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You're No Better
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Expected 20 Oct 26PREORDER NOW to receive the limited deluxe edition—only available on the first printing while supplies last! This striking deluxe hardcover edition features metallic edges, illustrated endpapers, a special case stamp, and foil jacket effects.
Bestselling author Andrew Joseph White returns with another horrific YA thriller: a profound portrait of a struggling teen trying to convince the world—and himself—that he’s better than the serial killer who raised him.
Morgan Slaughter, a seventeen-year-old trans boy with autism, put his serial killer father in prison years ago. Despite that, everyone thinks Morgan will grow up to be just like his dad: including his volatile mother, the documentary crew following their family, and maybe himself.
Desperately, Morgan latches onto his father’s final victim—the only one who was never identified—hoping that if he unravels the mystery, he’ll finally prove he’s better than the man who hurt him. But this puts Morgan in the crosshairs of classmate Felicity Keating, who knows the truth about Morgan’s childhood—that he wasn’t just a witness to his father’s brutality, he was an accomplice. And if he doesn’t let them help with his investigation? They’ll tell everyone.
Forced to confront his past, Morgan’s ugly but carefully controlled world unravels. The film crew is manipulative. His mother’s temper spirals into malice, then violence. And Morgan and Felicity may be more tightly intertwined than either of them can stomach . . .
You're No Better is a gritty and unapologetic coming-of-age suspense about teens who grew up surrounded by cruelty and are clawing their way to adulthood the only way they know how.
Bestselling author Andrew Joseph White returns with another horrific YA thriller: a profound portrait of a struggling teen trying to convince the world—and himself—that he’s better than the serial killer who raised him.
Morgan Slaughter, a seventeen-year-old trans boy with autism, put his serial killer father in prison years ago. Despite that, everyone thinks Morgan will grow up to be just like his dad: including his volatile mother, the documentary crew following their family, and maybe himself.
Desperately, Morgan latches onto his father’s final victim—the only one who was never identified—hoping that if he unravels the mystery, he’ll finally prove he’s better than the man who hurt him. But this puts Morgan in the crosshairs of classmate Felicity Keating, who knows the truth about Morgan’s childhood—that he wasn’t just a witness to his father’s brutality, he was an accomplice. And if he doesn’t let them help with his investigation? They’ll tell everyone.
Forced to confront his past, Morgan’s ugly but carefully controlled world unravels. The film crew is manipulative. His mother’s temper spirals into malice, then violence. And Morgan and Felicity may be more tightly intertwined than either of them can stomach . . .
You're No Better is a gritty and unapologetic coming-of-age suspense about teens who grew up surrounded by cruelty and are clawing their way to adulthood the only way they know how.
ebook
Expected publication October 20, 2026
About the author
Andrew Joseph White
14 books6,743 followersAndrew Joseph White is the trans, autistic, and bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, Compound Fracture, and You Weren't Meant to be Human. Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, he received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University, and lives in Virginia with his wife and their antisocial cat.
He can be found at andrewjosephwhite.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @AJWhiteAuthor.
He can be found at andrewjosephwhite.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @AJWhiteAuthor.
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February 20, 2026Hi y'all - early review copies are out in the world, so it's time to post the content warnings for YOU'RE NO BETTER.
YOU'RE NO BETTER discusses the aftershocks of extreme childhood violence in plain, straightforward detail. This is one of my rougher YA novels, and I urge you to take care of yourself. Content warnings include:
Backstory, mentions, or discussions of:
* Kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder
* Child abuse and grooming, including forcing a child to witness or participate in the above
* The troubled teen industry, the adoption industry, mental health struggles, past hospitalization, and psychiatric mistreatment
On-page:
* Narrative focus on child abuse (physical and emotional) and true crime’s exploitation of abuse and trauma for “content”
* Graphic violence, including manslaughter
* Sexual harassment and assault
* Queerphobia, transphobia, and ableism; forced closeting, misgendering, and medical/psychiatric neglect
* Mental health crises; intrusive thoughts, autistic meltdowns, self-medication with alcohol/alcohol abuse, self-harm (physical and emotional), suicidality
* Confinement
* In epilogues: hospitalization after injury, the justice system, and foster care
This story has a happy ending, or at least a hopeful one. These content warnings can be found on my website, and a more general list also exists in the author's note at the front of the book.
