end. I still think this had a great style and could be a fun read for someone, especially because we need more BIPOC horror. Thank you NetGalley and RB Media/Recorded Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, I had such a great time listening to this book! The synopsis had me hooked, and listening to it play out was so entertaining! I felt for Temple, whose dad killed a lot of people, who is prison on death row-but the question is, did he kill her mom?

I loved watching Temple go to her childhood home, but the area is now a camp, so she finds her way to join them, so she can find out what happened to her mom. It was really interesting to see her put up her walls, protecting herself from the campers, which as things got more and more dangerous, started to come down, which was great to read.

The big mystery of what happened to her mom was a big part of this book, especially as the bodies started piling up, and more family history came to life. It was pretty shocking, just how much history there was. And finding out just what was going on-and how to solve it, and survive-was tense.

The way that things ended, yeah, that was really satisfying to read! To see where these characters left off, what they learned, what they survived, it was really good, and I'm glad for that. After all that they went through, that was a great ending!

This was really great and I can't wait to read more by Sami Ellis!

I don't know why but I couldn't keep up with the narration of this book.
Probably this is only my own problem, but from what I've heard was interesting and well developed, however since my lack of concentration I would have to reread this book or re-listen to it to give a full rating.

TW: Language, racism, homophobia, slurs, violence, blood, gory scenes, toxic family relationships

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Temple Baker knows that evil runs in her blood. Her father is the North Point Killer, an infamous serial killer known for how he marked each of his victims with a brand. He was convicted for murdering 20 people and was the talk of countless true crime blogs for years. Some say he was possessed by a demon. Some say that they never found all his victims. Some say that even though he’s now behind bars, people are still dying in the woods. Despite everything though, Temple never believed that her dad killed her mom. But when he confesses to that crime while on death row, she has no choice but to return to his old hunting grounds to try see if she can find a body and prove it.

Turns out, the farm that was once her father’s hunting grounds and her home has been turned into an overnight camp for queer, horror-obsessed girls. So Temple poses as a camp counselor to go digging in the woods. While she’s not used to hanging out with girls her own age and feels ambivalent at best about these true crime enthusiasts, she tries her best to fit in and keep her true identity hidden.

But when a girl turns up dead in the woods, she fears that one of her father’s “fans” might be mimicking his crimes. As Temple tries to uncover the truth and keep the campers safe, she comes to realize that there may be something stranger and more sinister at work—and that her father may not have been the only monster in these woods.
Release Date: March 26th, 2024
Genre: YA Horror
Pages: 368
Rating:

What I Liked:
1. Pov of black queer characters
2. Daughter of a killer
3. Scooby-Doo aspect to solve a case
4. Cabin atmosphere

What I Didn't Like:
1. Shallow characters that didn't matter
2. No back stories about characters
3. Temple's constant one track thoughts dragging the story down
4. Some parts rambled and felt so long
5. Hate characters that bicker over and over

Overall Thoughts:
Okay Temple going to this queer black camp to find out what happened to her mother. Interesting. Why is her father so evil to her to not just tell her the truth?

Did I miss the part where she doesn't have the same last name as her father - the famous killer?

Ummm it's so weird how they don't call for help but they laugh about the situation. Plus wanting to post to tiktok and not calling for help. Was weird that no one wants to call the police. Maybe it's because I am white but I'd be freaking out that I am next and would take my chances. I guess I don't really know the dread to feel.

Are we supposed to like Temple? She keeps siding with her father and painting him as this innocent person despite she suspects her father killed her mother, and has seen him kill other women. It's so difficult to like her.

I'm so over all these characters just yelling at one another. Also they find a body and in the same breathe they are laughing and joking.

So Temple's grandmother is apart of murdering people too.

Dnf 90% in. I just can't find myself caring enough to finish it.

