When light hits a CD and bends into a spectrum of brilliant, jagged beams shooting outwards in all directions and altering reality, that's how reading Doll Parts feels. Penny Zang's writing refracts memory and emotion into something so profoundly strange, poetic and haunting. This debut novel is a 90s dreamscape that's twisted yet tender, melancholy, and deeply rooted with feminine energy and friendship.
I was first drawn in by the cover of a grainy photograph of a mascara smeared woman. What waited on the pages, with its dual timelines, poetic prose, and sharp ache of nostalgia pulled me under and refused to let go. Every page bled out with angst, music, details that felt like memories and reminders of how multi dimensional women are.
This is not a novel l read, I absorbed it. I cried into it, clinging to me like eyeliner smudged after a night spent driving with the windows down, dresses flying all around and Tori Amos or Veruca Salt is turned all the way up. It became part of me and pieces of the mystery replay in the back of my mind. Doll Parts is a debut that feels like memories and grief with well written, unforgettable, messy characters.
Endless stars.
Must read for even those who don't gravitate towards mystery but love 90s, female fronted girl grunge, Sylvia Plath and wax poetic about how bitchin' your best friend/ soul mate truly is.

I loved this book. It had me pining for my college years while also sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened. When I picked it up, I didn't realize it was going to be a dark academia story - and I am so glad that it was. It felt sad and gothic in all the good ways. I loved the witch vibes, I loved the mystery, and I loved the writing. So well done!!

A chilling and dark story about the loss of a friend and how secrets held the two together. But, as time goes on and the friend is no longer there, the secrets are no longer there as well band the past comes to haunt the present.

Due to the great reviews for this, I was excited to get the chance to read it. Thanks NetGalley! What I found is that it is not for me. Maybe it's a genre I don't really understand. The different timelines and narrators got confusing, but overall it was just quite an odd read. And that's OK, just not for me.

Doll parts is a perfectly engrossing thriller for the end of summer. Sadie and Nikki have been best friends since tragedy and trauma bonded them together in junior high school. College for them was to be a fresh start for them both together-but they find that there as is. Legacy of suicides on campus surrounding a club of girls referred to as the Sylvia Plath club. Nikki, a talented and aspiring writer, becomes obsessed with the dark history of the Plath girls and brings on a bigger tragedy that ultimately separates her and Sadie.

Years later, Nikki has also died by suicide and a grief stricken Sadie has married Nikki’s husband. There are signs of Nikki all over urging Sadie to finish what they started years ago and find the truth behind the Plath club girls before it’s too late.

Haunting, gothic, and engrossing-I loved this one. This hit perfectly and I think it will fly under the radar but it shouldn’t. This is worth checking out and the comps all match perfectly. Told in dual timelines between Nikki and in the past and Sadie in the present-both are fully fleshed out and formed voices worth following.

Thanks to the publisher for providing this arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sad girl lit meets suspense meets ultimate 1990s grrl indulgence… This is Doll Parts. This excellent novel takes place in two timelines. The 1990s (the college years) and modern day. As I have a that big-age-energy now (my decade starts with a 4) I felt really connected with the over all zeitgeist.

Obviously this book struck a chord with me as the main characters came of age in the 1990s surrounded by incredible alt rock by the likes of Hole and Soundgarden. (My only criticism is there was no mention of Smashing Pumpkins, of course that would come from me.) But this book isn’t just a candy-coated nostalgia trip, it dealt with issues surrounding coming of age and womanhood. This fun read is also a good thriller-mystery. There are all kinds of sketchy characters with motives to do horrible things. Zang took it somewhere I wasn’t expecting either, and that was just amazing.

The Book ends with reading suggestions on Sylvia Plath and a alt-rock 90s play list. These are both a fantastic cherry on the top!

Doll Parts was intriguing. I loved the storyline - all womens school, deaths, suicide, tragedy.

Dual timeline -- past and present.

Great writing!
It hooked me at first but then I started to lose interest. Overall a good debut though!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks/Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Not without flaws, but overall an intriguing read.

Since I landed firmly on the net positive side on this book, let’s get the not so great stuff out of the way first.

