Daphne by Josh Malerman is about Kit Lamb, a member of her high school basketball team. A team member tells a ghost story about Daphne, a girl from their town who supposedly died under mysterious circumstances many years ago. The story goes, Daphne is hell bent on revenge and comes after anyone who talks about her. Shortly thereafter, Kit’s team members start getting picked off one by one. Kit is now in a race against time to figure out what’s going on before Daphne comes for her, and she has to confront the way her own thoughts make her a target.

This book is pretty pointedly about anxiety and panic attacks, and Malerman hits that right on the money. Kit’s thoughts and descriptions of her anxiety are so accurate it was slightly unsettling for me. Despite that, however, this is definitely my least favorite Malerman novel that I’ve read. There was little character development and the basketball commentary was a bit heavy, and I’m a basketball fan. Are high school basketball players really calling themselves “ballers” these days? I sincerely hope not. It made me cringe every time. If you like his stuff, this is worth a read, but don’t expect Bird Box (which I adored).

Thank you @netgalley and Random House - Ballantine!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.

Spoilers ahead. I will not reveal anything big - most of the review vaguely alludes to plot, structure, and characters.

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A story about a Bloody Mary-like urban legend come to life, which drew me in right away - I am a sucker for anything involving an urban legend. Daphne is a terrifying allegory for anxiety (personal and cultural), as any urban legend should be - though I did find it interesting that rather than some sort of truly evil villain out to get children, Daphne was described from the beginning as simply being a pretty weird person. I thought the journal entries were the most interesting part of the book and I think it lent a lot to the characterization of Kit. also enjoyed the exploration of how Daphne's story got twisted over time and the truth was forgotten. This story is definitely weird and different, but fun. My main complaint was there was too much of a focus on Basketball, and it didn't seem like the game itself was integral. I also found that it dragged at times.

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Again, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Daphne up until the ending. I feel like the ending was rushed and it knocked a few stars off for me. I also would have liked more backstory on Daphne and the crimes she committed. Other than that, The story was fun, creepy and original. I also like the whole spin on “Bloody Mary” and chain letters etc.

As a fan of basketball it was cool to see it take center stage throughout the novel. I’m still a little bothered by the abrupt ending but I would recommend this his book to a friend especially if that person is a fan of the cliche happy ending.

I love Josh Malerman, I own every book that he’s put out and he’s one of my favorites. But I just couldn’t do it with this story and I’ll tell you why. It had nothing to do with Malerman but the MC has terrible anxiety which is described in great detail. I too have terrible anxiety so every time I tried to read and the MC would describe her anxiety or her panic attacks it would seriously trigger me. I have tried on so many occasions to get into it because 1. I love slashers so much 2. I LOVE basketball so I’m crushed I was unable to get a couple of chapters in. I will try to read it again in the future so wish me luck!

The protagonist was so, so annoying that I was on Daphne’s side. Not sure if Malerman has spoken to a teenage girl in the past decade but Kit read like she was a middle schooler. Disappointing considering how much I love sport-centric stories and horror!

This was my first Josh Malerman book, and to be honest, it just was not for me. Like other reviews have stated, this is a very basketball heavy book. While I appreciate the sport, I have always been a soccer player and dancer, so I do not understand or even like the basketball player “culture”. I could not appreciate it, but feel as if basketball is the sport of your heart than this book is a love letter to you.

I did truly appreciate the take on anxiety that the author presented, the journal entries in particular were original and gave a good insight into the inner working’s of Kit’s head. The writing was well done in that it definitely felt like a book about high schoolers. A lot of times with books with main characters that are teenagers I am left feeling that they are much older than they are presented to be, but not so with this book.

The writing style just did not work for me. It was very disjointed and bounced all over the place timewise. This was made even more confusing because there were no chapters or even paragraph breaks anywhere, let alone when switching between timelines. It was a different type of formatting, that while original, just did not work in my opinion. All that said, I will be giving another one of this author’s books a read. After reading other’s reviews and seeing similar thoughts, I think it is this book in particular that I do not click with rather than the author.

