Night of the Living Queers, an anthology of young adult short stories dedicated to “anyone who’s had to pretend to be someone {they’re} not”, is an impressive collection of tales that seeks to represent the intersection of queerness and identity. The book features thirteen different stories told through the lenses of BIPOC teens, and each story takes place on a Halloween night beneath a Blue Moon.

This book provides everything readers could want from a Halloween collection. There are costume parties in abandoned hotels, nights spent handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, pirate ghosts who haunt the mall food court, phantom animals who prowl the local drive in theater, and haunted mansions where mysterious homicides take place. The stories feature ghosts, vampires, serial-killing clowns, Rougarou, poltergeists, and Ouija boards. References to Freddy Krueger and Camp Crystal Lake sit beside references to TikTok and cursed video links, giving the text both a contemporary and nostalgic feel. The stories provide a spooky atmosphere without frightening readers or subjecting them to gratuitous gore, and beneath the plot of each tale runs a commentary on the important pleasures of Halloween, with one character poignantly stating, “if only I could so easily slip out of my skin the other 364 days.”

I enjoyed this collection and think it is a much needed addition to the Young Adult genre. Although the stories feature queer and non-white characters, the narrative focus is on battling supernatural entities, and this allows the teen characters to represent their identities without being narrowly defined by them. Adolescent readers will find diverse stories that scare, delight, tease, and inspire. Adults will find a window into contemporary teen life and a nostalgic look at the Halloweens of their youth.

Night of the Living Queers presents thirteen different tales brought together beneath a Blue Moon, itself a sign of change and transformation. This is a fun Halloween read that has the potential to transform the landscape of teen fiction and identity.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I’ve read a lot of YA Mystery/Thrillers but haven’t dabbled much in horror besides R.L. Stine’s teenager stuff! I totally read this because of the cover. Night of the Living Queers is such a good title!! I love anthologies because I can sample all of the different writing styles, and I’ve definitely got a lot of authors I need to check out now.

I’d say about half the stories were horror or they horrified me at least (I’m weak though so I’m probably a bad judge). There were a few that just made me so emotional and they were the ones that will stay with me the longest. Then there were some lighter, fluffier ones that kept up the pace. The story placement was extremely well done: Each one was completely different than the last, and I never had solid footing. It’s that kind of disarming instability that gets! me! GOOD! in horror. I read a few twice because I was so mindfucked and I’m still confused in the best way.


My favorites in order of appearance:

🎥 A Brief Intermission by Sara Farizan

⚖️ Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson

👻 The Three Phases of Ghost-Hunting by Alex Brown

🏚️ Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittelman

😈 Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim

🤡 Knickknack by Ryan Douglass


My most favorite goes to The Three Phases of Ghost-Hunting because TERRIFYING BOB CAT I LOVE YOU, followed closely by Hey There, Demons because I ABSOLUTELY need a full book of that cute nerd and his hot demon 😭

My most surprising was Knicknack because christ do I hate clowns but I sure did love Leo and Noah for blessing me with this quote: “God, I picked the worst night to turn into a slut.” Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane had me so in my feels, especially with this quote: “Do you think they deserve to know the truth of me? The magic I am?” A Brief Intermission did so much in so little space and it was the perfect level of horror for me.

Note: While I did find some of the stories to be great fun, there are some pretty heavy ones in the bunch. Grief, trauma, and rage haunted some of the main characters, and those emotions were explored both beautifully and intensely. In particular, Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson was so poetically gut-wrenching, while Nine Stops by Trang Thanh Tran was so incredibly visceral.

Overall, this should be a definite must for your Halloween TBR! You’ll get spooky scary skeletoned 13 times over and while doing it, you’ll be supporting queer authors of color! There’s definitely a story for everyone, as they all vary in horror/romance/comedy/emotions levels. I’d love a spooky szn audiobook reread, but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to read it on Halloween itself.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5


Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

3.5 stars, but rounding up to four for my LGBTQ+ family. This book is YA, and I am very much not Y anymore, but I can still have fun and appreciate spooky stories, regardless of to whom they're catered. I absolutely loved seeing all these queer kids at the center of the stories, and I only wish I could have read these as a closeted gay teen who now embraces all things scary and Halloween while celebrating my community. What a fun idea for an anthology. Some stuck with me more than others, and a few were a little too cheeky versus going for actual dread, but I really appreciate the representation at the core of this book.

I’m usually not a big fan of anthologies, but I loved the vibes here! NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS is the perfect mix of spookiness and fun, and I highly recommend checking it out. I guarantee you you’ll find new authors to watch!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! This has to be one of my favourite short story collections to come out of YA!! Every story was so atmospheric and spooky. I loved all of them, but Alex Brown, Trang Thanh Tran, and Vanessa Montalban's stories specificially stuck out to me. Can't wait to recommend to customers!!

