An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

The thing I loved the most about this story was how each and every female character was a fully developed human you could imagine encountering in the world. Even the minor characters had ups and downs, grew and changed, held onto certain things and let go of others. You could fully imagine their interactions with one another because they felt like the argument you'd have with a friend or the snappy first judgement you'd make of a neighbor only to learn more about them later.

There was so much to like about this story, but the characters sealed the deal for me.

A haunting and well-written debut. Really poetic writing and so much heart. This is a story about the friendship between women, especially lost friendship, and the culture's obsession with dead women.Just the right amount of weird to balance the dark and tragic parts. I was disappointed when it ended and will probably read it again.

Stunningly written debut about a college with a dark history of "sad girls" who are obsessed with Sylvia Plath and the two best friends who are forever changed by their experiences there. Characterization of both Nikki and Sadie was fantastic, and the exploration of the mystery behind the Sylvia girls and Nikki's death was very well done. An author to watch for sure!

I loved this book. From the 90s nostalgia to the deeply wrought, complicated female friendship, to the mystery throughout, I was on-board. The alternating perspectives of past and present, as well as the nicely dropped details throughout, kept me in suspense, while the prose was beautiful and powerful. Zang has a winner on her hands here, and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

WOW I did not know I was waiting for this 2025 ARC to inspire me to improve my own writing at line level. I got about ten pages into the first chapter of DOLL PARTS by Penny Zang and was so taken by the writing style and quality of the prose that I was immediately and thought-provokingly drawn in. DOLL PARTS is a compelling, sensory, smart, unique, and very atmospheric read, but also relatable because so many of the emotional beats could be taken from my own friendships and ordinary life as a mom and wife. And yet the depiction is also like that certain slant of light…where it causes you to see everything completely differently.

Dang, this woman can WRITE. 🙌🏼 I am very inspired, impressed, and thoroughly enjoyed this dark academia/thriller combination. The music references are great and really well incorporated. Also be ready to shiver in parts of this story. 👻✨

(Thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks for the ARC.)

This hauntingly nostalgic mystery/thriller lured me away from my family so many times because I couldn’t put it down! I locked myself away in the final chapters because I knew I’d feel completely hollowed out in the best of ways. Riveting, exquisite prose. A must-read.

OK, just WOW! I had no idea what to expect, as academia thrillers can be hit or miss for me! This one was a hit and so much more!! Nikki and Sadie are college besties. Something happens. They are estranged for 20 years. Nikki marries Harrison. Nikki kills herself. Flash forward and Sadie is living with and has a baby with.....DUN DUN DUN!! HARRISON!! Wait, WHAT?? So, we basically get two different but connected mysteries. What happened in the past and what is going on now. Both are page turners, and I had to know what happened! This was a stunning debut, and I cannot wait for more from Penny Zang!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Penny Zang and Sourcebooks/Landmark for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication day of August 26th.

I’m generation X, so this book was a thrilling and poignant trip through time. A beautifully written story with so many different elements. This book does dual POV and dual timelines with each POV providing insight into the complexities and bonds of female friends and the mysteries between them. I loved the unique storyline. Friend has a baby with dead friend’s grieving husband. The ghosts, the poetic writing and the tributes to Sylvia Plath. This book has so many amazing elements for a great read, 5 stars and highly recommend!

Oh. My. God.

I knew at about 40% of this book that it was likely to be an all-time favorite of mine. I consider this a once in a lifetime read. Every once in a while you read a book that wildly changes you, the way you view the world and how you approach different topics whether it be friendship, politics, or maybe romance. These particular themes, those of girlhood, it's darkness, the bonds of friendship, shared grief and generational ties in every direction, cut to the absolute core.

I was hooked on the very first page. I did not expect the mystery, almost thriller style of story that kept me feverishly turning pages (metaphorically, of course). It had an ending I absolutely never saw coming, which almost never happens, so kudos. The imagery of the school, the friendship, even the two perspectives across the years, ties everything together in such a fascinating way, I just couldn't get enough. The symbolism of the black dresses, the Sylvia Club that's a not so natural phenomenon on campus shows so much of the ways in which women and girls interact with each other. We can be each others best allies or worst enemies. You see this even among characters that aren't depicted as obvious antagonists, which I think is very representative of life.

This is also a tale of female friendship. In this case a deep, almost lifelong, friendship that you spend so much of the story wondering about - what could have possibly gone wrong here? The way these girls are bonded and know each other in such an undeniable way, it exposed memories I never thought I'd revisit as an adult. These are the kinds of stories you love and that stay with you forever, stories that expose parts of yourself you had forgotten or chose to forget. Even the muddy footprints tracked in and the photos left behind - they feel like artifacts of a past only you remember that when put together are just.... gut wrenching. Haunting, even. Which I suppose is exactly the point. Even the distance and betrayal was so grounded in reality it almost broke my heart.

I will recommend this book to anyone who will listen. This book sits up there with The Moonflowers by Abigail Rose-Marie and The Last Tale of The Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi as deeply profound stories of female friendship that changed my life. I think it would make an incredible limited series television show. I think women everywhere should read this book, especially ones who consider themselves "different" or who felt "different" growing up. Doll Parts perfectly captures the broken feelings of developing womanhood and the deep sadness that so often permeates growing through those phases of your life. Not to mention the twisted ways in which men and sometimes other women can take advantage of that, judge that, and use it to their own benefit.

11/10
6/5 Stars

From the opening sentences, author Penny Zang lured me into her world.
“How to write about a dead woman:
First, confirm she is dead. Dead enough not to mind…”

Her brilliant novel, Doll Parts, haunted me as I immersed myself into the world of dark academia. Ride-or-die friendships, Sylvia Plath-obsessed “sad girls,” disturbingly ghostly characters, rituals to appease specters, creepy professors and complicit college administrators…Zang’s story clawed its way under my skin, sinking into my subconscious. My shoulders knotted from the tension, the characters creeping into my dreams.

Maybe it was her impeccable attention to friendship details, from magic marker nail polish to switching outfits mid-outings to darker moments I won’t reveal. But the characters of Sadie and Nikki embedded themselves in my brain, so fully fleshed out that I didn’t need my imagination to fill in any gaps.

But Zang is equally gifted in creating atmosphere. You’ll wonder at the bonds of this friendship throughout the years, told in a dual timeline. You’ll hold your breath, hoping the Sylvia Club won’t claim another member. You’ll absorb the grittiness of the bar—and want to wash your hands after. You’ll shiver at the museum-like quality of the house—and want to leave dirty dishes in the sink.

Zang not only creates a mesmerizing world with rich characters, but she also addresses difficult topics—topics many of us knew too well during our college years in the 80s and 90s.

If you’re missing your childhood best friend, if you listened to Courtney Love on repeat, if you’ve ever feared your teenage secrets might follow you to adulthood…you need to read Doll Parts, debuting in August 2025.

I’ve had the honor of reading Penny Zang’s debut, DOLL PARTS. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into it, but WOW, it’s a dark, suspenseful book with mesmerizing characters. Told in dual-POV and dual-timeline, it follows the story of two friends, one unraveling the death of the other, set in both suburbia and a dark academia-style Ivy League. I’d call this mystery and thriller with a twisted touch of horror—this sort of book you start and can’t set down until you’ve gotten to the end. One of my favorite books this year!