Evil Dead meets Friday the 13th.

The blurb made me think that this was going to be a girl solving mysteries, Fitz-Amobi style. However, I quickly realised whilst reading that this book took a dark, sinister, paranormal turn. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it was creepy, gory, and tense. There were a couple parts that I felt seemed rushed, which is the reason I'm giving this book 4 stars.

This book had me on the edge of my seat from so early on. I didn't think the tension could continue to grow and yet it did. If this was a film, there are definitely multiple parts that I would have watched from behind a cushion because they were creepy as hell and super gory - seriously, pay attention to the trigger warnings because damn.

I was expecting a summer camp slasher story, maybe with some of the usual tropes you see from this genre thrown in. What I got was a super creepy and violent supernatural horror that left me with no idea what would happen next. Just as I thought I had things figured out, something else would happen that left me reeling. I genuinely felt as lost as some of these girls running around a forest trying not to die.

One of the biggest downsides for me is that Temple just wasn't very likeable. You're meant to root for the main girl to survive but it was really hard to do this because there was nothing particularly great about her. She was a super moody and bitchy teenager who just happened to have a serial killer for a dad - I know that's the point of her character but I wanted to like her too so the stakes were higher.

I think the story would have worked better in first person rather than third, as this would have given us more insights into Temple and probably would have made her more likeable. It would also have resulted in fewer repetitions of her name, which became jarring after a short while.

This is probably the most graphic YA horror book I've read in a while, so definitely for readers on the more mature side of YA because honestly, some bits of it are absolutely gross, but they really work for the story.

I DNF'ed this book at about 20%. There wasn't anything inherently bad about it, but I was having a terrible time not rolling my eyes at things. Already there were some poor decisions, as well as several things that I really didn't understand. I assume they would be explained later on, but I couldn't find it in myself to really care. If it sounds up your alley though I hope you have better luck than I did, and maybe I'll come back to it at some point

Seriously… give me a few minutes to catch my breath here. I’m lukewarm about slasher movies, mostly because I’m a fan of character development and rich storytelling and some sort of ‘point’, which you don’t always get when the main focus is screaming and blood. But Dead Girls Walking gave me everything I wanted from the genre, and more. Amazing characters, painfully real representation, a brilliant interpretation of “form meets content”, and some killer banter that adds the right amount of comedy to the right amount of grisly horror. I’m throwing this book at everyone I know.

There’s so much I could talk about here, but I want to talk about Temple. When audiences say they want more authentic queer characters, give them Temple and tell them to shut up until they get to the end. Temple isn’t a sanitized portrait of grief made to be pitied, but a raw exploration of how family curses (even of the non-supernatural kind) rarely make a person ‘better’. Mostly, they make us assholes until we get enough space to heal, and Temple does the opposite by marching straight back to the trauma site like the relentless freight train she is. She’s angry, guarded, cynical, and MEAN. But not without reason, which she'll tell you if you listen, as any 'problematic' marginalized teen would. Traumatized teens, especially Black girls like Temple, are rarely afforded patience or sympathy. But in DGW, Ellis kicks down the door of acceptability to let light in on the true closet-case stories.

In Temple, I saw so many of my queer community members at the lowest moments of their lives when all they had was self-flagellation and anger—I saw my lowest self too, and was given a chance to hold him close. Temple stumbles, fails, tries again, both helped and impeded by the other complicated people around her. It’s frankly beautiful, especially in a story that’s so much about healing in a community that trusts you. Between the adult queer Black women who meet Temple at her level and urge her onward, to the quiet presence of Temple’s aunt, to an oddly sympathetic view on death and fear, and characters who realize that their true crime fanaticism is causing real-life pain, Ellis reminds us that even the ‘worst’ people we know can change with support. Temple may start out mean, but only you can see if she stays that way.

Put your trust in this book and choose to meet it, I seriously beg you. There are so many ways Ellis has created prose just as prickly as Temple—it’s brilliantly meta. The story is written in rare third-person present, which floats between flashback and present tense and internal monologue. It’s a bit of a trip, but there’s no better way to show Temple’s compartmentalization and dissociation as she wrestles with past and present. The book also starts with quite a few characters that Temple doesn’t know the names of, and quite a few plot lines that Temple also isn’t sure about, but the longer you read and the more Temple learns, the clearer the picture gets. I still have some questions, but I’m sure Temple does too. That’s life. Just like attempting to reach a traumatized teen, this book only opens up to you if you’re willing to listen. I can’t get the last scene out of my head—it haunts me in the best way.

