First time reading this author and was not disappointed. The book is a fast-paced novella with an interesting story. There are moments of humor that break up the dark theme present in the book. The writing is engaging and keeps the pages turning.

The story is told by an FMC who is struggling to figure things out with her life. She struggles with self-confidence, jealousy, and memories buried deep. The horror aspect of the story builds slowly, providing the reader with answers to the FMC's struggles.

Highly recommended for a quick read. Looking forward to checking out other works by Sarah Langan.

The cover? Love it. The blurb? Intriguing. The fact that the characters attended my dad’s alma mater? Strange, but it won me over for some reason. I had to read it.

This novella was short but it packed a punch. It kept me guessing throughout, but at the end I was left with some unanswered questions. A bit longer and I think the ending would’ve felt less abrupt and some loose ends would’ve been tied up.

Thanks to NetGalley & RDS Publishing for the ARC!

I think this book started out kind of strong, but by the end it lost the plot. I got sorta lost with Janet's memory issues vis a vis Pam, and a lot of the things I wanted explained, weren't. It also ended very abruptly which I didn't like. It feels like the author wanted to pack in SO MUCH information, but only had 100 pages to do it for some reason. I think it might've been a better book if it was longer, and things were actually explained and fleshed out. Hopefully this book will be someone else's cup of tea, but it wasn't mine.

Thank you to Sarah Langan, RDS Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC!

The cover art drew me in and the story kept me there! I really enjoy Pam Kowolski is a Monster! It was a short and suspenseful read. I was left with questions and wanting more! I really enjoyed that characters and the pacing of the story!

What a fun book this was!

It's mysterious, has some dark humor, and has a surprising amount of heart (and heartbreak).

I loved our characters and found myself very intrigued by whether or not Pam was legit - I'll leave you to discover that on your own.

A unique, fast read that I loved!

Sarah Langan's short novel -- Pam Kowolski is a Monster! -- is what someone would expect to find if they were plopped down in a horror movie, and discovered the events were all true, all real, happening to them and not just something they could distance themselves from by getting up and exiting the theater or turning off the television as if this was a Saturday morning matinee.

And that surreal feeling grows throughout the pages as Janet Chow examines her life and her rivalry with the tele-psychic Madam Pamela, her former high school friend and nemesis, Pam Kowolski.

Every book I've read by Langan covers new ground; the stories don't repeat, except they all unsettle -- and the feeling is good.

This novella is incredible. What starts as a petty high school grievance becomes a hugely emotional, poignant, and insanely horrifying and even funny journey to truth. The way Langan sends up the whole TV medium while also not doing a single thing in a disrespectful or predictable way is incredible and so impressive. This book is incredible and fun and scary and a must read!

thank you to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review!

not really sure what to make of this one. I think it had quite a few really poignant moments and interesting turns. but it's also so off the wall in a way that didn't work for me, and there's ultimately no conclusion to... anything? I don't mind stuff being left up to your imagination, obviously, but it all just kinda ends.

there's a Les Mis shoutout though!

Pam Kowolski Is a Monster starts out feeling like a slightly unhinged revenge story and slowly morphs into something much weirder. Janet Chow, once a high school overachiever, is now a washed-up journalist with nothing to her name but a pile of ignored emails and a grudge that just won’t die. Pam Kowolski.

Back in the day, Pam was a nobody. Now, she’s famous, rich, and recognized as a psychic guru who predicts the end of the world. Janet is bitter, broke, and not above a little righteous takedown. She’s sure it has to be a scam. So she sets out to expose Pam. The more she digs, the stranger things get. The past isn’t adding up the way she remembers, and Pam’s doomsday visions start to feel unsettlingly accurate.

This book is fast, sharp, and funny. At just 120 pages, it’s worth a try.

