Told in dual timelines, Penny Zang really delivered on a new The Virgin Suicides for the newer generation. With tons of the aforementioned, Bunny, and a riveting popcorn thriller, this debut novel blends magnetic and dynamic characters with beautiful and lilting prose. We meet Sadie and Nikki, best friends who ride around blaring grunge together and can be depended on to share with each other their deepest and darkest secrets. The friendship we learn about and read Multiple POV's from presents a level of vulnerability I truly found inspiring. I love that both girls found in each other a soulmate that had nothing to do with romance, until tessellating factors found their way within and dug their hooks in. Doll Parts is based around a college, a few professors, and a rash of suicides that are so similar to what Copolla and Eugenides did that I was stunned. You can really tell Zang not only did her research, but also shared a compelling story of Plathian proportions. Thanks so much to the author and publisher for the chance to read this advance eARC!
#sourcebookslandmark #sourcebooks #dollparts #pennyzang #pennyzangdollparts

“Doll Parts” (out Aug. 26 from Sourcebooks Landmark) from Penny Zang is a spellbinding debut that melds literary suspense with the eerie allure of dark academia.

Told in dual timelines, it follows Sadie, who steps into the life of her estranged best friend Nikki after Nikki’s sudden death and very complicated pregnancy. But Nikki isn’t quite gone. Her ghost lingers in memories, messages and a decades-old campus mystery involving the tragic deaths of Sylvia Plath-obsessed college girls. As Sadie digs into Nikki’s past, she begins to question her own sanity.

Laced with sorrow and grit, this searing novel cuts like a blade, an unforgettable exploration of girlhood, fury and the secrets that fester in silence.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! I LAUGHED. I CRIED. I MOURNED. I GRIEVED. I FELT THE LOVE OF NIKKI AND SADIE TANGIBLY. THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR THIS ARC!

Female friendships are one of my favorite book subjects, and holy cow, this book did not disappoint.

In her debut novel, Penny Zang follows the friendship of Nikki and Sadie and what happens after, as Sadie tries to uncover the true cause of her childhood best friend's death - while living in her home and getting pregnant by her grieving husband. A story of mistakes, redemption, ghosts, mystery, and the horrors that can come when a society glamorizes suicide, Zang's novel is a masterpiece and easily one of my favorite reads this year so far.

My favorite aspect of the book is the very real and beautiful way that Zang talks about friendship, the ways girls show up for each other, and the messiness and struggle within female relationships. It's so REAL in a way that many books just aren't. The mother-daughter relationships, the friendships, the student-mentor relationships, the "this is awkward because we both used to be friends with the same person, but we don't actually know each other, but I want to be friends, but I'm pretty sure you hate my guts" relationships (how did she make something I've never even experienced before so relatable???).

That, combined with absolutely beautiful prose, ghosts, and a mystery that kept me guessing until the very end, made this book unforgettable and an absolute pleasure to read.

5/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cool premise but unfortunately I started losing interest about half way through. While the writing was good, not much was happening to keep the story moving. Once we get to the reveal, I was a little underwhelmed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

I adored this thriller as it ticked quite a few boxes for me. Sylvia Plath obsessed women? Check. Dark academia? Check. Women solving mysteries while danger abounds? Fucking check check and check. Not only did the cover draw me in, but Sadie and Nikki's relationship and characterizations did as well. I do wish that it moved a bit quicker in some parts and the ending did sort of disappoint, but overall, this was a solid thriller read!

A luminous exploration of friendship, grief, and the quiet violence women carry twisted in a college past of dark academia.

Nikki and Sadie left their small town without a second thought. A team of two, the best friends thought that Loch Raven College would bring big and bold new experiences. But Loch Raven holds its own kind of sorrow: a decades-old legend bore from the love of Sylvia Plath. Too many girls at the school have gone missing through the years.... Nikki takes on the cause and becomes quietly obsessed.

Twenty years later, Nikki is gone, and Sadie is pregnant by her best friend’s grieving husband. Living in Nikki’s old house, surrounded by her notes, books, and belongings, Sadie begins to sense Nikki's messages. Clues begin to surface, as if Nikki never stopped looking for the truth and as if she’s still trying to tell someone what she found.

Dual timelines, lots of nostalgia, dark parts and some confusion, but altogether mesmerizing and breath taking.
Doll Parts is a layered, lyrical story of girlhood and grief, of passion and friendships that refuse to fade and at it's core, female power. #sourcebooks #dollparts #livethroughthis #pennyzang

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

Wow, the writing was phenomenal. I will definitely be thinking about this one for a while.
5 ⭐️

Nikki and Sadie were best friends since elementary school, and both enrolled in an all-women parochial college as scholarship students. The student body is obsessed with Sylvia Plath, and several girls on campus over the years have committed suicide and thus have become members of the morbid Sylvia Club, which fascinates Nikki but not Sadie.