If you want queer authenticity, this is a rarely seen POV from those rarely heard kids who aren’t used to getting stories at all, let alone hopeful endings. So lock eyes with Temple, say you’re not going anywhere, and let her take you through her grisly, terrifying life. You’ll be so glad you did.

“Temple come to camp alone because a crowd makes it difficult to go corpse hunting.”
Here are reasons to read the YA Horror book:

Horror Camp - Temple is going to be a camp counselor at a weekend horror camp, that just happens to be on the land where she grew up as a child
Missing Girls - this area is full of stories of missing girls
Killer Father - and her father is currently in jail for killing lots of people
Absent Mother - but he tasks her with a mission for the weekend: to find out where her mother’s body might actually be

What drew me to this book is that it was a camp location and also almost a slasher like feel. But to be honest, I had no idea what was actually going on for a lot of this book. It’s creepy, with lots of haunted vibes. But to really get what is going on, even now is not totally clear. There is a really good twist at the end, and it does explain the most important things. But the writing is kind of ambiguous to keep the mystery going, so if you are in need of a clear explanation, this may not be totally for you. I have to say though that the story was very entertaining.

Woahhhh, this was such a whirlwind of a book I could never see any of the twists coming and I'm still in shock over the masterpiece that I just read. I will always eat up a black queer horror and god this was scary?? read this during the day with lights on and with an animal with you for comfort because I got SPOOKED

thank you penguin teen for the e-arc! I absolutely loved it, all opinions are my own

"dead girls walking" is a queer YA horror slasher about temple baker, the daughter of an infamous serial killer. her dad is on death row when he reveals that he killed her mother, so temple decides to go back to his old hunting grounds to see if she can find her mom's body and prove that he killed her. the farm that was once her home is now an overnight camp for queer horror fans. i'm a very casual horror fan but i'm still dipping my toes into horror books, so i was a little apprehensive when i started reading the book. i was about a third of the way through when the story just absolutely gripped me and i couldn't put it down until i finished it. obviously, horror isn't a fun or lighthearted genre (at least not usually), but temple's inner monologue was just so entertaining, even as she's fighting for her life. and most of the twists took me by surprise, which definitely kept me engaged. if horror slashers are your vibe, i would absolutely recommend "dead girls walking"!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sami Ellis and Abrams kids for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was not what I expected in the beginning, but it quickly evolves into exactly what I expected and wanted. I was thrilled. I love the slasher YA right now and this was perfect.

Dead Girls Walking was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024. Unfortunately, the story felt quite disjointed and disorganized at times. I enjoyed Temple as a character, and her voice was a pleasure to read. As some other reviewers have mentioned, this book did appear to have some supernatural elements interspersed within the narrative, and this is something that wasn't really mentioned in the book's marketing. This wasn't a problem for me as I greatly enjoyed those aspects. Regardless, this book just wasn't for me. I'd still be open to reading future titles by Sami Ellis, however,

Thank you to Amulet Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a gripping read and I was intrigued by the characters. I will look out for more by this author.

Thank you to Abrams and NetGalley for the advanced copy! I really enjoyed this. I thought it was a unique combination of both the slasher and supernatural genres.

I was soooo excited for this. I love slasher movies but I don’t read them and my only exception is lesbians. This is definitely a lot more supernatural than the description let’s on. I think it would have benefited from being a little bit longer in regards to development of some of the other girls, but also Temple herself and some of the actions she took outside the camp (specifically her relationship with Anysaa). This was also a super interesting premise and I feel like we’re starting to have conversations about the exploitative nature of true crime on victim’s families, but I have never really considered the effects on perpetrator’s families and I will alwaysss appreciate an author that gives me a new perspective to think about. I will definitely be looking out for Sami Ellis in the future (especially if she ever starts writing for adults, because I think she can go really dark and would thrive).

Thank you to Amulet Books and Netgalley for the ARC! Dead Girls Walking comes out March 26!

