4.5 stars.

This book follows Janet, a 40 something year old woman stuck in a dead-end job, who holds a deep level of resentment for Pam Kowolski, a former classmate turned world-famous psychic medium. She is certain Pam is a phony, and causes harm to vulnerable people, so she sets out on a mission to expose her.
I was initially pulled in by the pop art cover of this book, having no idea what it was about, but I'm really glad I picked it up.
What I thought was the straightforward story of a woman plotting vengeance for old wrongs turned out to be an affecting horror about the lasting effects of grief and trauma. It didn't quite get five stars because there were a few convenient plot contrivances that bothered me a tiny bit.
Really good though, and one I'll definitely think about.

Thank you Sarah Langan, Raw Dog Screaming Press (lol), and NetGalley for the ARC!

How about a short little review for this short little novella?

For real, this book just zips by. It was to the point where I could physically see that I only had a few minutes left of it on my kindle and I couldn't believe my eyes. I wanted more from the ending and didn't appreciate it's abrupt halt! Langan's writing is decently good and borderline surrealist (which i'm into idk), but it would've benefited from maybe like thirty more pages? Is that too much to ask?

Special thank you to #NetGalley and Raw Dog Screaming Press for the eARC.

Immensely gripping and readable tale of two women who went opposite directions, PAM KOWALSKI IS A MONSTER! is a dark horse of a novella. I do tip my hat to any novella that can pack so much character in under 150 pages, yet Sarah Langan not only injects life into Janet, our POV throughout the story, but also happens to pack in creeping, unsettling dread as the countdown timer to Madam Pamela’s Big Reveal ticks down. The interviews, the backstory and that growing dread make PAM KOWALSKI a truly entertaining read as one barn burner of a book.

Janet’s life and career has gone rudderless all the way to middle age. Her high school classmate Pamela went viral and became a psychic influencer. Envy and jealousy rule the roost in Janet’s heart but things seem amiss when Madam Pamela has a Big Reveal that has her fandom saying is a “revelation of biblical proportions.” If ‘revelation’ and ‘biblical’ isn’t much of a hint, we have a fantastic story leading us up to it, as Janet pulls all the research and strings to score an interview with her old schoolmate.

Sarah Langan did an excellent job and Raw Dog did exceptional work editing and packing this tiny novella into the apocalyptic beast it is. It kind of stinks that the story is so short, because the writing is very readable and character revelations and development are just top notch. I look forward to more work from everyone involved and if you have a spare sit down or a few hours to spare and need a dark, wild yet awesome story to pass the time, you need to check PAM KOWALSKI out.

This story, while short, packed a punch. From the cover alone I was hooked. It sounds like it would be in the perspective of the mean girl in high school who would rather blame the innocent girl she bullied for her problems rather than take accountability. This, however, was not the case, and I'm okay with that. Rather than have one person be the immediate villain, the story sends a message that two people who are hurt and do not know what the other person is going through are capable of saying some awful things, but they are both struggling in their own ways. There is not a villain, they are just complex people with complex feelings. It was an interesting and honestly touching story, I just wish I could find out how it ended! Thank you NetGalley and RDS Publishing for the ARC, and thank you Sarah Langan for writing it.

I gave this book my all but it's now for me. I had trouble with keeping up, almost too unhinged for me, I presume.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Fun in a sinister way! This is an intense, fast-paced read with some really interesting characters. None of them are particularly likeable - they’re flawed and a bit unsettling… but that’s what makes them so compelling. Langan’s writing is dark and witty, and she does a great job of balancing the supernatural elements with deeper emotional themes like unresolved trauma, jealousy, and the importance of human connection.

