I truly wanted to love this book. I usually love a good YA thriller. However, I thought this was kind of boring and not super thrilling even though the premise of this book should have had me at the edge of my seat the entire time.

✨ The Vibes ✨
The Ring in the age of social media

📖 Read if…
✨ You like your horror and thriller novels to be heavy on the psychological elements
✨ The Ring is your favorite horror movie
✨You want a YA novel that is pretty scary

Horror is a genre that is built on well-known tropes, so I’m always looking for books that can find inspiration from a classic story and take it in a new and creative direction. That’s the main reason I initially picked up Deadstream, curious as to how this YA horror novel would find fresh life in the supernatural horror space.

Deadstream definitely establishes itself as a unique book, blending technological and supernatural elements as an agoraphobic teenage girl, Teresa, investigates the entity that is coming for her and her online community. The commentary on social media as a disease or parasite is super clear, but never heavy handed, and I loved the way online chats and social media posts were incorporated into the story which added authenticity. The story also explores themes around trauma, loss, and friendship which make for an emotional read. All of this adds up to a well-written story, but unfortunately it was not a new favorite for me.

One of the reasons this book didn’t personally work for me was how much of the horror came from Teresa’s own inner monologue. The reader spends the entire book in Teresa’s head, and experiences every moment of anxiety and panic along with her, which doesn’t really create scares and tension, but rather a lot of distress. I really struggled with this and had to put the book down several times because it was too much. However, if you enjoy books that explore the emotional turmoil of the protagonist, you’ll probably connect with this one.

Deadstream is out now. Thanks to Viking Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for the ARC!

So, this book was supposed to be a horror book with a critic of streamer culture, but at no point did it actually critique streamer culture. At the end, nothing has really changed for the FMC except she can go outside and yeah they have a girlfriend? Also, the way they approached the gender/queer conversation was odd, it felt like two afterthought throw away sentences. It would have made far more sense to either have the gender identity be more of a struggle throughout the book or introduce the character as queer from the beginning, instead of at the end. And I am not talking the sexuality, I am talking about how there was no struggle for the main character about gender and despite a throw away line about wanting to identify as nonbinary, the main character keeps referring to themselves as a woman. IDK, it just felt like it was written by someone who isn't really into streamer culture or Gen Z culture and it was kinda difficult to read.

This YA book was a great and quick read! I love YA thrillers and finished this in only 2 days. would def recommend to other YA thriller lovers

Y'all know this isn't a genre I read a lot of, but I've been stepping out of my comfort zone this year and have been participating in a thriller book club and I guess that's helped because I decided to read this one all on my own. Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book through NetGalley.

This is a YA thriller/mystery/horror book. Like I said I got the eBook from NetGalley but the formatting was weird, so I also listened to the audiobook to help me be able to follow along better. Teresa recently survived a car accident where her best friend died. I think this book starts off 3 or so months after the accident maybe longer I can't really remember now. Ever since the accident her mental health has just been getting worse and worse. It doesn't tell you what exactly Teresea is dealing with but after reading other reviews and looking it up myself I learned it's called agoraphobia. At the start of this book Teresa hasn't been able to go downstairs. She was able to leave her room to go to the bathroom and that was it but then something happens that makes her barricade herself in her room and the story goes from there.

Because of her agoraphobia Teresa turns to the streaming community for some comfort and to help her not fully lose contact with the outside world. It's told in mixed media format. we get livestream chats, DMs etc. I did enjoy this aspect but at the same time I have to say that hearing all the screen names being read out became very annoying. If I had just been physically reading, I would have skipped over all of the names. I can't same I was really familiar with all the social media terms/lingo but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book.

We mostly get Teresa's POV so we are in the mind of someone who has a mental illness so you're along for all of the panic attacks and anxiety and everything. I don't have personal experience with any mental illness and there were times when we were reading how she was spiraling, and I was like why don't you do this or this or this. I had to take a step back and chastise myself basically and remind myself that her mind doesn't work the same as mind. This definitely opens your eyes to how trauma affects people differently and how someone with a mental illness doesn't cope the same way someone without one can.

I've never found a book that scares me or creeps me out or anything like that, but I have to mention that I was reading this late at night one night way after everyone had gone to sleep. I had to get up to go to the bathroom where I had to open 2 doors twice. If you've read the book, then you know. I'm not scared of the dark by no means, but I hate not being able to see and then add the whole door thing let's just say my mind was messing with me.

