I truly, truly loved this book. It was chaotic and disruptive, and at times, it made me wonder, "Where are we going?" I will be following this author for future releases.

This was a quick and entertaining read that I finished in a few hours.
A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
The characters were all realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.
A great debut title.

The cover of Make Sure You Die Screaming immediately caught my eye. This book follows a nonbinary corporate burnout who goes on a road trip to find their conspiracy theorist father. Reading this book was a wild experience. The first sentence is truly an amazing introduction to the story and immediately draws you in. It’s a fantastic debut, and the author is definitely on my radar for future books. I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rushing home to Arkansas in a stolen car, told in a first person narrative, the main character is cruising along in their sporadic thoughts but with one focus on their mind- finding their conspiracy theorist father.

In the getaway, is also semi air bnb roommate Yivi, and way too many generational slang sayings and cliched statements. Like a walking billboard of cheesy one liners. About 10 pages of Yivi and I needed it to stop. This is chaotic for the most part and falls into quite a few southern Midwest stereotypes.

A lot of interesting elements and ideas but a lot of it jumbled together in a not always cohesive way; sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. What didn’t work as well for me, was the zero to 100 mentality all the characters seemed to have. Like maybe a stronger edit in transitions. The main character experienced so much change, growth, and emotion for such a short novel, and the growth of the main character was executed well.

What a trip! A very cathartic book about someone going through a horrible time, seasoned with a lot of substance abuse and a cluster headache. This author is a gifted weaver of paragraphs that made me laugh, look up many words and feel emotional at times. I was particularly touched by the eloquent descriptions of the generational divide among parents and children in the political context we face. The end was not what I expected and I still don’t know how to feel about it. Overall, reading this book was an intense experience.

What an insane, wild ride (can a wild ride be too insane?). There is so much going on here, which is sometimes fun and exciting, and otherwise overwhelming. I feel like I got whiplash reading this, things happened so quickly and so chaotically. I thought the exploration of gender was fun and felt realistic to a typical dysfunction queer too!

Nameless nonbinary unreliable dysfunctional narrator that causes inner chaos and mayhem on a road trip where they drink alcohol like water and believe they are running from the law because of a boyfriend’s stolen car and the drug fueled death of their work friend/sometime lover. Make Sure You Die Screaming by Zee Carlstrom is a fast-paced wild ride in which the narrator tries to outrun their problems and realizes sometimes that’s not an option. ARC provided by Flatiron Books via NetGalley. I received an advance reading copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"Make Sure You Die Screaming" by Zee Carlstrom is a gem that doesn't come across often. In the midst of personal, work and relationship turmoil, our nameless narrator receives a call from their mother that their MAGA, conspiracy-theorist father has gone missing. Now, they must make the trip from Chicago to Arkansas in an effort to track their father down. Along the way, they are joined by an unlikely and unpredictable new friend. Their chaotic journey induces the narrator to unexpectedly revisit and process childhood and recent events.

Going into this, I thought it would be a whacky and fun read but it ended up being so much deeper. There are several dark themes such as substance abuse, domestic abuse, and childhood trauma but Carlstrom was able to bring all of these elements together in a way that truly allowed us to see and understand our main character. I also appreciated the way Carlstrom presented gender identity and how our narrator explored and came to terms with their nonbinary identity. Modern politics are also sprinkled throughout the book, especially in how the narrator's father bought into radicalized, far-right ideologies and conspiracies Overall, this book kept me on my toes and took many unexpected turns. It's definitely a book that I would like to revisit again in the future.