3.75 ⭐️!! I’m not usually a horror girlie but this short story was so fascinating and instantly hooked me. I loved that it has so many layers of friendship, trauma, and grief, with a spooky paranormal / dystopian feeling element. I do feel like it ended very quickly and could have been a little longer / added a bit more to the story, but overall after feeling a rollercoaster of emotions, this story was really good!! Thank you so much NetGalley & Sarah Langan for the ARC 💞

This is a punchy novella with fantastic cover art. It starts off with Janet who hates everyone! Especially her old high school nemesis, Pam Kowolski, now a viral psychic set to destroy reality. Janet is slightly unhinged and bent on revenge with a plan to write an article exposing Pam as a fraud. She contacts old teachers and student acquaintances, but something’s not adding up - her memories are patchy and not at all accurate. She makes some huge realizations about the past, and about herself. This story is really about trauma, friendship, and survival. It’s witty and funny, weird, and slightly reminiscent of Carrie by King. I love the voice and how it’s written… and the chapter titles are fantastic.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This one was so much fun! I did not know what to expect going in initially and I think that it's the only correct way of doing it. You would be better very surprised by what this book has in store for you. The Mean Girls vibes, our main character's spiral, it's just too enjoyable to read. A very fun palate cleanser to say the least.

ummm I don't get this book. lol. while I was really interested in our slightly unhinged main character in the beginning, I just really don't get what the book was trying to say or where it went. I've seen several people say they love the themes of friendship - I didn't pick up on those. this author always has the coolest concepts but I just don't think her writing is for me unfortunately!

I really enjoyed this one! It’s one of those novellas that grabs your attention right away and keeps you flipping the pages, wanting just a little more. Short but impactful. The concept of arrows really stood out to me. It made sense. It stuck with me.

This was really short but kind of weird.
I didn't get half of it but it definitely was readable .
Neither pam or Jan were nice people.
I don't know what more to say but the book was definitely just ok.

Thank you to Sarah Langan and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to confess, I judged this book by its (gorgeous) cover! And it did not disappoint! This novella starts as a sort of revenge tale where you root for the protagonist, until things get weird, and you don't know who to root for, and you just want to hug everyone. It's absolutely funny and gory, and a bit sad too. In the end we have a beautiful story about trauma, expectations, and the way we let people (or things) have power over us. Definitely recommend if you're looking for something short, bloody, and insane, in the best way possible.

Pam Kowolski Is a Monster was a strange and twisty little ride. There were moments where the pacing felt a bit slow, and I caught myself wondering where it was all heading. At the same time, I still needed to know what was going to happen next. Something about it kept pulling me in.

The story does a good job of exploring complicated emotions like jealousy, regret, and the lingering impact of unresolved relationships. Janet’s obsession with Pam was frustrating at times but also really fascinating to watch unfold. I was never completely sure who I was meant to be siding with, which made things more interesting.

The ending, though, felt very abrupt. After everything the book built up, I expected a bit more time to process it all. It left me feeling slightly unsatisfied, like the story ended just a little too soon.

Overall, this is a compelling and thought-provoking novella. Even though the pacing and ending did not fully work for me, I still found it worth the read. If you enjoy character-driven stories with a psychological edge, this one is worth checking out.

Sarah Langan -- what a talent!!

💙♥️💛💙♥️💛💙♥️💛💙♥️💛💙

I'm sort of at a loss for what to say about Pam Kowolski Is a Monster! This Horror Novella is a unique glimpse into one woman's life as she works through her complicated feelings in regards to her high school nemesis, Pam Kowolski.

Janet, our MC, is a woman who once confidently believed her life was going places. Unfortunately, it hasn't panned out quite the way she expected. Her journalism career is in the toilet, she has nobody to come home to at night, she's a lone wolf. How did her life turn out this way?
While she's not exactly sure, she can't help but feel like darn Pam Kowloski had something to do with it. That girl. Grrrrrrrrrr, even thinking of her gets Janet's hackles up.

Surfing mindless media one day, Janet comes across a super popular psychic predicting the end of the world. Sure, this could be a disturbing predication, but the predication itself isn't what has Janet's jaw on the floor. This popular psychic is none other than Pam Kowolski!

