3.5 stars

The pacing of this book for YA is fantastic, it successfully builds tension throughout and is enough to keep you hooked.
I liked the formatting of the stream style chats, it allowed for an easy read.

What I found frustrating was the ending. It was suitably fast paced as the mystery was unfolding however the ending that the book had been building up to felt too rushed and over quickly.

The constant repetition of Teresa’s name was also frustrating but it doesn’t stop the flow of the chapters.

As a teacher I would definitely recommend this book to my students who I know love horror/thriller.

60/100 or 3.0 stars

I think this will be a big hit with the younger reading audience, as the language used and the media used within the story works so well! It was an interesting story and I think it will be scary for the target audience! I felt a little old reading this when the main character refers to someone in their thirties as "not old-old." I had a laugh and kept reading.
I would try another book by Romasco-Moore if they write another Teen/YA horror novel!

I really enjoyed this YA horror book. I liked the mixed media aspect, which made it fly by extra fast. Very fun and entertaining book about the perils of too much screen time. Although, the epilogue kind of negates that message just a little bit.

ARC REVIEW, thank you so much to Mar Romasco-Moore, Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley for this ARC. My review is not influenced by receiving an ARC. This is an honest review!

3.75/5 stars

This book was so good I read the entire thing in one day. I stayed up until almost 3 a.m. to finish! The writing vibe reminded me of Natalie D. Richards but paranormal. This feels like it might be for the younger part of the YA genre.

Our protagonist, Teresa, is agoraphobic following a traumatic car accident. I feel like the depictions of anxiety and agoraphobia were done so well. She almost reminds me of Pippa Fitz-Amobi in the second/third book of 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder' series.

The amount of queer representation was so refreshing, I genuinely loved it.

It is so rare for books to get social media and streaming correctly. Both the Reddit threads and stream chats were so realistic to what you would actually see in those spaces. The bots in the YouTube comments were also realistic and made me release a breath laugh through my nose.

My only complaint is the text messages can be hard to read in some places without context clues of the situation. It almost looks like one character typing and not a conversation between two people.

Rating: 4.25/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: bound to keep you up at night; puts a whole new twist on live-streaming; creeptastic read; keeps you guessing until the end

Huge thanks to Mar Romasco-Moore, Penguin Teen, and Netgalley for access to this ARC! My review is voluntarily written and in no way altered or impacted by this gesture.

Readers beware-- this book might make your dreams just a little more weird while reading. I know mine were. This book is creeptastic from start to finish, a deep look into social media and what it means to truly "put yourself out there" interspersed with the things that lurk, watching, even when we are alone.

The writing style of this book is a mix of texts/chat snips, third person limited (focused on Teresa), and third person omniscient (told from the universal "we"). These change ups help to set the tone, to push the story forward in moments we might otherwise feel "stuck", and to bring the ending together before the close. The author walked a thin line with these styles-- don't give too little information, so as to keep readers clinging... but don't give TOO much, too soon! In this instance, this was masterfully woven.

I highly recommend to readers who live for the feel of goosebumps, those who wonder late at night who might be watching them, Ave those who just have a flair for curiosity-- the whodunits of the world. The scene is set, the camera is rolling... what will YOU find lurking outside the door?

Received an eARC copy from NetGalley for my honest review. I would read this author again for a nice fun creepy popcorn read.

I am a 30-something year old adult who enjoys YA books. There were times where this felt like a YA and then moments towards the end where the writer got a little deeper. Almost like two different authors. I gave this book a 3 star read as I found it was a fun quick read for me and could see many tweens and teens enjoying it and being scared.

The story focuses on Teresa, AKA Replay, a teen who is agoraphobic due to a car accident. She finds peace in streaming, until her stream, and other's streams, become haunted. The story has mixed media and includes chat room texts and direct message screenshots. Has representation of the LGBTQ+ community, but felt it was forced in at times and not natural to the story. The ending felt a bit rushed. I wish it went a different way or had more explanation, but it could be left open for a sequel.

this is kind of hard to rate because im not the intended age range for the book so i personally think some things could have been done better. however, if i was younger, maybe around middle school or early highschool, i would be eating this up. i think the villians back story could have been a little more fleshed out because i felt lile he was doing it for no reason…

This is a fun and spooky YA horror novel. I loved the focus on haunted live streams and the streamer community. It's like modern The Ring vibes.

This book was crazy from the very beginning, but I enjoyed the way it turned out at the end. Was different from books I normally read. Definitely would recommend to my friends to read.

Did I decide to start this late at night? Yes. Did this send chills up my spine?Also yes. 5/5 stars

Teresa aka Replay is terrified to leave the safety of her room after surviving a traumatic accident that claimed the life of her best friend. Her window through to the outside with is through the streaming community. However this starts to dissolve when a creepy figure appears in a popular streamer and his behavior completely changes with him suddenly dying in front of millions of viewers.

As Replay she begins to unravel the whole/what this figure is, especially as it's impacting other people's stream making them 'open the door'. To save herself an everyone else who is impacted Teresa must open the door to the outside world.

I really enjoyed the multi media take what chat logs, reddit posts and group chats. It definitely made it feel more immersive and related to the YA of today.
Teresa's panic attacks were well written.
The figure was definitely interesting and I felt like I figured it out rather early on. However the big scene did creep me out a fair bit.
The ending definitely felt a bit cheesy but tied it all together nicely.

I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

1.5 stars rounded up

I’m not really sure where to begin with this review. While it did have some elements of suspenseful horror, it was poorly done in the end. Also with the LGBTQIA+ rep, it almost felt like rep just to be rep. Even the names of some of the characters were very cliche in my opinion. I’m all for LGBTQIA+ rep but it needs to be done right. This is not it.