Possible spoiler ahead/inquiry:
I don't know how to explain it just yet but while I was reading I kept getting the feeling that this felt like a "modern/adult" version of "Catcher in the Rye." Maybe because the events both of the main characters encounter keep getting more bizarre? Perhaps the themes of self-exploration while everything around you is either chaos or against you? About half way through, we learn Holden is our narrator's deadname when used inappropriately by their mother. This only made me more curious if the author had some intention of making a connection between the two works.

if you like a gonzo roadtrip story in the weird vein of melissa broder's writing, you may love this one. our main character is on the run after a violent interaction with an ex. specifically, they're running back TO their old home in arkansas because on top of everything, their father has gone missing. our roadtrip includes their best friend, as well, who it turns out is an underaged kid our protagonist has taken across state lines in a stolen vehicle. madness.

there's a lot of commentary in this about the current political climate and the ways that people are manipulated into voting against their own interests. personally, i wish the book had skewed more into those themes as i think those were some of the most memorable parts of the book but could have been fleshed out so much more.

nearing the end, i could tell you that i had a good time reading this but there's no really cogent way to describe the plot. this one is for the just vibes kind of reader -- most of this felt like a drunken fever dream, probably because our main character spends their time grappling with an untreated head injury and drinking away reality. relatable.

Thank you so much to author Zee Carlstrom, Flatiron Books, and NetGalley for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Upon reading the summary for this novel, it soon became a must-read for me. I believe this was probably the most relatable read I have had in a while actually. Well, to an extent. Though I am not quite as full of rage as Carlstrom, I am not sure of the author's background, but do find common ground with the main character that they have created. One with a schizophrenic Trump father, which I happen to also have--I wonder how common this type of father actually is these days.

Make Sure You Die Screaming is Zee Carlstrom debut work, and they really did debut with a BANG. It was really chaotic from start to finish, as the summary promises. This novel follows our chaotic nonbinary main character as they embark on a road-trip of their lifetime with their current new bestie and an abundance of mind-altering substances and bad decisions. Mayhaps a little bit of police action as predicted by our resident alleged psychic as well.

Throughout the story there is an overwhelming sense of foreboding as the main character makes the absolute worst possible decisions as they hopelessly crash out after quitting their job and evading police on the road. It was quite funny, albeit in a bit of a sad way. This is not really a happy-go lucky read. I will note that the pacing of story is a little bit all over the place. Since this story was relatively short, I do wish more time was spent tackling more of the difference in characters' politics and general values rather than starting off with a primary focus of the events on the road. Especially with our main character's parents. While I loved that our main character somehow(?) went on a journey to find themselves and confront their traumas, I did find this quick little book a bit repetitive in its initial story arcs.

Overall this is a nice little short read for the cynics of this world, with a dash of unhingedness with light themes of ones past catching up with them no matter how far they go.

This is a bizarre whirlwind of a book. The MC’s commentary is very cut and dry but modern for the weird ass times we are living in... I think it’s a fresh a new read. It’s reminds me alot of Invisible Monsters (one of my favorite books) and I love a good road trippin’ (and that they were, ha) story. I do think only a certain kind of reader will really love this book but definitely an interesting read!

Zee Carlstrom has created a fast paced, high intensity road trip story following two characters that you cannot help but love to hate. I thought the pacing was good and the characters were both compelling enough to keep me engaged while also being so angry about their choices. While high and drunk throughout the story, our characters make every bad decision they could on their road trip to Arkansas. I thought the commentary about our political system, MAGA, LGBTQIA+, and the hustle of American culture was very timely and insightful.

3,5 stars

I really enjoyed this and read it in two days, which hopefully gets me out of my current reading slump lol.

At first I wasn't so sure because it starts out with our main character drunk driving and I was worried it was going to glorify it, but I didn't really get that vibe. I also didn't fully get the vibe that they shouldn't have been doing it or that it was dangerous (at most times) for them or any other people around, but the narration is also from their perspective and it would be fair to say that they were unaware of such things.

only other critique is that the political commentary felt shallow to me. overall, I did really like where this political commentary left off in the end and how to seemed to be a big part of our narrator figuring out where they fit in the world (because no one exists outside of their context), but I do kinda think it is a stretch to call the whole novel a commentary or say that the critiques it makes are not rooted in the specific context of the character. the way this weaves into the narrative though felt the way literary fiction feels, so take that as you will lol.

I loved the main character and their unreliability as a narrator. Not only is this person drunk and clearly going through some sort of mental collapse, they also have a pretty bad head wound that they have yet to have treated. I had an inkling as time went on that maybe things were not exactly how they were experiencing them, and I loved how the other characters around them helped them get to a better understanding of what really went down. The language that they use sometimes is bizarre, but I also think that lends to all of the things that they are going through at any one moment.

even though it talks about and faces real events that suck to talk and think about, it was somehow cozy, at least in the end. I would recommend, though it is definitely bizarre.