Janet sees through her. This predication isn't even true, and Pam Kowolski is an absolute fraud. Janet will not rest until she can bring her down off her perfect pedestal. But in order to reveal Pam as the con artist she is, Janet will have to dig deep into their past, uncovering things she may have conveniently forgotten.

This was an odd little story, but it was super compelling. I read this in a day, because I couldn't put it down. There was no way really to predict where it was going. I've read two novels from Langan before, and really enjoyed both of them. Her writing is wild and wicked, but also quite subtle. It's not throwing a lot of body horror, or things of that nature, in your face. I feel like Langan is very smart with her choices of how she builds out characters, and naturally reveals what's going on in their minds; their intentions and neuroses.

The vibes of this are unsettling, but it's really difficult to explain why. I think maybe they came mostly from the uncomfortable position of being in Janet's mind, and I loved how the truth was revealed. There were moments that gave me chills, just from learning new insights and seeing how the puzzle fit together. I would def recommend this if you enjoy Weird Fiction; something you end up a little unsure how to classify.

It's surprising to me how much Langan was able to do in this with so few pages. Sometimes with a novella, I feel slightly unsatisfied, like I want more, but I didn't feel that way here. I thought this was the length it needed to be in order to be effective.

Thank you to the publisher, Raw Dog Screaming Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Sarah Langan was already an auto-read author for me, and this only solidifies that status more!

💋 NetGalley: Pam Kowolski is a Monster!
Pub date 5/21/25

An interestingly fun and disturbing novella of revenge. How we sometimes think things went down, aren’t necessarily how it actually happened. The author did a wonderful job entangling mental disorders, addiction and fame with quirky characters.
I’d like to read more from Sarah Langan.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

4 stars

This is my first Sarah Langan book, and if this is her regular, I’m all in. I loved this, it had everything that was promised. It was engaging with great characters and just enough humor and creep factor.

I am rapidly becoming a diehard Sarah Langan fan. This was a weird, twisted, fabulously entertaining tale with an ending that I at first found frustrating, but upon further consideration actually think worked wonderfully well. It's a thought-provoking and hilariously dark story, full of bitterness and grudges and psychics and insanity - in the best possible way. Her writing is engaging and accessible and her characterizations are spot-on, as is her pacing.

This was a very fun read! I enjoyed following the FMC trying to make sense of today and trying to remember the past she had pushed to her subconscious. It was definitely more fun than horror. I wish there was a bit more at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Raw Dog Screaming Press for providing me with an electronic copy of this book to review.

If you like your horror punchy, strange, and full of personality, you must pick up Pam Kowolski is a Monster! by Sarah Langan. Janet knows her life was meant to be something else. She should have had a better job, have been people in her life, just better in general. And it all goes back to one girl in high school, Pam Kowolski. Janet hasn’t seen or her from Pam in eons, but Pam graces Janet’s screen as a highly successful psychic with loads of buzz. That can’t be right, can it? As Janet seeks to uncover how such a truly horrendous person could land where they are, the threads of reality begin to fall away for Janet, leaving her with one hell of a reckoning with both Pam and herself.

May I just start off by saying this story is WEIRD with the most capital W in one of the most unique ways possible. Being privy to the events that unfold and the examination Janet holds regarding Pam (and herself) is nothing short of interesting. It’s hard to know what’s up and down given Janet’s unmistakable personality, but this adds a layer of extreme uncanniness to every situation.

And uncanny this story is. I’m still debating the ending in my mind, figuring out what all this story is saying. There’s a lot of things Sarah Langan throws our way regarding the fallibility of memory, trauma, anger, repression, and reckonings. But perhaps the clearest idea I leave this story contemplating is cruelty. Cruelty towards others, ourself, how isolating such a thing is. A passionate dedication (undecidedly malevolent or candidly obsessive) that will leave the whole world to burn.

Paw Kowolski is a Moster! by Sarah Langan is such a unique story that offers an equally unique reading experience, and I highly recommend if you prefer to sit with your stories for a while.