I was immediately drawn to Doll Parts because of the Virgin Suicides reference—add Sylvia Plath and I’m sold. Haven’t we all had a Sylvia sad girl phase? The writing and structure of this debut really impressed me. I just wish it had a tighter edit and fewer loose ends. I’d recommend it to anyone into haunting, dark academia or books like Bunny by Mona Awad. Extra points for all the Plath references.

The title of this book is what drew me to it but I struggled to get into it and the only thing that kept me going was the continuous emails from NetGalley to review it. I wanted to like this book so so much but I just could not. The story overall unraveled slowly to me and some chapters were easier to get through than others.

I am new to Thriller and Dark Academia so maybe I just need to read more and the come back and re-read this but that is something for me to decide later.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I tried starting this multiple times and simply cannot connect to it/get started with it. The premise sounds very interesting and I would love to pick it up again later when I’m more in the mood for it, but for now I’m soft DNFing. Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the arc!

Doll Parts is a gritty, eerie collection with a strong horror aesthetic and flashes of originality. Penny Zang leans into the grotesque with confidence, offering stories that are vivid, strange, and often unsettling. Some tales hit hard and linger, while others feel underdeveloped or too brief to fully land their emotional or thematic punches.

The tone and voice are consistent throughout, which helps tie the collection together, but a few stories start to blend together by the end. Still, for fans of body horror, surreal storytelling, and dark feminist themes, this is a bold and worthwhile read—just a bit uneven in execution.

This was very unique. I enjoyed the duel timelines and points of view. The dark academia. This was almost haunting but for sure a psychological mystery. The friendship was very complicated to say the least. This book will pull you and you will not want to put it down.

‘Told in a dual timeline, Doll Parts is an evocative and irresistible debut, at once an exploration of the dark chasms that break apart friendships, an ode to the aching beauty of girlhood, and a sharp portrayal of grief that can physically haunt you. ‘

Doll Parts was such an unpredicted, impressive and formidable debut.

There’s so many moving parts here. What with the alternating timelines and POV’s, the details, the intricacies, oddities and happenstances. It could have so easily played out in a stretchy, convoluted and implausible sort of way. But it didn’t.

Zang connected and delineated this very complex story that feels seasoned and almost harmonic for the reader, even with the troubling subject matter, which there was plenty of.

Haunting, puzzling and clenching, the pages don’t stand a chance to be left in peace while being held in any pair of hands.

I genuinely can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for review.

Pub: 8.26.2025.

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOK Landmark for the eARC.
The writing was excellent, but I couldn't wrap my head around the plot. The story appealed to me, but it was convoluted and I struggled and finally gave up and DNF.

Doll Parts is the most mesmerizing and original book I’ve encountered in a long time. It promises an eerie and addictive story that will pull readers in and not let go. With Penny Zang’s extraordinary talent, I have no doubt I would eagerly read anything else she crafts. This dark, atmospheric exploration of friendship, exploitation, and female rage is sure to resonate deeply, delving into the most vulnerable and turbulent stages of womanhood.

A haunting experience, as this book offers an exquisite exploration and sharp critique of our cultural obsession with pretty dead girls. The riveting mystery pieced together by two fascinating and complex protagonists will surely keep readers on the edge of their seats. Much like a beloved collection of poetry, this story will be worth carrying around, dog-earing, highlighting, and returning to time and again.

This will undoubtedly be one of the most unexpectedly imaginative and soulful suspense novels we’ve seen in some time. Its blend of suspense and lyricism defines the essence of great poetry.

With its twisty, bold narrative pulsing with the fever dream of 90s girlhood, this book is a unique genre: part mystery, part dirge, and part love letter to Baltimore. It is also a postpartum story and a celebration of fierce female friendship. Penny Zang is set to deliver a glorious indictment of our cultural obsession with dead girls—so well-written and engaging that we’ll discover its true depths as we dive in.


a haunting and well-crafted debut that features poetic writing and immense heart. This story about the friendship between women—particularly the theme of lost friendship and the culture’s fixation on dead women—strikes just the right balance of weirdness to emphasize the dark and tragic parts. I anticipate feeling a sense of longing when it concludes, and I will undoubtedly find myself reading it again.

It’s a stunningly written debut that delves into a college with a dark history of “sad girls” obsessed with Sylvia Plath. The journey of two best friends forever changed by their experiences there will be profound. The characterization of both Nikki and Sadie will be outstanding, and I am eager to see how the mystery surrounding the Sylvia girls and Nikki’s death unfolds. Penny Zang is undoubtedly an author to watch!

- thanks to sourcebooks landmark & NetGalley for giving me a chance to read and review this book -

When a book draws you in from the very first page, you know it’s going to be a page turner. I loved this from the first second!! It drew me in and kept me wanting to read more. This was sooo good. I love the way it was written. I love the music that was mentioned throughout the book. The main characters were super relatable and like able. 4/5 only because the middle seemed to drag on for a bit. But the ending was so good.