I was unsure about this book at many points, but it really grew on me. I appreciate an unreliable narrator and enjoy messy stories from time to time. I loved the direction this book ended up taking, even if I did find myself frustrated with the narrator at times.

This was weird and stressful, but ultimately very captivating. We watch our main character completely crash out and tank their life in a drug and alcohol induces spiral on a mission for honesty.

If you enjoyed Kittentits or Rainbow Black, I think you'll also appreciate this!

I don’t know that I have ever read a book with such an overwhelming sense of emotion. This book is angry and raw. It questions the current political world, but really challenges the anger that most Americans have found themselves carrying. This book is character focused, rather than plot focused, but what plot there is is well executed. The characters are interesting and feel really real. The ending made sense, although I found it a little dissatisfying. This is such an interesting book, though, and I highly recommend it.

An absolutely wild ride of a book that ping-ponged all over the place while also slowly peeling layers back to revel a tender center.

3.25 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for granting me early access to an eARC in exchange for a review.

Make Sure You Die Screaming follows an unnamed nonbinary narrator as they go on a roadtrip (alongside their new garbage-goth bestie) to Arkansas in order find their missing MAGA-loving, conspiracy theorist father. However, the duo is on the run, and there are several different threatening characters who could be chasing them, including the cops.

This book is a lot of fun and took me very little time to get through. Zee Carlstrom definitely has a great sense of humor that really developed the voice for our MC. However, there is a lot - and I mean a LOT - of drinking and driving in this book. Which is fine, as it becomes very clear as the story progresses that our narrator is struggling with addiction and needs help, but it was so excessive and almost redundant that I truly have no idea how they made it to their destination without causing major harm to themselves or someone else (not a spoiler, because SO many OTHER things happen during their journey) . Just when I would really start to like MC, it would all get erased by the atrocious decisions that they and their reckless passenger were making (this could also just be an issue for me due to personal experience- others may be able to relax a bit more when reading about this. I usually love characters who make questionable choices). That part felt a little unrealistic, but I really enjoyed the other aspects of the book. The characters were quirky and well developed, and there was some great commentary on gender/sexuality, family, the insane fandom of the Republican Party, and America’s current political climate.

At the end of the day, although the tone gets a bit scattered and the story takes some HARD left turns, Make Sure You Die Screaming is a fun, unique little book that I am not mad about reading. It reads like a first novel, and that is okay. It gives us a good introduction to Zee Carlstrom, their writing style, and the themes they want to explore. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Carlstrom’s future work- I’m super curious as to what they’ll do next, and I do think they could grow into being a great new voice in the world of comedic queer lit.

I went into this one with high hopes—the premise felt like it had the potential to be sharp, introspective, and full of biting social commentary. And in some ways, it was. There were moments of truly thoughtful reflection, observations that made me pause and wish the book had spent more time fleshing them out. But those moments were fleeting, buried under writing that felt like it was trying a little too hard to be witty and of-the-moment. It had the energy of someone cracking jokes to avoid sincerity.

The pacing didn’t do it any favors, either. Everything moved so fast that I barely got a grip on the characters before we were off to the next thing. The main character, especially, felt more like a collection of quips and anxieties than a fully realized person. I kept waiting for depth, for something to make me feel connected, but instead, I just felt like an outsider looking in on a series of detached scenes.

I don’t doubt that this will find an audience—there’s something in its messy, cynical energy that will resonate with a certain kind of reader. But for me, it missed the mark.

3 stars - Well, that was quite the interesting read, LOL! "Make Sure you Die Screaming" is a pretty crazy book - an unnamed non-binary narrator's road trip from Chicago to rural & conservative Arkansas with horror elements and a lot to say about the south. I didn't hate it & found some things to like but overall it was not quite what I expected, though that might be on themarketing & book blurb? I was glad it was a shorter read, though I struggled with it at times. I'm sure it will find its fans. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advance readers copy, it is always appreciated, even if a title isn't.