The friends last only a year at school apiece, and their friendship dies as well. Two decades later, Nikki, a successful self-help author, takes her own life. At her erstwhile friend's funeral, Sadie becomes enmeshed with Nikki's widower, eventually having his baby and moving in with him in the house that serves as a shrine to her predecessor. Almost immediately, Sadie becomes haunted by Nikki's ghost; furthermore, she discovers that Nikki had been working on the Sylvia Club again and seemingly had plans for Sadie to finish what she started.

The story unfolds in two narrative timelines, present-day Sadie and historical Nikki during their time in college. Both narrators are unreliable but also very likable. The dark academia vibes create a haunting backdrop with a stellar 90s indie music soundtrack. The twists and reveals form a compelling domestic thriller sure to please fans of the genre. This is a phenomenal debut, and I look forward to more books from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my review.

Just an FYI: Trigger warnings for suicide, mental illness

Every college has that one urban legend - that creepy building or supposedly haunted place everyone avoids or uses to scare the freshmen. But what if your college had an entire history of tragedies? And nobody wanted to talk about them? That’s what happened at Loch Raven College, where Sadie and Nikki attended for one year, and at various times at least nine girls, deemed the “Sylvia Club,” due to their supposed fixation on Sylvia Plath. Now, 20 years later, Sadie is a new mom, having gotten together with Nikki’s husband shortly after her death. The pair hadn’t talked since college, but now, Sadie begins seeing Nikki everywhere and finding clues Nikki left for her to complete one final project, which will make her confront the ghosts of Loch Raven.

This book is told from both womens’ perspectives, along two timelines: during their time at Loch Raven; and then in the present day, with Sadie trying to piece together what is going on.

Wow. That’s all I can say about this book. It’s one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a while, even though it’s low on action, because it just has such a huge amount of creepiness that pervades every page. There’s so many spooky angles, from a professor obsessed with dead girls, to the ghosts that roam the campus of Loch Raven, to Sadie seemingly slowly losing her mind in the present day as she sees Nikki’s ghost and dives into the mystery of her death and final work.

There’s a lot of focus on the girls as unreliable narrators and whether they are really experiencing what they are seeing, or if they are just depressed (Nikki had just lost her Mom) or overtired….the normal excuses. But it adds another layer to the story. It’s another creep factor.

There’s also some interesting discussion about what you should or should not have to give up for “happiness” or security. And what’s the price of that security. I’ll leave you to discover that one. It makes you think.

But even with all these threads, I had no problem keeping everything straight in my mind. The author does a great job of making everything fit together and organized so that it doesn’t become overwhelming. I had a clear picture of what was going on the entire time.

And the ending - OMG. I was blown away. It was amazingly perfect for the storyline. And I didn’t see it coming at all. Just great. That’s all I’ll say.

If you love thrillers or ghost stories, pick this book up. You won’t regret it!

Best friends, Sadie, and Nikki fell out of touch. Years later, Sadie is at her funeral, sleeps with her husband, and now lives with him and their baby. How did this author think of this plot? I do not know, but I was hooked and had to keep reading to find out what happened between these friends and what brought Sadie to this place. (And what the heck!! Sleeping with Nikki’s husband? Is that the kind of thing that came between these two friends?)
Told in the present by Sadie, and in the past by Nikki, hold onto your Kindle or book because the revelations and twists just kept coming. I do not recall the last book I read where I did not have many guesses on what was going on. This book, I just kept reading. It is a slow burn and was not a treadmill read for me. I only get about an hour before bed to read, so this took me a bit longer than usual to finish. Not the story's fault at all. It was all me and adulting that got in the way.
I just went back and read the book description, and I think it covers everything that you need to know. You do not need to have an extensive knowledge of Sylvia Plath, but if you do, you might find the parts related to her much more enjoyable. An excellent debut.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC. I greatly appreciate it!

DOLL PARTS started off strong. As someone who studies a dead woman as an occupation, the very first chapter was extremely relatable. About 20 percent in, however, I began to lose interest. The writing was phenomenal and descriptive, but the plot felt like empty calories. Not as fulfilling as I had hoped. While I understand certain scenes have to happen in order to establish the mood and the characters personalities, but after a while, the story felt too slow to keep my interest.

Sadie and Nikki were best friends growing up. They went to the same college, but both dropped out after freshman year, and they've been estranged since. When the book opens, Nikki is dead, Sadie has a baby with Nikki's husband, and the reader doesn't know how any of this came to pass.

The novel is told in dual timeline: Nikki narrates the chapters from their freshman year in college, while Sadie provides the POV for the present-day chapters. Sadie is trying to make sense of Nikki's death, especially because she is haunted by Nikki's ghost and finds what she believes are clues that Nikki wants her to investigate. In Nikki's chapters, she was obsessed with a string of suicides at their all-female college.