I think trying to compare this to things like I Have Some Questions for You was a mistake. That’s a really different style of book, for one thing, and because the mystery is so well-structured there, it spotlights the fact that in this book, there were some problems in that regard. And that would have been fine, since solving the mystery isn’t really the point here, but making the comparison forces the reader to consider them on the same set of merits.

Stylistically the closer comp here is probably A Crooked Tree, though that is significantly more atmospheric, which brings me to my second complaint about this book: For a story trying to lean heavily on girlhood in the 90s, there’s little descriptive content to anchor the story there. It’s mostly just drop-in mentions (A Cranberries song is playing on the radio), and I also had to heave a giant sigh at the fact that a book called Doll Parts spent more time talking about Kurt than Courtney.

But I loved the relationship between the girls, both in their youth and in how it factors into the current timeline after Nikki’s death. The book did an exceptionally good job of using both timelines and of fitting them together, which is a bit unusual considering how many failed dual timeline plots we see.

I’m not sure the ghost of Nikki aspect of this worked (it’s unclear whether this is even Magical Realism or just a grief-induced hallucination). But the real world ways in which Nikki still helps Sadie posthumously are really well-rendered, and I loved both the way they spoke of and thought of each other as well as the fact that in the end, their bond survived.

“I couldn’t take Sadie anywhere. It was her best quality.” So says Nikki, in a delightful observation of the conundrum of Sadie that shows how well these two women understood each other and also foreshadows the role reversal that happens later, as well as the fact that it’s circumstantial rather than an indicator that either of them is no longer the same person.

I don't like starting a book review with a negative, but I also don't like being dishonest. This book just didn't do it for me. I'm not going to gush about how much I wanted to love it. Those disclaimers out of the way, I can't help but think the author was trying too hard to incorporate the Sylvia Plath angle - I'd love to have read more about the sadness of the girls in the Sylvia Club. And I can't reconcile the 20 year gap between Nikki and Sadie being thick as thieves and the present day, after the long hiatus in their friendship. Clearly Sadie is living and not enjoying the life of her late best friend, bearing the child of Nikki's husband, it, and suddenly Nikki, in death, is trying to communicate with Sadie?? Sadie is a fish out of water.

I think the writing is clear and clever, at times I would say it's atmospheric, and the characters are mostly well developed. I am looking forward to more work from this author, there's a great deal of potential.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher, the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.

Sadie and Nikki were best friends until tragedy struck during their freshman year of college. Fast forward twenty years, Nikki is dead and Sadie is now living with Nikki’s husband and raising a baby with him. Despite the years gone by, he keeps Nikki’s office locked and untouched. When Sadie finally sneaks inside, she uncovers clues that lead back to their past. I found the story a little strange at times, but the twist near the end was good. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced reader’s copy.

Loved the pacing and the dual timeline of the story and the interactions between the characters in both timelines were so interesting. How the threads all came together at the end was so satisfying and just overall it had the perfect vibes and I was able to picture the college and the home and the experiences of the girls so clearly. The elements of grid that were explored were also really introspective underneath the rest of the drama and suspense of the rest of the troy and felt like it made everything that much more real. Love love love ! Also pretty scary at times though ,I was freaked!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy of this book.
Rating: 5/5

I'm not gonna lie.. this was a harder one for me to hype myself up to read once I got a couple chapters in. Knowing the premise of the book and my aversion to subjects that have affected my personal life, I was nervous about this. (Losing friendships, growing pains, etc). I am so glad I pushed through it, though.
At the heart of this book is friendship, and the things we do for the people we love. I love how Penny really made Sadie and Nikki's voices differ, and having the two timelines: the current one where Nikki is gone, and the year before Sadie and Nikki are no longer friends. It's haunting, moving, and it made me frustrated in the best ways, because I would think I was on the right path only for Penny to blow that one out of the water. I'm grateful for Bad Bitch Book Club having this as one of our monthly reads, because this is a phenomenal book. I cannot wait to talk about it with others and see their perspectives on it!

