love me an unlikable character filled with rage, and this one delivers on the unlikeable part and on the rage part. it also throws in an unreliable narrator with very little brain space for anything that's not self-hatred, so this was an absolute blast of a read. the main character hates themselves so much that they know very little about themselves (including their name!). all they know is they are an outlaw and outside the margins of all kinds of social constructs. just absolutely off-the-rails book that i'll be thinking about for a while.

Fear and Loathing, but make it queer? I was definitely intrigued by the concept, and I appreciate the bold, chaotic writing style the author was going for—it had a raw, unfiltered energy that matched the story’s wild tone.

That said, Evie’s character was just too much for me and overshadowed the actual main character. I usually enjoy messy, unhinged characters, but something about her
felt more exhausting than compelling. Still, I can see this working for readers who vibe with that kind of frenetic, off-the-rails narrative. It just wasn’t the right match for me!

I've been trying to decide what to make of this book for about 16 hours since I finished it. Going with 3.75 stars as an average of the two parts.

The general premise is that our protagonist is driving from Chicago to Arkansas to help his estranged mother find his estranged father who she's let them know has just gone missing. The protagonist doesn't have a name because they've come out as genderqueer and determined that their name assigned at birth isn't aligned with their identity. (Their dead name is Holden, which feels very on the nose to anyone who read Catcher in the Rye in 9th grade English.) They're also on the run from some bad stuff in their personal and professional life, drinking constantly, and joined by a "garbage goth" woman who was their airbnb roommate briefly.

The first half seemed like a disjointed and kind of confused, frenetic road trip with two misfits in with lives in transition (in more ways than one.). The second half got a lot more structured and zoomed in on the protagonist's relationship with their parents and commentary on white gender dynamics in the modern world. I also thought the plot in the second half really was interesting and told a story that was twisty and surprising, while being an exaggerated version of what many children of boomers are dealing with in this time of culture war.

Overall this was an interesting book with a lot of ideas, but I would have liked less of the first half and more of the second.

Thank you to McMillan Audio for an advance copy of this book for unbiased review.

I really enjoyed Make Sure You Die Screaming. Y'all know I love a good weird book, and this one definitely ticked all the boxes. Plus, there is queer rep, drugs, alcohol, self-sabotage, and even some growth—sign me up for more! Without giving anything away, I especially appreciated how some of the storylines unfolded slowly, making me feel like I was learning alongside the characters.

There are some pretty dark themes throughout, but I felt they were handled with care and kindness. Overall, a solid debut that left me excited to see what Carlstrom does next!

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the chance to listen to this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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! The narration makes it even better, the way the narrator voices the main characters dialogue make me picture them very differently.

3 stars

Hmmmm.

I should know better than to be drawn in by the old "for fans of..." trick in the blurbs, but my enthusiasm for the two books mentioned in that space distracted me from my better judgement. This one just did not work for me.

I love the concept of a nameless, gender binary rejecting narrator, and I am here for a character who is going to fight aggressively against the political leanings their particular parents reflect. That noted, I kept feeling like there was a tryhard quality happening with various elements of the novel to the point where I was so focused on the gimmicky qualities of the protagonist and their choices, along with the unusual twists, that I lost focus on the narrative itself.

Did this read (listen) entertain me? Yes. Does it feel like a fully realized final product? Not quite. The good news is that there's a lot of potential here. I am excited to read more from this author, though I'm not sure I'll be back for another trip through this one.

I wasn't a fan. I think it just made me sad because I know there are such broken sad people out the world that are so self-destructive because of a shitty upbringing. Maybe that was the point of the story? It has some funny lines but overall was the oppositive of a feel-good read.

This debut was a rage-fuelled bonkers road trip adventure story featuring an unnamed genderfluid, nonbinary queer on the run with their friend after being bashed in the head from their ex with a baseball bat.

I loved that this was totally out there but grounded in real life concerns and fears many in the trans/queer community face. There was great disability rep (traumatic brain injury/pain) and some heartbreaking transphobic and deadnaming incidents too.

Fantastic on audio and highly recommended if you want to try something a little different but extremely well written! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!