Read several Sarah Langan's novels years ago, but haven't lately. After reading this, I'm not sure why. This novel was great. Wasn't what I usually read, but definitely kept my attention, wanting to know what happens next. Will definitely be trying to find what I've missed of her, and waiting for future novels. #PamKowolskiisaMonster #NetGalley

If there was a Big Reveal in my life, it would be an anticlimactic letdown because I exist on microcosmic scales. But I’m good with that, even if it means I’ll never be a world famous psychic, who may or may not be bringing upon the apocalypse on camera.

This book was a zippy, mind-melting jaunt. It left me feeling off consistently kilter with its surrealist quality, but never in a way that was unpalatable. I was captivated by its thrust, and I needed to know what the ending had in store. Although, that ending is where I think the story falls down. I didn’t enjoy its abruptness. I’m all for filling in some blanks, but there needs to be some surrounding material for there to be some blanks that need filling. This was really a non-ending for me, and it just didn’t work. I could have used another 30 pages to bring this story to a close.

janet chow was supposed to be a big deal. back in high school, she had the ambition, the attitude, and the “I’m-better-than-you” energy to match. fast-forward twenty-something years, and, uh… she’s a walking L. her journalism career? dead. her motivation? MIA. her best accomplishment? knowing exactly how long she can ignore an email before people think she died. and then BAM—in walks Pam Kowolski. Pam freaking Kowolski. Janet’s high school nemesis, a former nobody who somehow finessed her way into becoming America’s favorite psychic-slash-guru-slash-cult-leader. Pam is rich, famous, and predicting the end of the world, and people are eating it up. meanwhile, Janet is struggling to eat three balanced meals a day.

well obviously, Pam’s a fraud. she has to be. no way did the girl who once wore Crocs to prom just wake up one day with supernatural powers. Janet smells a scam, and as a (former) journalist, she sees an opportunity: expose Pam, ruin her empire, and maybe—just maybe—reclaim a shred of her dignity. only problem? the deeper Janet digs, the weirder things get. the past isn’t as simple as she remembers. Pam’s predictions start feeling…a little too real. and the more Janet obsesses over proving Pam wrong, the more she starts to wonder: what if she’s actually right?

THIS BOOK WAS WILD! it's giving Unhinged Millennial Journalist vs. TikTok Psychic With A God Complex. it was hilarious, snarky, and just creepy enough to make you double-check your horoscope. if you love messy main characters, high school grudges that never die, and existential dread with a side of “oh sh*t, maybe the world is ending,” then this one’s for you.

10/10 recommend.

In this freaky creepy novella, a woman is forced to confront her past and realizes she might be an unreliable narrator of her own life.

Set in the near future (2031), a woman working in a warehouse while trying to be a journalist sees something shocking. A psychic who goes by the name Madame Pamela is wildly successful. She's built an empire on her readings. But our protagonist knows this woman. And their relationship in school was marred by... something.

Now our protagonist sees a chance to right some wrongs by doing a hit piece on Pam, calling her out as a fraud. But with a big Livestream coming up which promises to show things humans shouldn't see, suicides are up and acts of senseless violence dominate the country.

Is Pamela a fraud or is she bringing the end of the world? And what exactly happened as a child?

This novella is a twisty psychological horror and features some fantastic scenes which are horrific to think about. You're never quite sure what motivated this hatred of Pam from the protagonist but eventually we'll gain some insight as to what actually happened as children.

This book ends abruptly but leaves it to your imagination about what comes next. I actually enjoyed that for this book. I highly recommend it.

The Day the Big Reveal Never Came...

Janet Chow hates her life, though she is loathe to admit it. Her dazzling aspirations and world-changing journalist dreams have become little more than fuel on her never-ending fire of self-loathing and her hatred and anger toward others. She's middle-aged with nothing to show for it: she has no life experience, has been in the same dead-end job for years, and lives in a rundown apartment with a stoner roommate she despises, and who equally despises her. The only thing that keeps her going is her unhealthy relationship with her television and her ongoing grudge against whatever narc ended her college admission at Northwestern.