Imagine living in a town with the Boogeyman (or Boogeywoman, as it were). She's there, lingering around the fringes of everyone's mind. In order to summon her, all you need to do is think of her. It's that easy. But once you start thinking, you can't stop. And not unlike Santa, she sees you when you're sleeping, and she knows when you are thinking of her...

Kit and her basketball friends are at a sleepover when they are told the story of Daphne by a teammate. Daphne, the local legend, was supposed to be nearly 7 foot tall, an outcast that loved heavy metal music. And as many outcasts do in literature and movies, she met a horrible end at the hand of some mean classmates. Ever since, she has been haunting the people of her town that deign to even THINK about her, which is rather scary. Have you ever tried not thinking about something? You always end back thinking about it. ALWAYS.

Great unique take on the Boogey(wo)man tale. Loved it.

I wanted to love this. I've wanted to love Josh Malerman's work since Bird Box. The concepts are all interesting and original, but somewhere the writing just becomes tedious. Daphne had little horror action and entirely too much basketball talk I would feel my eyes glaze over. Someone will love this book, but it wasn't me.

This short ghostly book packs a PUNCH! Daphne and this book truly scared me...to the point of needing to put the book down several times, so know that going in! But if you look to be scared, read this now

In the small town of Samhattan, the girls' basketball team gets together one night, and a friend tells the story of a local legend, Daphne. The key to surviving Daphne's wrath is never thinking about her. But many town members can't help but devote their thoughts to her now that the story has resurfaced. Will anyone survive?

This book was SO good! I loved reading it and had so much fun piecing the story together. It was a mix between gore and psychological horror. The kill scenes were great, and I thought that Daphne would be coming for me at any moment. It does get a bit bloody so keep that in mind if that isn't your thing.

I thought the basketball element was a great addition since I am a fan. I know many people in my life that I will be recommending this to! Sabrina… If you are reading this, expect a copy for Christmas.

I liked having all of the points of view. Even with the constant shift, I felt we got to know Kit well. Her struggles with anxiety hit very close to home.

So this Halloween, don't think about her. Don't even say her name. She will come for you.

Thank you to Del Rey, Josh Malerman, and Net Galley for my gifted copy.

Thank you to Del Rey for providing me with an e-ARC of Daphne & PRHAudio for providing me with a complimentary audiobook!

Did I have this weird feeling that Daphne was looming behind me while I listened to the audiobook? Yes. And I loved it. I think I needed Daphne in my life, especially during spooky season.

Daphne is a coming-of-age story that really dives into the characters of the girl's basketball team; typically I'd need more slashin' and less.. non-slashin', but I found myself so incredibly invested in these characters and their relationships. Especially our main character, Kit, whose anxiety representation is very relatable. For those who know the obsessive thoughts of anxiety, can you imagine how terrifying it would be to be put in a situation where thinking a thought could get you killed?! Cause that's what happens here -- the urban legend states that if you think about Daphne, Daphne will appear and kill you. You know who wouldn't survive? Me.

Oh! & the kill scenes? CHEF'S KISS. Love this book so much, it's officially my favorite Malerman read.

I loved this book so much more than I thought I would! I'm not an enormous horror fan -- I prefer psychological horror much more than gore -- but this book had a fantastic combination of both. This is actually the first time I've read anything by Josh Malerman, and now I intend to read everything he's written. I really appreciate how bold his voice is, and how much he is able to get you into the heads of the characters he creates.

I think anyone who enjoys horror or psychological thrillers will consider this a great read!

One of the best parts of any sleepover is scaring yourself. Whether it's with scary movies, games or just scary stories told amongst friends, there's no denying it's a fun way to pass the time. In the small town of Samhattan, when the girls basketball team gets together for a sleepover, one of the girls decides to tell the story of a local legend, Daphne.

Daphne attended their high school a few decades ago, around the same time as many of their parents actually. She was a 7-foot tall, social outcast, who wore Kiss makeup for no apparent reason and made a lot of people, children and adults alike, very uncomfortable. Legend has it that she died tragically, at the hands of classmates and ever since that time will haunt anyone who dares to think about her. Daphne allegedly appears and kills with her bare hands.