DOLL PARTS by Penny Vang

5⭐️

An immersive read told in dual timelines perspectives of best friends Nikki and Sadie. I enjoyed the writing style; sometimes it wasn’t very straightforward and you’re left to assume. the story was nostalgic and ghostly + tragic including a string of suicides and professors who cross student/teacher boundaries

DOLL PARTS by Penny Zang is a fantastic debut taking place across two timelines. Both Sadie's and Nikki's voices are fully inhabited, and I was fascinated by the way each voice added rich context and perspective to the other's. The way Zang builds suspense and dread in each timeline kept me turning pages, and I loved all the details about the girls' late 90s outfits and accessories, as well as their jokes and the language they built with each other. The relationship between Sadie and Nikki was perfectly complicated and the undercurrent of class that impacted their decisions was really well done. I also really enjoyed the way Zang rendered the relationship between Sadie and Caroline. This is a love letter to friendship, to the girls we were and the women we become, to the pop culture that made us, and to Baltimore. I look forward to reading everything Penny Zang writes next! Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

I sadly DNF'd this one. GAH I hate that.

I was drawn in by the cover and mention of grunge nostalgia. However this shit is my fault because I hated the The Virgin Suicides and am not a Sylvia Plath girlie. HELLO? What was I thinking requesting this book that is just that?

I was thinking I loved the cover so much that I wanted to love the book toooooooooooooooooo!

I enjoyed this debut — a mystery, even thriller, of a woman who’s in her former best friend’s life after the best friend dies. It’s propulsive and interesting, and unlike other books I’ve read!

I was very impressed how unique this book was, a great addition to the “weird sad girl” / “ghost chic” lit fic genre. Its Baltimore roots were firm, its nods to Plath were excellent, and there were plot twists that definitely made me gasp. It was more literary than a standard thriller, and I loved how Zang took us for that ride.

I’d recommend to anyone who is interested, and thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Doll Parts seemed my jam. I love anything dark academia. I love anything with toxic friendships. This book filled my need for all of these tropes. I really enjoyed it. Being Gen-X, I loved the timeline, all the references to all things from the late 90's from the clothing to the music. The only thing is, is that sometimes, I got confused with the alternating chapters between Sadie and Nikki. It may have been drawn out a little more than necessary. Those are my only 2 issues with it. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. 3.5 stars.

I loved this book. From the 90s nostalgia to the deeply wrought, complicated female friendship, to the mystery throughout, I was on-board. The alternating perspectives of past and present, as well as the nicely dropped details throughout, kept me in suspense, while the prose was beautiful and powerful. Zang has a winner on her hands here, and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

WOW I did not know I was waiting for this 2025 ARC to inspire me to improve my own writing at line level. I got about ten pages into the first chapter of DOLL PARTS by Penny Zang and was so taken by the writing style and quality of the prose that I was immediately and thought-provokingly drawn in. DOLL PARTS is a compelling, sensory, smart, unique, and very atmospheric read, but also relatable because so many of the emotional beats could be taken from my own friendships and ordinary life as a mom and wife. And yet the depiction is also like that certain slant of light…where it causes you to see everything completely differently.

Dang, this woman can WRITE. 🙌🏼 I am very inspired, impressed, and thoroughly enjoyed this dark academia/thriller combination. The music references are great and really well incorporated. Also be ready to shiver in parts of this story. 👻✨

(Thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks for the ARC.)

Wow. This book was moody, mysterious, and well crafted. I enjoyed the mystery that unfolded through two perspectives and timelines. The two main characters felt real, messy and at times unlikable, but intriguing. I loved it!

this unfortunately took me sooo long to get in to the writing BUT once i was hooked i didn’t put the book down! the povs were good, i was stuck trying to figure out the hidden part and a little disappointed we didn’t get a real ending with all the answers but i enjoyed the read!

This hauntingly nostalgic mystery/thriller lured me away from my family so many times because I couldn’t put it down! I locked myself away in the final chapters because I knew I’d feel completely hollowed out in the best of ways. Riveting, exquisite prose. A must-read.

OK, just WOW! I had no idea what to expect, as academia thrillers can be hit or miss for me! This one was a hit and so much more!! Nikki and Sadie are college besties. Something happens. They are estranged for 20 years. Nikki marries Harrison. Nikki kills herself. Flash forward and Sadie is living with and has a baby with.....DUN DUN DUN!! HARRISON!! Wait, WHAT?? So, we basically get two different but connected mysteries. What happened in the past and what is going on now. Both are page turners, and I had to know what happened! This was a stunning debut, and I cannot wait for more from Penny Zang!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Penny Zang and Sourcebooks/Landmark for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication day of August 26th.