Enter world-famous medium Madame Pamela, lovingly donned by Janet as "one of the many crackpots who charged exorbitant fees for psychic video readings," A.K.A. Pam Kowolski, Janet's old high school nemesis. What comes next is a crazed tell-all revenge plot, in which Janet aims to uncover Madame Pamela as the fraud she is, derail her upcoming "Big Reveal," and gain the justice she so rightfully deserves for her ruined life.

But when Janet starts to dig around into her high school past, she begins to learn that nothing is as she remembers. Is Pam Kowolski really the beginning of her villain origin story, or has Janet been to blame all along?

Langan's novella is “Sharp Objects” if it were perpetually trashed off dollar-store shots of whiskey and Adderall. It's witty, dark, compelling, and most of all, addictive. But this novella is not without its own dose of self-hatred, because for some reason, you just can't stop reading. And rooting for a main character that's kind of unhinged?

But there are way more questions left than answered when all is said is done. Plot points that were alluded to but never resolved, trains of thought that were started but never finished. Where was the closure? Where were the explanations to half-begun stories?

I love me an unreliable narrator, but when every avenue of storyline ends in a question mark, what is the point of reading? I surely can't find one. It's almost as if the author wrote a brilliant first half of the story, and then gave the rest to an AI to come up with the lackluster ending.

If this had been a novel, I'd like to think that the storyline would've connected better, instead of leaving so many loose ends.

PAM KOWOLSKI IS A MONSTER!: 1.5 stars.
Thank you to the publisher for this e-arc.

This cover drew me in even before I realized it was by Sarah Langan.
I absolutely loved this horror novella and highly recommend this one.
Was def over too fast

Thanks to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for the advanced copy.

This novella caught my eye with a fun cover and intriguing blurb. I normally wait for a few reviews first but given this was a novella I figured it couldn't be a big waste of time at least - and I'm glad to say it wasn't at all!

Sarah Langan has written something special here. It's a work on memory and self-esteem, and how getting lost in your head, in your own thoughts, can make you your own worst enemy. The horror is multi-layered and very effective, as we see the effects of Pamela's "big reveal". It's difficult to discuss without giving away too much - this story is short enough to be consumed within an hour, and meaty enough to leave you thinking about it for days. Or weeks. I know it'll be on my mind for a long time.

Langan is an excellent writer as well, with vivid descriptions in the now and murkier in the past, only getting clearer as the main character learns the truth as well.

This kind of gives some things away but it's similar to: Nightbitch, American Psycho, Pulse/Kairo (the films)

I really wish this wasn't as short as it was!
A quick-witted and sharp novella that most 40 somethings could relate to 😂
Ok, maybe just me .... I share a few sentiments of Janet's

What a weird, witty, and strange novella! I really enjoyed this book and was hooked by the casual, conversational tone and truly unsettling sequences throughout. Creepy moments along with a jaded, sarcastic unreliable narrator? Yes, please!

Janet is trying to score an interview with her high school nemesis, Pam Kowolski who is now a famous psychic about to do a big reveal of what the future holds--and it doesn't seem good. As Janet researches and digs further into her own and Pam's past, it just gets crazier and more disturbing. I really wish this one had been a full-length novel. I wanted more.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Witty, clever, unsettling, and downright eerie- this is the kind of novella that will stick with you long after the last page. The perfect blend of humour and horror.

Many thanks to NetGalley and RDS Publishing | Raw Dog Screaming Press for providing an eARC of Pam Kowolski is a Monster! prior to publication.

Thank you for providing me with an ARC. I gave this novella 4 stars. It was an engaging and fast-paced read.

Each chapter had me second-guessing my suspicions about Janet, but most of my theories turned out to be wrong. The story kept me interested, and the cover was appealing as well.

Though it's a short book, it was exciting enough that I found myself wishing for a prequel to explore the characters more deeply.

Overall, it was a quick, suspenseful mystery.