YOU'RE NO BETTER discusses the aftershocks of extreme childhood violence in plain, straightforward detail. This is one of my rougher YA novels, and I urge you to take care of yourself. Content warnings include:
Backstory, mentions, or discussions of:
* Kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder
* Child abuse and grooming, including forcing a child to witness or participate in the above
* The troubled teen industry, the adoption industry, mental health struggles, past hospitalization, and psychiatric mistreatment
On-page:
* Narrative focus on child abuse (physical and emotional) and true crime’s exploitation of abuse and trauma for “content”
* Graphic violence, including manslaughter
* Sexual harassment and assault
* Queerphobia, transphobia, and ableism; forced closeting, misgendering, and medical/psychiatric neglect
* Mental health crises; intrusive thoughts, autistic meltdowns, self-medication with alcohol/alcohol abuse, self-harm (physical and emotional), suicidality
* Confinement
* In epilogues: hospitalization after injury, the justice system, and foster care
This story has a happy ending, or at least a hopeful one. These content warnings can be found on my website, and a more general list also exists in the author's note at the front of the book.
February 21, 2026
Got to read this early by virtue of being the Andrew Joseph Wife
When AJ and I moved in together he would sometimes sit in the room while I watched my tv shows because this boy does not watch tv, and somewhere along the way he started tuning in for this cop show with the guy who played Jesus in the Walking Dead called Prodigal Son I was watching and eventually he got really invested and asked if we could start it over from the beginning.
Picture it, Domino meme:
Tiny Domino is labeled “Alice watches Prodigal Son (2019) on Fox”
Big Domino is labeled “YOU’RE NO BETTER (Peachtree Teen, October 2026)”
God damn, yall.
If you’ve read Courtney Summers’ entire bibliography and need something new to be destroyed by, this is it. It’s a rough one, but rough in a different way from the doomsday cults and the angry ghosts of his previous books, because sometimes the most horrifying you can imagine is the fear that what’s wrong with your parents is also wrong with you. This is an angry book. it’s bloody and hateful and I can tell it’s not gonna be for everyone, but it will find its audience. And to that audience I say: you are not your worst thoughts, you are not the darkest parts of yourself, and you are worthy of love. Read the CWs, go in prepared, and have a great time being devastated; you wouldn’t expect any less from an AJW book.
When AJ and I moved in together he would sometimes sit in the room while I watched my tv shows because this boy does not watch tv, and somewhere along the way he started tuning in for this cop show with the guy who played Jesus in the Walking Dead called Prodigal Son I was watching and eventually he got really invested and asked if we could start it over from the beginning.
Picture it, Domino meme:
Tiny Domino is labeled “Alice watches Prodigal Son (2019) on Fox”
Big Domino is labeled “YOU’RE NO BETTER (Peachtree Teen, October 2026)”
God damn, yall.
If you’ve read Courtney Summers’ entire bibliography and need something new to be destroyed by, this is it. It’s a rough one, but rough in a different way from the doomsday cults and the angry ghosts of his previous books, because sometimes the most horrifying you can imagine is the fear that what’s wrong with your parents is also wrong with you. This is an angry book. it’s bloody and hateful and I can tell it’s not gonna be for everyone, but it will find its audience. And to that audience I say: you are not your worst thoughts, you are not the darkest parts of yourself, and you are worthy of love. Read the CWs, go in prepared, and have a great time being devastated; you wouldn’t expect any less from an AJW book.
Want to Read
October 18, 2024AJW does nothing but cook up amazing stories and I’m sure this will be no different
Want to Read
August 20, 2025uhhhhh, excuse me??? i will be thinking about this for the next year, thanks
Want to Read
April 11, 2025I need this book like right now
Want to Read
February 25, 2026I’m going to give White one last try. The blurb sounds pretty intriguing, not gonna lie, but I’m afraid—after the disappointments that were HFWU and CF—that this is going to be another formulaic, flat book of his. I seriously hope this one won’t have a , telling instead of showing, badly-written side characters, comically evil antagonists, didactic prose about some societal issue(s), cringy Tumblr-esque lines, or an all-White cast. So yeah, I’m waiting.
Update 25/02: the cover absolutely rocks. I hope the interior will be equally good.
Update 25/02: the cover absolutely rocks. I hope the interior will be equally good.