⭐️: 2.5

The description of the book really intrigued me and so did this book like the first 30% but after that I unfortunately started to get a little bored and at times felt like a lot of nothing was happening. I really thought maybe the end would have made the journey worth it but unfortunately for me it just didn’t.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Rating: 3.5/5
Though my college days were quite some time ago and my memory of Sylvia Plath is next to nil, it didn’t stop me from enjoying Penny Zang’s Doll Parts. It's a suspenseful, twisty story full of mystery and what will happen next moments in a “I know what you did last summer” kind of way. Or, as the description says, “The Virgin Suicides.”

I read “Doll Parts” in one sitting, and I always feel that these types of books are suited to be like this, so the reader doesn’t miss any details. The story goes from the past to the present, detailing what occurred between Sadie and Nikki. While Nikki dives deeper into a story within the all-women’s college, an unfortunate circumstance also impacts their future.

Doll Parts was an interesting story. I appreciated how the author weaved the plot; however, it was sometimes a bit confusing for me to follow, but I was entertained.

Eerie & chilling, this is the perfect “weird girl lit” i love and crave. Every book I’ve read from Sourcebooks publishing has been awesome.

Thank you @bookmarked for the gifted digital arc!

‘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.’

Overall, I enjoyed this dark academia mystery with its unique writing style, 90s nostalgia, and abundant Sylvia Plath references. The main character’s situation in the current timeline was confusing to me at first, but it all makes more sense by the end. The story really took off for me at the halfway mark, as the secrets of the past are revealed and it all connects. It’s a haunting story that will really stay with me.

Rating 4⭐️

Doll Parts by Penny Zang ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book refused to be put in a box with its zombies and ruminations and suspense. The style of the writing was unique and recognizable; the tone a blend of melancholy, nostalgia, and foreboding. The story was a precise blend of gothic imagery, dark academia, and haunted pasts.

I struggled a bit with the pacing. Even with the dual timelines and POVs, it unraveled so slowly. I appreciated the tension building, but I felt underwhelmed by the ending. After all the build up, I expected the ending to give much more. I also struggled a bit with believing in the friendship between Sadie and Nikki, and the plot relied on that belief. College-aged Sadie & Nikki, I believed, but I didn’t buy into the present timeline; it was too contradictory.

This was definitely an interesting read that refused to be just one thing. Fans of dark reads, slow reads perfect for fall, and books that have descriptive prose will enjoy this one.

Doll Parts by Penny Zang

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Babes…the feral beast that I became in the pursuit of securing myself an ARC of this book is wiiiiild! But ya girl finally did just that and I’ve truly never been more grateful. This was a 5 Star read for me, without a trace of doubt! From the dedication, to the accompanying playlist and the breathtakingly beautiful + tragic work of art that they bookend, I was utterly hooked the whole way through! 🤩

The story follows Nikki & Sadie, who’ve been best friends since they were 7 years old. It follows a dual timeline of their college days and then nearly 2 decades after that. In the latter timeline, Nikki is dead and Sadie is enthralled by figuring out why & how.

Their college days are filled with secrets, seances, shady professors, the most nostalgic song references ever and the Sylvia Club, aptly named for the mysterious deaths of many female students that have plagued the campus throughout the decades. Their ghosts haunt Nikki and she is determined to get to the bottom of what really happened to them all.

The author does such a brilliant job of toeing the line between is this real or am I losing my mind and it kept me literally unable to put my Kindle down as Sadie follows the clues that Nikki left behind for her to aid in figuring out whodunnit.

I truly never wanted this one to end and I just don’t wanna give too much away, y’all! I cannot possibly recommend it enough and I really hope that you love it just as deeply as I do! Happy Pub Day (8/26/25) 💕

My sincerest and most heartfelt gratitude to @pennyzang & @netgalley for allowing me to ARC read this new favorite book of mine! 🥹🫶🏼

WOW this book was made for me! The 90’s nostalgia, the Sylvia Club, the wistfulness of Sadie and Nikki’s friendship. This was the perfect book to kickstart fall for me. It was so unpredictable, so heart clenching and haunting. I cannot wait to see what Penny Zang does next!