Chat are we….. haunted??

Teresa is struggling after the tragic death of her best friend; agoraphobia has made Teresa terrified to leave the safety of her bedroom. Her only connection to the outside world and sense of community is through streaming- both by watching streamers and making her own content.

One day Teresa and millions of other viewers see a mysterious figure in the background of a popular streamer. After this, his streams get more and more
unnerving until something horrific happens, captured on stream. The unsettling image keeps appearing in other people’s streams and making them “let it in” to deadly consequences… and Teresa’s stream (and life!) is next unless she solves the mystery of who, or what, this figure is.

Deadstream is written through traditional third person narration and interstitials of reddit threads and livestreams, making this a fast-paced and addictive read. It feels like you’re going down an internet rabbit hole of information trying to solve the mystery alongside Teresa. It’s a fun horror premise, it has scares, but it also has heart and Teresa’s personal journey was great. In terms of movie comp titles, this feels like a modernized The Ring, with a dash of Unfriended!

"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?"

Well, seeing as the entity has already shown up at her door, yes, it's time for Teresa to get out of there!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for this E-ARC.

Less than 24 hours is what it took me to read this book.
This book had me turning on all of the lights in my house. And the ending. No thank you. Goodbye social media. Goodbye computers and phones. No thanks. I will be finishing my NetGalley reviews with snail mail.

Teresa is a streamer. Which is a good thing cause she is to scared, after a horrible accident that killed her best friend, to leave her bedroom. She spends her days watching people stream online and then makes clips about them. What happens when Teresa’s safe bedroom is no longer safe? One night a shadowy figure appears in the background of her favorite streamers video. After that strange things start to happen. Teresa finds herself in the middle of the investigation since she’s one of the ones that posted the video first.

This is spooky. A great read. But if you believe in the supernatural. Be warned

I love any book that has to do with social media or anything like that. So, when I saw this book, I had to read it. This book is about a streamer and even though is a YA (I am not always a fan of YA) it was really good! I thought the streaming chats were a great addition to this book, it made it fun to read and realistic. I liked how modern this book felt and the mystery aspect was good. I would definitely recommend.

This is a DNF for me, only made it to 20% before having to put it down.

The writing style isn’t for me the constant chat conversations of the what I assume is twitch or some other streaming platforms followers is annoying to say the very least .

On top of that the writing is mediocre at best in my opinion almost like it was written like a middle schooler.

I am sure there is an audience that will like this book but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for the arc

Really good when it was written like it's on the internet but when it switches to a novel format it takes a huge hit and stops being as interesting. Avoid this one if you want something written in the way of a internet forum. You won't get it fully.

3.5 rounded to 4

This was a crazy read. Teresa's anxiety was written in such a way that I was getting overly anxious reading. I wasn't really a fan of how the whole thing got solved. But I'm not sure what I would have done to make it better.

I'm also so interested in seeing this book in print. Since a good portion is told in chat messages. It's formatted a little weird in the digital copy. There's a bit with text messages and as you turn the page, they get more glitched out. That was so cool!

This was a creepy yet very entertaining YA horror/thriller read!! 🙌

A streamer dies during live streaming; soon, very creepy and dark things start happening to other streamers! This one had me hooked throughout and was a lot of fun to read! Definitely recommend to YA readers and fans of streamers! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley, Viking Books For Young Readers, and Mar Romasco-Moore for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

Actual Rating 3.5

This work of horror is told using a mixed media approach. There are forum posts with comments included throughout, sections that depict an internet streaming session that are written more like a screenplay and also include comments, and then sections with more traditionally written prose. We got to know the protagonist quite well even with all these other aspects incorporated. There weren't many other characters that were more than just interactions, which was one of the weaker parts of the book.

A lot of times with horror, the monster/antagonist reveal can be underwhelming. Not so here. It made things more tense, and I really liked the explanation for it all. The ending was a little campy, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment.

This was a strong work of tense horror that focused on a very modern concept and was well executed. My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for allowing me to read this work, which will be published April 1, 2025. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book! While I don’t necessarily fall into the target audience, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it and finished it in less than 24 hours. I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re a fan of The Ring (2002) or Pulse (2006).

Deadstream follows Teresa, a teen who uses the internet as an escape from her own mind while she is riddled with grief and anxiety after a tragic accident. Things take a dark turn when Teresa witnesses a strange, paranormal event happen live on one of her favorite creator’s streams. If the world isn’t safe, if the internet isn’t safe, where can she turn now?
Deadstream is unnerving and thought provoking. It’s such an interesting, paranormal spin on both grief and the technologically advanced society that teenagers/young adults are navigating in ways that no previous generation will understand. As someone who has suffered from mental health struggles very similar to Teresa’s, the way it is written was a spot on representation. I was able to relate on many levels and it made the thrill more realistic. I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Mar Romasco-Moore for the eArc!

Review posted to StoryGraph and Goodreads on 3/15/25. Review will be posted to Amazon on release date.

Following the death of her best friend Teresa finds her world shrinking until she only feels safe when she’s in her room. To occupy her time she sinks deeper into the world of streaming both watching and having her own channels. When one of her favorite streamers starts to behave oddly Teresa finds herself at the epicenter of plague spreading through the internet infecting folks until they die. Can she figure out a way to save herself and the ones that she loves?
I thought the premise of those book was really interesting and definitely had moments that were creepy. I think there were some issues with pacing as we have our big “aha!” moment at around the 66% point leaving us meandering towards the ending. It was still an enjoyable read and if you’re into online gaming and streaming it’s right up your alley.