The book builds gradually as we get to know these characters and the setting. In the second half, when the mysteries deepen in both timelines (and the present and past begin to intersect more), the momentum builds through to a satisfying conclusion that answered so many of my questions. This is not an edge-of-your-seat thriller but more of a slow burn driven by its two main characters.

The portrait of an unusual best-friendship between two outsiders is the aspect that will most stay with me. There is a heavy mid-90's vibe which readers of a certain age will appreciate. This is a very confident and original debut novel.

Thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy.

I’m usually pretty bad at writing meaningful reviews but this book blew me away. It’s so different than the usual reads I tend to gravitate towards but the comparison to The Virgin Suicides (one of my favorite movies/books) & the mentioning of Sylvia Plath immediately had my attention.

Doll Parts is so incredibly haunting, yet beautiful, with a dash of eerie. While reading this book I had two modes: reading any free moment I had, or thinking of the next free moment I would have so I could read more. I could have easily read 400 more pages about Nikki and Sadie. This book has instantly become a forever favorite of mine.

Also, the playlist and songs/artists mentioned throughout the story was a total bonus. I can always appreciate someone with a solid taste in music.

This book sucked me right in from page one. This is a really unique premise and kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. I'm a big fan of dual-timeline stories. This is a haunting debut and I look forward to reading whatever this author writes next.

I am not sure I can even put into words what I want to say about this book but I’m going to try. Doll Parts is one of the best books I have ever read. I usually can guess the twists and turns that come along with books but this one I had no clue. I think I sat with my mouth open during half the book! I loved the dual POV and it really helped me to pick up the little clues throughout the book. I really loved the insight into the different levels of friendship and self awareness. If you love thrillers or if you usually guess the endings quick then you need to read Doll Parts! I can not wait for this book to come out so I can have a shelf trophy because WOW! Penny Zang is beyond talented and I can not wait to read more from them!

I received this book early and these are my honest thoughts.

Where do I even start with this deliciously melancholic, Sylvia Plath-obsessed fever dream of a novel? It’s like someone took The Virgin Suicides, sprinkled in a dash of mI Have Some Questions for You, and then doused it in 90s riot grrrl vibes with a side of paranormal chills. I’m still clutching my imaginary fishnets and swooning over the prose, but let’s unpack this gem, because this book deserves it, even if it made me work for it at times.

First off, the dual timeline structure—past Nikki and present Sadie—had me stumbling like a newborn fawn in chunky Doc Martens. The jumps between Nikki’s college days, where she’s chasing the dark allure of the Sylvia Club (a campus legend about Sylvia Plath-adoring girls meeting tragic ends), and Sadie’s present, where she’s navigating motherhood and living in Nikki’s creepily preserved home, took a hot minute to settle into. I’d be vibing with Nikki’s angsty, Courtney Love-blaring youth, only to be yanked into Sadie’s suburban unease, wondering if Nikki’s ghost was about to pop up like a jump scare in a 90s slasher flick. The transitions lulled me a bit, like when you’re at a concert and the band takes too long to tune their guitars between songs. But once I locked into the rhythm, I was hooked, flipping pages past midnight under the comfort of my covers.

The story follows Nikki and Sadie, former besties whose friendship frayed like a thrifted sweater. In the past, Nikki’s obsessed with the Sylvia Club, digging into the supposed suicides of Plath-loving students at their all-women’s college. Her curiosity feels like a moth fluttering too close to a flame, and it’s no spoiler to say it burns her—and her bond with Sadie. Fast-forward twenty years, Nikki’s dead, and Sadie’s got a newborn with Nikki’s grieving husband, Harrison, living in a house where Nikki’s presence lingers like a stubborn perfume. Sadie’s convinced Nikki’s sending clues from beyond, and the unraveling of the Sylvia Club’s secrets becomes a haunting puzzle. It’s a story of fractured friendships, the ache of girlhood, and grief that clings like damp Baltimore fog.

Zang’s prose is where I lost my mind—in the best way. It’s hypnotic, dripping with melancholy, like a sad girl playlist you can’t stop humming. She captures the sharp edges of female friendship with such precision, it’s like she’s holding a scalpel to your heart. One scene where Nikki and Sadie try on thrifted clothes, laughing and dreaming, had me nostalgic for my own college days, blasting Senses Fail and pretending I was cooler than I was. I could smell the musty thrift store and feel the weight of their unspoken tensions. But then Zang flips the mood, and you’re in Sadie’s present, where she’s dodging nosy neighbors and Harrison’s refusal to move Nikki’s stuff, like he’s curating a shrine.