What an excellent and spooky collection from some of YA lit's current hot writers! I love a good horror story, so these definitely scratched that itch. Almost all of these stories were fresh takes on "the monster hiding in the shadows" trope but with an LGBTQ+ spin, as well. It was nice to have characters of color and from the LGBTQ+ community star in their stories. Each had elements of inclusion, but with many bone-chilling endings. The stories are centered around Halloween Night and the blue moon, which holds major significance to many different cultures. Some of my favorites were "The Visitor" by Kalynn Bayron which ramps up the fear until the crescendo last line; "The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting" by Alex Brown had me chuckling out loud at parts with its campiness of the horrors of a suburban mall haunted by a malevolent entity, "Terrifying Bob"; and "Anna" by Shelly Page combines the tropes of a babysitter watching kids, the spooky attic, and contacting "spirits" through a Ouija Board. Readers who enjoy reading about things that go bump in the night will truly love this collection!

A fun, fresh, and spooky collection of short horrors. The formatting was a little weird, I know it's just the digital galley version but it did interfere with my reading in parts because there was missing spacing. The formatting and art in the final(?) looks like it's going to be great though! Highly recommend!

This was a decent short story collection. I really liked a couple of the stories (Trang Thanh Tran's was the standout), and there weren't any that I really hated. Overall a fun little Halloween read even though I didn't love it.

This collection is true YA, in that I would be comfortable putting it in the hands of an actual teenager, there is nothing overly graphic in there (no real gore, no spice) and the characters aren't just adults in teenage bodies they sound like actual teens and deal with things the way teenagers would.

I saw this book compared to Goosebumps and I think the comparison is fair in that it would make a splendid introduction to horror for a new generation of potential horror fans.

This anthology contains both sweetness and bleakness, and there's an overall good variety of stories. My favourite story was Hey There, Demons by Tara Sims because of the demon's sense of humor but every story has its own charm.

I’m a huge fan of horror, so naturally I really enjoyed this collection. It’s so refreshing to see horror stories that center LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people. I really appreciated each of the stories, even though some stood out more than others. I can definitely see myself rereading this in the fall in time for Halloween! 4/5 stars from me!

Is it weird to say I read this as a palate cleanser? Anyway, I found this very refreshing. The thirteen stories were a good mix of funny, surprising, and genuinely creepy. I especially loved "Guested," "Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane," and "Hey There, Demons." I'd definitely recommend this one to readers who are looking for short bites of horror that's unabashedly queer and BIPOC.

This was good and some of the stories were better than the others. But it was entertaining.
I just reviewed Night of the Living Queers by Shelly Page; Alex Brown. #NightoftheLivingQueers #NetGalley
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A collection of horror stories all happening on Halloween, told from different BIPOC teens. All the stories range from creepy to fun stories that take a fresh spin on classic horror tropes and tales. I had an absolute blast reading this one. I love that we get to read just a whole collection of queer horror stories that range from summon demons to inviting vampires in and dealing with feelings for your crush... who just might be a creature from another world. What a lovely and fun read that I would definitely recommend!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

The stories were nice and creepy! Not every single one of them caught my attention, but this is bound to happen with collections, especially those with so many contributing writers. This has also made me want to check out a few new authors. I can recommend it.

When I saw this book full of horror stories centered around queer characters I was over the moon and knew I had to read it. It was everything I could have wanted. Now the stories weren’t genuinely terrifying, but it was a young adult book and while they were spooky they were also fun and entertaining. I think my favorite stories were Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane and Hey There, Demons. But I enjoyed all of the stories. I hope this is the start of a trend of more representation, particularly in this genre as I don’t think I’ve seen much if any before.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was so one of my top books to read for 2023 and I was so excited to see it on NetGalley. Queer stories and horror are my favorite things so I was so pumped when I saw this book get announced. The stories in this anthology all centered around Halloween and a full/blue moon and teenagers dealing with different supernatural issues ranging from demons, witches, ghost, & vampires.

My favorite two stories were
1. Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson which is about a boy named Julian who has to deal with the aftermath of a savage attack from a gang of bullies at his school
&
2. Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Left by Maya Gittlelman about a Filipino teenager who dares to enter a creepy house in the neighborhood and confront the terrifying man living there.
Both of these stories had me crying and they had no business being so beautiful and sad. Another honorable mention is Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim which was so freaking adorable and had me smiling the whole time. The rest of these stories were great but some hit different than others. I highly recommend if you love supernatural YA horror with queer representation.

Thanks Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I was hooked while I was reading this, so much so that I couldn’t put these stories down even while I was at work! I love queer centric stories and it was great getting to read all these stories in different horror genres! I loved how the spooky wove in with the queerness, and that all wove in with the Blue Moon! And I can’t say no to an anthology that includes stories from Kalynn Bayron, Kosoko Jackson, and Ryan Douglass! There’s a little bit of everything here so if you’re a spooky lover all the basis are covered! Kosoko Jackson’s story Rocky Road and Carmel Drizzle asks some tough questions surrounding what you would do when justice fails! I absolutely loved it and was so happy with the direction of the story! Tara Sim’s Hey There, Demons gave me all the cute spooky feelings, involving a boy, a demon, and a poltergeist! These are just a few examples of the stories in this anthology! It’s exciting and will draw the reader in and you’ll not want the stories to end! Shelly Page and Alex Brown did an excellent job editing these stories together! Can’t wait till this comes out to read it again!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

This was definitely a cool concept but the stories fell flat and didn't really catch my interest. There was just a lot that could've been fleshed out.

Hokey for most of them, definitely a good idea to make something like this but none of the stories really did anything to me. I look forward to more collections like this but I hope more of the stories make a connection with me.