There was a relationship introduced toward the end and to me it kind of felt like it came out of nowhere and wasn't necessarily needed but it was cute. Not only do we get mental illness rep, but we also get LGBTQIA+ rep. This was my first book by this author and I for sure want to look into what else they have written.

A strong YA novel, but it did leave me wondering abut the after school special sort of meaning, and I didn’t love the ending, making this book an average three stars. What worked for me was the MC being agoraphobic, the mixed media aspects, the WV mentions, and the general story. What didn’t work was things got convoluted at the end and I was left with questions like about the taxi/lyft/uber driver. I also felt like it got lresxhy about being anti streaming tech at the end. Don’t have friends online and followers and share videos because a ghost will get you. Sort of weird? But it was a fun quick read.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting read. I loved the use of mixed media and social media. It was super entertaining and will be recommending it.

I liked the overall premise of the book and the peek into the world of streaming, and I appreciated the queer representation, but it felt very heavy-handed. I think another few rounds of editing would have helped to incorporate Teresa's identity into the story itself, rather than random statements of "I don't feel like a girl" that didn't really feel prompted by anything.

I usually like middle grade and young adult horror and like to pick it up from time to time. However, this book kind of missed the mark for me and while I didn't dislike it, nothing really grabbed me and, in a few weeks, I'll probably have forgotten all about it.

When the book opens, we learn that Teresa experienced something which has led her to become more and more isolated from the world. The book discusses her being in therapy and her parents trying to assist her cope with what she experienced but I'm not sure anyone was really paying much attention to how bad things have really gotten for Teresa. Her only comfort is from the streaming community. She signs on daily and is making a name for herself as Replay. Replay has a few close virtual friends and that's about her only support network. One night, something happens to a famous streamer they all watch - Brick. While streaming, Brick is told to open the door behind him on a dare. When he does, he sees no one but the people watching him see a mysterious figure. Days later, Brick is basically comatose in front of the screen and no one in the streaming community takes it seriously. That is until it starts happening to people all over the world.

Teresa takes it upon herself to find out what is happening because she now thinks this mysterious figure is after her. Others are so quick to buy in and it's hard for Teresa, who won't even leave her bedroom, to be believed. However, when her best streaming pal Ozma goes comatose as well, Teresa has to confront her fears, leave her home and make a road trip, the one thing she fears the most, to try to save her.

This book sounded really interesting, and the author tackled a lot of heavy topics such as mental health and gender identity. However, I found it hard to buy into the streaming world - maybe because that's just not something I am into. The last 30% of the book did pick up and I liked the supernatural element once it hit but it was just a bit too late for me by then. Also, there is a scene with a poor Lyft driver who was never addressed again. How rude! If you like YA horror and this sounds interesting, consider picking this one up, especially if the community streaming world interests you.

Part One: I enjoy the characters and the idea behind the novel. Some of the story is a little cheesy, like when they keep referring to their chat as "chat", which yes, they do in real life, but in this format it comes off as a bit cringe. It reminds me of when I try and annoy my 15 year old by using words like Skibidi and Rizz.
The shadow entity is creepy, I like that there are times when the viewers can see things the streamer has not. I'm easily creeped out by doors and liminal spaces so this was an effective trope for me. I also like how it reminded me of the horror movie "Host" in a way.
I would overlook the personal and temporary cringe factor enough to recommend this to someone as a quick, satisfying spooky read.

Part Two:

I'm a bit more than halfway through now and I have to admit, despite my earlier comments about some lines being cringe, they become less so the further I read. Despite the initial cheese factor, the story is starting to take on a life of it's own, and I'm becoming rather invested in what's really going on here.
Liminal spaces, doors that don't exist, realistic chat rooms and reddit postings, spirits/entities??
I hope the last third pulls this all together and creates a knockout of an ending.

Part Three:
Third part dragged out a bit much for me. It got climactic then just held you there so long you eventually don't care anymore. I may have skimmed the last few chapters.
Overall it was a fun read but the ending just had so much going on.

I received this from NetGalley to review. I’m so sorry to say I don’t know if it’s the way the text was formatted when I sent it to my kindle but it was so hard to read the chatting portions when Teresa was streaming. I also felt like the story took to long to get going. I thought it’d be spooky but I guess it just wasn’t for me.

💻📱Book Review:
Title: Deadstream
Author: Mar Romasco-Moore
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

I finished this book in less than 24 hours! Very quick, easy read. It had a smidge of creep factor. It definitely reminds me of some of those web-cam horror movies that have come out in the last few years. Not too shabby. I was entertained!