The Sylvia Club mystery is a slow burn, but it’s worth the wait. I won’t spoil the twists, but let’s just say Zang knows how to make you gasp and then cackle at your own gullibility. The paranormal vibes add a delicious creep factor, though I occasionally rolled my eyes when Sadie’s ghost-hunting felt a tad too Scooby-Doo. Still, the way Zang ties the past and present together is fantastic, even if some lulls had me skimming like I was cramming for a final.

I read some of this while sipping a Frappuccino in a coffee shop, and I swear, every time Sadie saw Nikki’s ghost, I’d glance over my shoulder, half-expecting a spectral Plath fan to be lurking by the espresso machine. That’s the kind of immersive vibe Zang creates. Sometimes the pacing dragged like a dial-up modem, and I wanted more of Nikki’s fiery spark in the present timeline. But when it hits, it hits. It’s a love letter to the messy, beautiful chaos of being a young woman, to the friends who break your heart, and to the ghosts we carry.

Doll Parts is a must-read for anyone who’s ever been a sad girl, loved a sad girl, or just wants a thriller that feels like a riot grrrl anthem with a side of goosebumps.

3.5 stars rounded up to a solid four because the words were beautiful and I too had a best friend in college who I loved and needed more than poetry or oxygen, who loved me back better than anyone else has ever gotten close to, and to whom I haven’t spoken in very nearly a decade. Doll Parts has flaws—the dual timelines don’t quite maintain the same propulsive energy (THEN occasionally bored me to death when compared to the urgency of NOW), the supernatural elements felt very SFX, added in post instead of practical and real—but what kept me reading was Zhang’s ability to write about the friendship between two young women, hollowed out and growing mold in their hollow places, susceptible to infection and toxicity were it not for the light of one’s another’s love shining into their darkness, burning everything clean again. I’d like to thank to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC of Doll Parts in exchange for an honest review. I do not thank them for my eyes gone all dry and puffy after crying over Sadie and Nikki.

Doll Parts is an atmospheric, haunting, and emotionally rich debut that absolutely consumed me. Told in a dual timeline, this novel follows Sadie, who finds herself drawn back into the life of her estranged best friend Nikki after Nikki’s sudden and mysterious death. When Sadie moves into Nikki’s eerily perfect suburban home—while pregnant by Nikki’s grieving husband—she starts to suspect that something about Nikki’s death isn’t right.

Back in college, Nikki and Sadie were part of a sad girl sisterhood orbiting the Sylvia Club—a campus legend centered around the suicides of Sylvia Plath-adoring students. Nikki became obsessed with uncovering the truth, and that obsession never left her. As Sadie digs deeper, she begins to wonder if Nikki's death was just the latest chapter in a much darker story.

This book absolutely nails the blend of literary suspense and psychological horror. The writing is sharp and evocative, and the tension simmers in both timelines. The portrayal of complicated female friendship is raw and unflinching—intimate, toxic, and unforgettable. I especially appreciated how it tackled themes of grief, guilt, and the romanticization of female suffering without ever feeling cliché or shallow.

It reminded me of The Virgin Suicides in tone, but with a much darker bite. The mystery kept me hooked, but it was the emotional undercurrent that truly broke me. This is a story about how the past never really stays buried, and how some friendships leave marks you can’t scrub clean.

Doll Parts is haunting in every sense of the word—and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

Huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite books of all time is The Virgin Suicides and I had high hopes for this book, its being ostensibly about a rash of suicides at a girl's college. Doll Parts delivers on the melancholy feel of the girls and their obsessions with Sylvia Plath, perhaps the best-known suicide of all time. But this is more than just a book about dismal observations. At its heart, Doll Parts is a mystery…a search to find out what’s behind the suicides, because Nikki is convinced that there’s something suspicious going on.

The story is told in two timelines, the first about best friends Nikki and Sadie and their experiences at school. I found this viewpoint to be beautifully written, having been friendship-centered and music-obsessed myself when it came to leaving home for college. The second timeline comes some twenty years later, following Nikki’s death by an apparent suicide. The former BFFs have been estranged from each other since college and Sadie finds herself stepping into Nikki’s shoes, taking up with Nikki’s former husband seemingly before Nikki has been laid to rest and having a baby barely nine months later. Sadie finds her new home to be haunted with her former friend’s presence and begins to uncover clues that indicate that Nikki’s death may not be as straight-forward as it seems. As Sadie follows the clues, she becomes obsessed with picking up Nikki’s trail and determining once a for all what happened all those years ago.

I loved the way this book was written, the haunting feel of the girls’ friendship, the music and poetry which colored their college experiences. The mystery itself was compelling, although I was a little disappointed with the ending, which sort of fizzled after such a big buildup. This book didn’t quite live up to the ideal of The Virgin Suicides, but I enjoyed every bit of it and would recommend to all except those who are triggered by suicides.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read this e-ARC in exchange for my opinions.