The concept is along the lines of Bloody Mary. We all know her, many of us fear her, but this is worse. With Bloody Mary, you have to be consciously summoning her, saying her name, doing certain things that are said to bring her forth. With Daphne, all you have to do is think about her though. Everyone knows that the more you try not to think about something, the more impossible it becomes. Thus, Daphne is now pretty much an inevitability for these teen girls.

Kit Lamb, one of the star players, has a really hard time not thinking about Daphne. As a matter of fact, she even asks the rim about her; a tradition the girls have. She asks the rim if Daphne will kill her. The ball goes in. I think you can all deduce what that means. Then it is a non-stop terror train of thoughts about Daphne for poor Kit. How can she possibly shut these thoughts off?

Will any of the girls basketball team survive knowing Daphne's story? Honestly, it's so awful. How could they not think about her after being told?

Daphne was a weirdly-fun and captivating story. Even though I wasn't crazy about some of the structural choices, it felt quite disjointed to me due to odd perspective shifts, overall, I really enjoyed it!

Truthfully, Malerman's work has been hit or miss for me; we have a 50/50 relationship. I was actually thinking this would be the last shot I was going to take. Regardless, I'm glad I took the chance as this story paid off. I really appreciated the exploration of anxiety through Kit's perspective and also enjoyed the whole idea behind this town and Daphne's legacy. The idea that it could collectively be blocked from the town memory, without anyone pushing for that to be so, was a really interesting concept.

That something so heinous and traumatic, a piece of history, could be swept under the rug, with everyone just pretending it didn't exist. That sounds pretty true to life, doesn't it?

The horror was fun. The concept of Daphne was very creative and well-imagined. There were scenes that definitely got my pulse going. Additionally, this had some twists towards the end that I didn't see coming. That absolutely contributed to my enjoyment. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I'm looking forward to more Malerman now!

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I definitely recommend this one to Slasher fans, or anyone looking for a thoughtful, spooky, fun read!

Daphne is the latest title from one of my favorite modern horror authors. You’re probably already familiar with Bird Box, but @joshmalerman has a deep catalog of work that is perfect for this time of year 👻

Daphne is a coming of age story about a basketball team being collectively terrified of a local urban legend about, you guessed it, Daphne — a 7 foot tall, denim wearing, metal loving, outsider who was murdered and wants revenge.

I’m torn on my review for this one. The first 150 pages really resonated with me and honestly made me a bit emotional. Daphne is a book about anxiety, something I’ve struggled with for a long long time. The main character, Kit, is an anxious mess and I really don’t know the last time I’ve felt this connected to a character.

Now, I’ll avoid spoilers, but due to focusing on the characters that slowly get picked off by Daphne, we don’t get as much time with Kit. Due to the short runtime I didn’t seem to care about most of the side characters or feel the impact of their deaths. I also didn’t really care for the investigator POV. They just didn’t interest me.

The ending also felt really abrupt. I know endings are hard, especially for horror, but this one just didn’t land for me. I feel like Daphne would have been better as a novella and had 40-50 pages cut, or been a longer novel with another 100 or so pages developing Kit and some of the other girls.

Listen, I think my rating on this is a 3.5/5 ⭐️

But I also think that if you’re not as critical as me and love slashers, then this is a total slam dunk and a 5/5

Malerman is always consistently good. You can’t go wrong. If you want something else of his for this month then check out Goblin — an interconnected series of novellas about a weird little town (which he name drops a couple times in Daphne).

Daphne by Josh Malerman
Malerman has quickly become one of my favorite horror authors and this book did not disappoint. The only way to avoid being killed by the ghost/creature is to NOT think about them, and I find that idea SO CREEPY, because when you know when you’re not supposed to think about something, that’s when you think about it the most...
Another thing this book executed well was its representation of anxiety. I related so much to the way Kit, the main character, experienced anxiety. The way Malerman described Kit’s anxiety as starting with a cold feeling at the back of her neck is almost identical to my own personal experiences with anxiety. I also think Daphne was the perfect representation of anxiety in a monstrous form.
While I’ve never been a fan of basketball, I did like the usage of it as the backdrop for the connection between all of the characters and the way the main character had such a passion for it. I think people who are a fan of the sport or play it themselves will really enjoy this aspect.
Sadly, the one thing I didn’t like about this book was the end. I personally just didn’t find it satisfying. I think I wanted something ‘”bigger”. For example, think of the end of Carrie by Stephen King - that kind of “bigger”. However, I enjoyed the rest of the book so I still count that as a win.