This one just wasn't for me. It seemed all over the place and at times confusing. I did appreciate the true gore that went along with some of the horror and in depth that you don't always see in horror books. The idea of a serial killer family and returning to the family land for answers was so intriguing but the story just felt messy and I didn't like any of the characters.

i could talk about this book for hours. it was beautifully complex and insanely fascinating. beginning with a character who’s been through more than is even imaginable but still manages to be so painfully relatable was a perfect place to start. temple is bold and brave and definitely not a heart-on-her-sleeve, open book kind of character. i love that we had to delve in a little deeper with her.

i loved the supernatural elements. the psychological shitshow of having her family be possessed by corpses, and how it was written to absolute perfection. it made it unbearably disturbing but i’ve never turned pages faster.

i’m so upset that this was the author's debut, because there’s nothing i want more than to binge read everything they’ve ever written. this is truly an absolute masterpiece and a writer i’m putting on my radar going forward.

"...Ellis writes as if the pages are scenes from an A24 horror film, flooded with diversity."

Never judge a book by its cover, unless you happen to stumble upon this glorious YA horror novel. From the moment you start chapter one, you instantly get sucked into the protagonists chaotic life as she is shown digging up where her supposed dead mother's body has been buried. The questions will barricade your brain until you develop more into the story.

Temple is the daughter of the notorious North Point Killer but she rather stay out of mind and out of view from the other girls from the queer horror camp she has attended because of her father. He embedded in her mind that her mother's body is hidden somewhere in the camp and she sets out to find it.

Instead, what she finds is a bloodbath of bodies, maniacal ghosts, severed family ties and loads of gore. Perfect combination of horror for fans of Friday the 13th and Talk To Me. As a first time reader of Ellis, I went into this blindly. Thinking because it was a YA horror novel, that it would hold back OK language and descriptions of gore but I was wrong. It had all that, representation of color and sexuality, as well as a built-up friendship towards the end.

Highly anticipating the next release from Sami Ellis and will personally recommend this for those that like a little blood with their ghost stories.

DNF at 21%. I was having problems getting completely invested in the story and the storyline was a little too choppy for my liking. I had high hopes for it give the synopsis, but sadly this one didn't work for me.

I DNF’d this at 28%

Every single characters tone/attitude just annoyed me. Big CW character vibes which isn’t my cup of tea at all.

The MC consistently gave off “not like other girls” vibes then I literally read the sentence “Temple, unfortunately, is not like other girls” and decided I was done with this book.

There’s definitely an audience for this but I’m not it.

Wow I need more books like this. I love the gore and the grit of this one so much so that I want more. We follow Temple, whose father just happens to be a convicted serial killer. Que dramatic horror film music. Temple is trying to find the body of her mother, who she is convinced her father did not kill, even though he admitted to it. The search for her mother’s “body” leads her back to what was her families land and home. Also where her father buried his victims. Only issue is the land in part has been sold and is used as a queer camp for girls. Temple now has to disguise herself as a camp counselor in hopes of figuring out where her mother’s”body “ is. Temple and the campers are not prepared for what they find and what finds them, Girls are missing and being killed. Will anyone survive? Temple may be connected more to these than she realizes.

Omg I loved the way this story turn and turn and turned. I was both surprised and in love with it. Though I found at time I did get lost. I made sure to get back in line so I could be ready for who/what is in the forest. Sami I can’t wait to read what else you write.

I was excited by the premise of this book, but I found the reading experience ... confusing? Perhaps that balance of giving and holding back info from the reader wasn't quite struck, or perhaps I just didn't connect with the writing style. There was definitely something not working for me personally with the pacing though.

I'm not sure how to rate this for a teen audience as I sense they might be even more confused by the plot, but I do appreciate what the author is attempting do and the fantastic rep. Some good genre subversion too!

I loved the setting of the horror camp! It's definitely a place I would have loved to have gone, well without all the actual murder and stuff.
Temple is by her own admission unlikeable, and I think that it suits her just fine. She has been through some things that not many people would be able to connect with and it left her with a hard shell to keep others away.
She decides to attend the horror camp when her father admits that her mother's body is on that land. Land that belonged to Temple's family and where she grew up. She figures it's a way to be there and be able to snoop/ dig around without getting arrested or something. And let's just say it doesn't take long for things to start getting spooky, even before they find the body in the woods.
This story is dark and gritty, it took some crazy twists and turns that I didn't see coming and I loved all of it! It gave creepy/ haunted forest vibes as the bodies of her father's victims were found on the property... well most of them. And took me on a wild ride from start to finish. I will definitely be checking out anything else this author writes