Character development did not happen. Our main character was terrified of stepping foot outside until all of a sudden she wasn’t? Same with her friend Ozma. At no point was there any feeling of romance or anything more than friendship. Until Replay goes to save her and all of a sudden they are making out and then having sex basically? What in the world? It was weird all around.

The narration style was also all over the place. Sometimes we were in third person, sometimes it felt like first person and then others it was a completely different person. It could be very confusing coupled with the chat logs and trying to describe the streams, it was hard to follow at times. I can understand that the author may have been trying to tell us about the dangers of the internet but honestly, it doesn’t go over well in a book. At least not a style like this. A movie would have been much better.

It honestly gave me the same vibes I got from Horror Movie and I Was A Teenage Slasher but Horror Movie done it way better. As I mentioned earlier, there was some decent suspenseful horror to the book but that was early, early in the book. But as the book continued, it was like it lost its steam and the author lost their track of thought too.

This book had a really interesting premise especially as someone interested in the streamer community, and I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you're looking for a fast paced YA thriller that you won't be able to put it down! The mystery surrounding the main character's trauma really impacted how she acted throughout the novel.

Teresa is an online streamer who struggles with leaving the house after her best friend’s life was claimed by a car accident. She finds online streaming to be her escape, until one day a shadowy figure appears in the background of her favorite streamers video. Strange things begin to happen to this streamer and eventually to Teresa herself. She finds herself investigating the strange things that are going on in the streaming community. This book was very suspenseful and kept me guessing. The book was very exciting until the ending, where it lost me a little bit. Overall, this was a very thrilling story that many people who are online could connect to.

I really enjoyed this book! It sticks hard to its premise of livestreaming and an evil entity. I thought the mystery was well done and balances the horror elements, pacing and character development well. Books that are specific to technology can be a little dated after a while, but it is certainly a topical and good read for today.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this early.
Imagine you are watching your favorite live streamer playing a game, doing art, packing orders, or just chatting. Now imagine the door behind them opening just the slightest bit, a shadow in the doorway.
You think “What the heck, it’s not even October. It’s not time for their Halloween stunt yet.” And they turn around to look at the shadow. They turn back to the camera, a confused look on their face.
The chat is going wild:
[10:35]- oooo spooky 0.o
[10:36]- it’s April wtf is that
[10:36]- Tjbnfskha sent a gift
[10:36]- open the door
The streamer leans in closer to their screen, reading the chat as it comes in. You see the shadow move behind them, out of focus but still visible. It’s inching closer to the camera.
“Guys what is happening I literally don’t see that. It’s just on the screen!”
The shadow inches closer.
So close. It reaches a hand out to the person you’ve watched so many times before.
The screen goes dark.

This book has literally taken over my brain ever since I finished it. It combines the narrative of a regular book following a girl who experienced a tragic car accident and now is too afraid to leave her room. Something weird happens during one of her favorite streamers live streams and she tries to figure out what is happening. The book also includes video descriptions, online Reddit threads, and chats between characters. If you watch streamers, you need to read this. Please! It comes out April 1st!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like to think of myself as young and still read some YA for enjoyment. However, this was definitely YA for the kids of today. I usually like some mixed media inserted into stories as it provides a more realistic side to stories in today's world, and I understand the entire book is based around livestreams, a strange entity, and the online community, but it was a bit much.

The creepy parts of the book were good. Would I really compare it to The Ring? No. It did give a good mix though of showing the downsides of the internet vs. some of the good that can come out of it. This is not something that I would recommend, but I think for the kids of today, it would be right up their alley.

okay, this is DEFINITELY NOT just a YA horror. it's deeply ominous and actually made me at points shudder. in the middle of the afternoon, in a brightly lit room with multiple windows. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Deadstream grasped my attention right away and was able to hold my attention the entire time. I think streamers would like this book seeing how they’ll be able to relate to the lingo and some of the streamers.

I really enjoyed how the viewers could see something different than the streamers when they were live. I think that the explanation of the main characters group of friends was not needed and it would have been nice if the other streamers were spared. I also must add that I was happy the main character was able to overcame a lot of things that she was dealing with, that was really good.

Lastly the main thing I like although fictional is that the author tried to show how too much of anything can be dangerous. If elaborated a little more although not the main focus, it would probably help those who do need to touch grass or even pick up books more. Streaming or the internet is fine but with a limit. I appreciate where this book was trying to go. Overall not a bad YA read. Thank you.

Thank you Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers and Mar-Romasco-Moore for the Ears of Deadstream.

This is a horror/mystery and it is exactly what it states on the tin. A group of young influencers/ video streamers get sucked into a nightmare once they have watched a video of someone opening a door, that only exists in the digital world. One said video streamer Teresa has to battle her past and her crippling anxiety to work and and stop this phenomena.

Deadstream is a medium paced YA horror/mystery that has a great balance between character development, identity, mental health and horror elements. The pacing is constant which kept me engaged right the way through. The gory details don't hold back for a YA but isn't overdone either making Deadstream a nice intro to horror for the reader.

4 stars

I tend to like books that are about the internet, especially when they are genre fiction. This one was being offered on NetGalley, and the idea of a ghost haunting streamers pulled me in. A lot of the narrative is told through chat transcripts and descriptions of what viewers are seeing while watching streamers on the screen. It is definitely creepy, to the point that I had to switch to something a lot less intense when reading at bedtime. The mystery that unfolds as the main character gets wrapped up in the hauntings is well plotted, and I thought that the author did a very nice job of laying out the crumbs for the main character and reader to follow. Endings to horror novels can sometimes feel like a let-down, but this one stuck the landing pretty well. It left me unsure if the final conclusion was hopeful or ominous, which was a nice bit of ambiguity.