Final Thoughts:
I feel so torn over this book. On one hand I enjoyed the story of a girl trying to find out if her mother was really killed by her father, while also trying to fit in with some girls that she has stuff in common. Sadly though I felt conflicted because it is a book that is YA, but kept trying to throw in language that tried to make it seem older. It made me think of 10 year olds that swear when the parents are away. I just didn't know how I was supposed to take this book.

I felt so thrown into the story that I left confused if I even cared about Temple's mother or that her father was a killer. We never really get to learn who her mother was or why we as readers should feel anything beyond just another character in the book that someone else cared about. Maybe that's on me as I do need to know something about the characters if they are going to be victims. If I told you about someone dying that I knew you'd be less sympathetic than if you knew the person who died. When you put a personality and a face to a person who has died they're more likely to actually care what happened, unfortunately I never felt that way in this book. We do learn that her mother was trying to bring Temple to death with her.

I tried to care about the characters that were in the book and were explained, but I feel like their personalities were so overshadowed, and they were just side characters to Temple's paranoia personality. Every time we had a moment to feel for one of the characters we were pushed into Temple's daydreams and terrors of was that her mother or could that be her mother dead there. It all became so much for me. I needed more than just Temple hyper fixating on the same thought over and over.

I really tried to get into this book but I started it and put it down for a week before making an effort to even finish it. I just wasn't interested.

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Thanks to Netgalley, Amulet Books (ebook) and Recorded Books (audiobook) for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I honestly didn't read the synopsis of this book prior to reading. I sometimes like to take a chance on reading books based on the title or cover. I am a fan of suspense, thriller, and some horror novels. Once I started the book, I was a little surprised at the grouping of girls chosen for the characters due to not reading the synopsis, but as the book went on, it didn't really play as big a role in the story as one may assume by reading the summary.

I was pleasantly surprised that I could not tell what was going to happen next throughout the story. Usually, horror novels tend to follow a pretty consistent formula. This book did not follow any formula with which I am familiar. Sami Ellis kept me intrigued and surprised.

I highly suggest reading this book if you like an edge-of-your seat novel that keeps you guessing.

Unfortunately, this book was not one that I enjoyed. I found many of the side characters to be very annoying and frustrating that it just made this book enjoyable for me.

This is going to be a review where I can't even tell you what really happened.

So to start, I think that this book has a very strong premise. I mean what's not to love about a camp for LGBT+ youth that's horror-themed? Add on a dash of the supernatural and you've got essentially a book that should've been an easy five-star for me. But it wasn't.

And it's not just because I listened to this instead of physically or digitally reading it. It's because it's hard to follow.

The timeline jumps around so much I was getting whiplash. In the audio, there were no spots to dictate that we were getting a flashback or even being presented with relevant media. It took me out of the story and made my listening experience unenjoyable.

I think that Sami Ellis has potential but this just wasn't a story for me, unfortunately.

This YA horror novel sure was a wild ride. Temple Baker’s father is a serial killer. He is in prison now but people are still going missing and dying in the woods where he commit his crimes. Temple’s mom is also missing and her father has admitted to killing her, but Temple doesn’t believe him. The farm that Temple and her family used to live on has since been turned into a horror camp for queer teens and Temple has applied to be a camp counselor so she can get back on the grounds and look for her mothers body. Things quickly go downhill when one of the girls turns up dead. Temple suspects there is a copycat at work, but it becomes clear that something else is going on here.

This book had suspense and tension, blood and gore, supernatural elements and sinister vibes. It is a YA horror novel and the story reads as such, there were a lot of funny one liners from the teens which gave welcome relief from the tension at points. Though I did feel like the pacing was uneven. Where this novel surprised me was the emotional moments involving Temple’s backstory and relationship with her family. It wasn’t so much that it fully pulled you out of the horror feel, but enough that I appreciated it.

I will say, initially I was taking this one in via audiobook and it just did not work for me. I was having such a hard time following it in the beginning and the voices just did not allow for me to really immerse myself in the book or connect with the characters. Once I switched over to reading with my eyes I liked the story, characters, and overall experience much more!