"It's almost as if they have been spending their whole lives deliberately not thinking of Daphne.

What might someone call the opposite of deja vu? A sense of having intentionally not been there before."

DAPHNE by @joshmalerman is an absolute rush of anxiety-fueled horror and I can barely explain how much this one hit home. As someone who was dealing with anxiety from a pretty young age, I identified so powerfully with Kit. And this concept of willing something into existence by worrying about it absolutely slayed me since it is like the pinnacle of anxiety-induced worry come true.

As Kit discussed the ritual of a free throw routine I was mentally practicing mine from my high school days. The whole basketball aspect of this story was also a treat of nostalgia back to my teen years.

Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @penguinrandomhouse for the e-ARC.

🏀🏀🏀

Samhattan High's girls basketball team is being hunted by an urban legend that the whole town has suppressed out of memory. A seven foot tall, booze and nicotine infused powerhouse of a woman with only one mission: revenge.

"When one friend starts thinking about Daphne, they all do. And the problem is that the more you think about Daphne the more you will her into existence.

And once one friend conjures Daphne, the others can't stop thinking about her coming for them"

If you like basketball and urban legends and if you are an anxiety sufferer that could benefit from a story about managing anxiety, or even if you just wanna figure out why a seven foot tall woman would have a grudge against the high school basketball team, you should pick this book up NOW!

And most importantly, heed these words from the book:

"Make sure they understand the things we're told not to talk about are the things that get real bad. Those subjects get sick. And they get confused. And nobody can make sense of them because they were never allowed to talk them out."

#bibliophile #booknerd #bookreview #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #constantreader #booksofig #instabooks

This book was a lot of fun to read! Sure, there’s a lot of basketball talk, but that didn’t bother me. I love basketball, but it also makes sense that the character’s whole personality was wrapped up in her hobby, because I feel the same way about my hobbies. I love that this was a book about a ghost story legend you tell you friends at a sleepover. It reminded me of when I was young and we would scare each other with Bloody Mary. The kills were also interesting, and I feel like they escalated with each victim.

The only downfall for me is that there was no explanation as to how or why this was happening. I was looking forward to finding out the how and why, but we never got it. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to read more from Josh Malerman!

I’ve never in my life felt so seen and represented in how impairing anxiety can be until I read this book, and had NO clue what a massive impact the main character would have on me. The 7ft tall killer with greasy black hair and all denim who murders those who think of her was scary to think about at night in the dark, but the real fear resided in the overwhelming monstrosity that is anxiety.

I could feel how much more personal this book was to him and the authors note almost made me tear up at the end (tears? who am i?) when he spoke directly to his readers who experience anxiety and how they are never alone.

This book was creepy, suspenseful and emotionally haunting in a way I’ve never found in books before. I definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy Malerman’s work, but also to people who enjoy horror and also happen to live with anxiety. Will definitely be thinking about this one for a while.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Ray for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

This wasn't my favorite Josh Malerman book. It was pretty creepy at first, but then it was just kind of weird. I'm still not really sure what happened at the ending. I actually enjoyed the Acknowledgments at the end of the book more than the actual story. I did enjoy the narration of Kit mostly, with the other characters interspersing along with Kit's journal entries. It held my attention more. I'd say if you love basketball, and you love ghost stories, this will be right up your alley!

Daphne is a coming of age.book the likes I've never read. The passages with Kit and her internal battle with anxiety are gripping. As someone who has dealt with strong anxiety, I can tell you this was a bit tough at times. I loved the myth that was Daphne, she took on a life of her own. It was also an interesting premise of 'how do you not think of something ' and 'can you escape a thought'. In only a way Josh Malerman can do, he slips you past reality and into another world without a clue it happened. This was one of my favorites and I'm glad I requested it.