3.5⭐️

This was such an interesting premise but I'm afraid the execution wasn't quite there. It's almost like this tried to fit too many topics into the story and ultimately made the whole think a bit clunky. I can appreciate being inclusive, but the way the genders and sexualities were listed for members of the server almost felt like a checklist of inclusion. I also found the way Replay's guilt and and agoraphobia was dealt with to be odd. I know everyone processes grief differently, but her motivations to stay in her room felt weak. If it's because everything outside is 'not safe' then why is everything in the room safe? I also feel like she just pushed all her feelings into fear to push past her agoraphobia and still hasn't worked out the root of things.

I do think this did a great job portraying online streaming and the parasocial relationships that come from that. In a way, some people may build a community from streaming online, but just like in real life those communities can be cliquey. Kyle, his desire to be famous, and his jealousy at Brick's success just shows that streaming can do just as much bad as it does good. Then there's the aggressive chats that sometimes lead to death threats, doxing, and swatting attempts from 'fans' who think they know a person because they follow them. This was a warning not to take things too seriously.

Thanks Netgalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for providing this ARC to me!

This was terrifying and atmospheric! I loved the text threads and chat rooms, it made the book feel so unique! I was on the edge of my seat with this one!

I typically like YA novels, and I love horror/thriller novels. There were elements of this that I really loved- Teresa’s friends were fun and her little romance subplot was extremely cute. I liked how it was written for streams with the chat being interspersed and the text bubbles.
However, there was so much about this that I struggled with. This had high school-aged characters, but read more like a middle grades novel. As a parent, I struggled with Teresa’s parents and how hands-off they were with a child who is struggling with grief and anxiety to the point where she doesn’t leave her room. Although I appreciate that Teresa was in therapy, at what point do you try to do more for her? The supernatural elements became a little too much for me toward the end (I found myself starting to skim through).
I think there was a point being made about our ties to screens (and also maybe online radicalization), but I think it became overshadowed by the ultimate fate of the protagonist. I think young readers will leave this only taking away the success of the protagonist, not the overall dangers of screens and the internet that the author might be asking them to consider.
It’s possible that I am just not the right audience for this.

As someone who struggles with social anxiety and has a family history of agoraphobia, I was thrilled to get an ARC of Deadstream.
While the trope of cursed social media isn't a new one, this story had enough twists to make it interesting.
Some of the scenes felt a little phoned in but the story quickly made up for it with others (the eye scene!).
Highly recommended for fans of YA horror who want a quick read to keep them up at night.

I love a good YA horror novel and I specifically put this book right after a heavy adult fantasy novel in my reading list. I tend to use books like this as a palette cleanser after a particularly heavy book. With that being said, this book was way more than I expected! It dealt with some serious topics. As someone with diagnosed agorophobia, I really liked the way the main character's agorophobia was written, particularly the aspect of symptoms getting much worse after traumatic events.
As far as the horror element, I think this book had some incredibly scary and gory moments! I love that we are seeing more and more gore in YA! *Points to the Clown in a Cornfield series by Adam Cesare*
The mixed media playing into the story made it feel really immersive at times and made me feel like I was flying through this book!
If you like horror, streaming, and a suspenseful quick read, I would recommend this book, even if you don't typically read YA.
*I received an e-arc of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.

I'm leaning at 3.5. it was good, not up to par with I am the Ghost in Your House. But it had it's definitely creepy, mysterious moments. I thought it would go a little deeper, but maybe streamers aren't my genre for books. I did like the idea of a The Ring comparison.

I think this had a lot of potential, but towards the 30% part of the book I started to have some doubts about it. As is, I’ll give it a 3.5, as parts of this story were definitely freaky. The eye horror towards the end made me physically recoil.

Open the door.

After a car accident leaves Theresa agoraphobic and without a best friend, she turns to the world of twitch streamers and YouTube as a comfort. In her room, nothing can hurt her. Watching these streams, she can pretend to be normal. But when a notorious streamer begins to act extremely weird during one of his streams, Theresa, known as Replay, clips it. Unbeknownst to her, the clip she posts will skyrocket her.

And Brick isn’t the only streamer to be left in a catatonic state. One by one, bigger streamers fall like dominos. One by one, Theresa struggles to piece together answers, no one seeming to believe her besides her online friend Ozma. When the entity targeting the streamers sets her sights on Theresa, there’s only one thing for her to do.

But can she open the door?

Thank you to Netgalley and Viking Books for the e-arc! Check out Deadstream on April 1st! Review will be up on socials in a day or a few.

With the rise of social media, streaming, and living one's life online - the internet has been a place sorely lacking in good horror content focused solely on that. There's been a few decent games and ARG's I can think of that focus on the internet as the birthplace of the horror (the game Simulacra comes to mind), but as a whole I find it difficult to find many ventures into this genre to be both believable and entertaining.

What if every time you post to social media or Google search, a little digital echo of you remains out there in the internet. And if you die while streaming online, your ghost can then access and haunt the internet.

Treasa has agoraphobia ever since a tragic car wreck. The only place she feels somewhat normal is when she streams. As she is watching a popular streamer, he is asked to open a door. Harmless enough, however the chat can see a shadowy person behind him, but in real life there is nothing there. It can only be seen on the computer screen. Treasa decides to look futher into this apparent stunt. But what she finds is dark and more sinister that they imagined.

This was a little hard for me to follow personally. There were moments where it all made sense, but then would take a turn where it was a bit murky to follow. Not my favorite book, but there are those out there who will love it.