I waited to write this review for a bit after I finished the book. I wanted to see if time would resolve my confusion about this book.

I spent the first part of the book very confused about what was going on. Then the magic kicked in and it was kind of resolved, kind of more confusing. It's never really explained how the magic works (I get it, it's magic)--is it voodoo? something else? Saying you kill someone so you control the dead is a bit lame. There would be millions of zombies out there! And then all of a sudden another girl ALSO can revive the dead, but through some OTHER, unnamed ability? I'm all for scifi and fantasy, but I like rules that are followed.

I did really enjoy the overall story and the gory bits were great.

The narrator was stellar. A+ Would definitely listen to her again.

This was just not my cup or tea. I really struggled to connect with the story, I’m so sorry! I think this is a me problem rather than a book/audio problem!

You'll be sleeping with the lights one after reading Dead Girls Walking. Especially, at summer camp! I went into the audiobook without knowing anything about it. I'm so glad I did. It took me completely by surprise! This YA slasher will keep you on the edge of your seat. I listened in one sitting. The narrator really brought the story to life.

The audiobook and eArc tandem read made the story so much fun . I adore the main character and her exploration of grief .

Thank you for the Arc .

I enjoyed Dead Girls Walking. The original premise was interesting but I really loved the twist! This added another layer of horror I enjoyed.
The narrator was perfect for the character and gave the proper emotions for what was going on. There were times I got confused and had to rewind it though. For this, it lost a star. But other than that this was a great read!

For my horror lovers, you will be entertained with this one. This one had the action and the gruesome details I look for in a horror book. While it wasn’t scary, to me, I think this YA horror will check most of the boxes you may be looking for. I enjoyed the paranormal aspect and the mystery of the book as we follow the teens and Temple in her journey to figure our murders. I appreciated that the author stuck with the age of the teens as well as chose words to bring their ages out. Also, she used language teenagers would use. I would love to pass this one on to my teen niece to enjoy! The narrator for the audiobook, Tamika Katon-Donegal, is a new to me narrator I loved her narration giving the chilling details!

The premise and the beginning were really good but I struggled to stay interested especially since the characterizations of the cast felt muddled and indistinguishable from each other. Moreover, the story felt very stilted and Temple as an MC didn't carry the story forward in a convincing way.

4.5 stars - this is a brilliant read, full of creepy moments, heart pounding tension and some fantastic characters that are well developed. I loved this book, and would recommend this to lovers of thriller style books with a supernatural element. My only comment is that the beginning of the book is slightly confusing, and it took me a couple of attempts to understand what was going on. I am really glad I persevered with this one though as it was brilliant.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

Dead Girls Walking follows Temple as she searches for her mother's body at her father's home. This home was turned into a summer camp and Temple enrolled there to accomplish her goal. I am not going to lie, I did not get very far in this book because I kept losing interest. I think the narration was not for me. I will be returning to the book in the future.

Loved the idea of the book, but got a little lost with some of the events that happened in the third act. There was one point of the book where I thought I was near the ending because the story link seemed to be wrapping up, only to discover that I was indeed about halfway through the book. Even with that it was still engaging and enjoyable.

I really do love horror and I enjoyed this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio.

In this ya black horror we meet Temple whose dad is the infamous North Point Serial killer who is on death row for killing 20 ppl. Despite this Temple never believed he killed her mom who went missing. But when he confesses to doing so he tells Temple to go find the body at their old home which most of his victims were found
But now the farm has been turned into a camp for horror obsessed queer girls. So Temple decides to go as a camp counselor so she can look for her mother’s body. But of course, campers go missing, one shows up dead and things get wild.

If you’re a horror fan pick this one up.
Especially if you enjoyed You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight.
Black ya horror doing their thing! 🙌🏾

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis should definitely appeal to fans of YA horror that plays with the tropes of the genre but has a relatively popcorny pace