"Rear Window meets The Ring in this sinister YA thriller, in which a teen girl witnesses the livestreamed murder of a popular online streamer by a paranormal entity... and could be its next victim.

After surviving a car accident that claimed the life of her best friend, Teresa is now terrified to leave the safety of her bedroom. Since then, her only solace and window to the outside world has been the online community she found through streaming.

But one night, the safe world Teresa created starts to break down. A shadowy figure appears in the background of her favorite's streamer's video, and his behavior mysteriously changes over the next few days before he dies in front of thousands of viewers. Teresa finds herself at the center of a life-and-death investigation as the world tries to figure out what or who this figure could be... especially as it begins appearing in the other people's streams, compelling them to "open the door" and let it in—including Teresa’s own. In order to save herself and the rest of the internet from this relentless entity, Teresa must venture outside of the mental and physical walls she’s created. But will she be able to conquer her fears before anyone else loses their life?" -email sent from Netgalley

Published: April 1st, 2025

Thank you, @netgalley and @penguinteen, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

As a video gamers horror nerd, I love this book so much. I even had to buy it. This book freaked me out and can't wait to read more stuff by this author.

This was quite different and I enjoyed it. It really makes you think about who is watching while we're online and how damaging the idea of popularity and the spotlight can be to so,e individuals.

Thanks so much Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange of my honest review!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

As both a streamer and horror lover, when I read the premise of this book it sounded right up my alley! and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
The story is about Teresa, aka Replay, a girl isolated and haunted by the death of her best friend, who starts watching streamers and becomes a streamer herself as a way to cope and feel connected to the outside world, until something happens live to her favorite streamer, and she obsesses over trying to solve the mystery, is it all an act? or is something supernatural really going on?

The story really got me hooked from the start, I really enjoyed how the aspects of streaming and using different social medias like discord, twitter, etc. were presented visually in the book, it made it feel all the more immersive. The way the mystery unfolded was very well done, and it kept me on wanting to read to know what happens next.
I really liked that Teresa and her streamer friends were part of the LGBTQ community, as a queer streamer myself it really resonated with me about how streaming can serve as a way to show your true self online that you can’t really show in your everyday life.
Also liked the commentary about how being behind a screen really gives people free range to be their worst selves, either sending awful messages or becoming spectators to others’ misery.

Overall very great read!

Creepy, Addictive, and Impossible to Put Down!

The story follows Teresa, a traumatized teen who barely leaves her room after a tragic accident, finding comfort in online streaming. But when she witnesses a popular streamer’s *horrifying* on-screen death—caused by some kind of shadowy, supernatural force—things get seriously disturbing. The tension is so well done—you feel Teresa’s fear as she’s forced to face her worst nightmares, both online and IRL. The mix of modern streaming culture and classic horror had me hooked, and the ending left me shook.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me an early copy of Deadstream.
Deadstream follows Teresa as she navigates life after the death of her best friend. She has a hard time leaving her room and finds solace in streaming and the people she meets online. Then things start happening to her friends and she is needed to figure it out before things happen to more of them.
I really enjoyed this story. It kept me entertained and guessing thru the entire book. I flew thru it! It was well written and the story was well thought out. I will definitely be picking up more from this author.

This was an eerie and thrilling YA horror. I think this is very fitting with today's teens and their focus on all things technology. I myself love watching let's plays and the thought of seeing a streamer get haunted and die on camera gives me goosebumps.

The majority of this book takes place in our MC's room, which I feel is very impressive. It gave the story a claustrophobic atmosphere and really put us in the MC's head.

I really enjoyed the bit of mixed media we get in this, and I feel like it really helped get me more invested in the story.

The ending was a little anticlimactic considering the intensity of the buildup, but I still think that this is a solid YA horror that will appeal to a ton of readers. Definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

Definitely not a book to read in the dark with a bedroom door partially cracked. I kept looking to see if something was standing in the doorway. I enjoyed how creepy this was! And I really liked the formatting with the chat messages. The representation was also very good and I liked how it wasn't a huge deal.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

(Rounded up from 3.5 stars)

I enjoyed this one! It did not go the direction I expected it too for the reveal, but it was a fun premise. I enjoyed the gender and sexuality exploration subplot, I found it made the characters feel more human and more compelling. I also enjoyed the way the social media layout and content was included! It added to the experience. Sidenote: If you are creeped out by things happening to people's eyes (like myself), you *may* want to pass on this one, or at least be ready to skip a couple of paragraphs (no spoilers though!).

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for this ARC!