Want to Read
January 10, 2025"In You're No Better, Morgan Slaughter must contend with his fame-hungry mother, a true crime-obsessed classmate, and his own destructive impulses to prove he is nothing like his serial killer father."
Want to Read
March 2, 2026Alright, let's do this one last time.
I feel like I've been watching Sisyphus push his rock up the hill for a long time now. I would love to see him make it to the top and have this book be good. If it is, I'll enjoy reading it and eat crow. Unfortunately, AJW has repeatedly proven that he has no idea what to do with a good concept. Four times already he's dropped the boulder and gone back to the start with a near-identical strategy. It looks like this is gonna go the same way. We have another wooby 'feral' white skinny autistic tboy in a situation that COULD make him morally questionable, but is probably going to go just conveniently enough for him to not take any real blame. I desperately want for AJW to do something, anything else. And to be clear, I'm saying this as a trans man myself. I'm not hating to hate, I'm just frustrated that this man's writing strongly represents my community in literature and want to see him do better. In my own exhausted way, I'm rooting for him. If this one is bad, I'll finally move on. Life is too short to waste time on stuff that repeatedly proves to be the Potential Man of writing.
I feel like I've been watching Sisyphus push his rock up the hill for a long time now. I would love to see him make it to the top and have this book be good. If it is, I'll enjoy reading it and eat crow. Unfortunately, AJW has repeatedly proven that he has no idea what to do with a good concept. Four times already he's dropped the boulder and gone back to the start with a near-identical strategy. It looks like this is gonna go the same way. We have another wooby 'feral' white skinny autistic tboy in a situation that COULD make him morally questionable, but is probably going to go just conveniently enough for him to not take any real blame. I desperately want for AJW to do something, anything else. And to be clear, I'm saying this as a trans man myself. I'm not hating to hate, I'm just frustrated that this man's writing strongly represents my community in literature and want to see him do better. In my own exhausted way, I'm rooting for him. If this one is bad, I'll finally move on. Life is too short to waste time on stuff that repeatedly proves to be the Potential Man of writing.
Want to Read
February 16, 2026I really want to like this book. I really do. It sounds like a good book! But the problem is that all of AJW’s books sounded like good books, yet all of them, without exception, were incredibly poorly written, borderline racist, and in the case of his one adult book, incredibly degrading towards rape survivors. The fact that AJW has already published a book where he got away with blatantly fetishizing rape probably just means he’s going to think he can do it again with this YA book, and that’s not even getting into how he clearly wants to write protagonists that are unsympathetic or morally grey, yet fails because he’s more excited to write graphic rape scenes than he is to write a plot that makes sense or characterization that feels human. Morgan seems like such an interesting character, but this character’s probably going to be nothing except Tumblr discourse quips, cringe homicidal thoughts that are passed off as intrusive despite being ego-syntonic, and entirely passive characterization. I guess only a dumbass would give a shitty author a 5th chance, but at the very least, I can have a good laugh if it’s as bad as I expect.
October 17, 2025
Is it out yet? No. But will this be an absolute banger book? Yes.
Want to Read
May 20, 2026you guys just don't understand how fucking excited i am right now
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Absolutely amazing and chilling horror novel about the son of a brutal serial killer navigating trauma, autism, blackmail, an abusive mother, an exploitative documentary crew, being a closeted trans kid, and the fear of people finding out he was not as uninvolved in his father's crimes as it seems.
Please mind the content warnings, which you can find at the front of the book, here, or on the author's website.
Part of me is genuinely stunned that this is a YA horror novel, both due to the horrifying content and because it's one of the most psychologically complex books I have read. The only books that are on the same level are the author's other books. Being in Morgan's mind and experiencing his trauma, desires, and intrusive thoughts, most of which he is often unable to keep apart and which are full of violence against himself and others, was quite the experience. Adding his autism and gender dysphoria made for an even more jarring mix. I related to Morgan as much as I was fascinated and disturbed by him. Even so, I was always fully immersed in his narration.
Morgan was not an easy protagonist, but I really appreciated that. He is a terrible friend, he lies and manipulates, but he is also a deeply hurt teenager, struggling, and denied the help, resources, and support he needs from the adults around him, especially his mother and the documentary production crew that wants to turn his life into a spectacle.
I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of Morgan's friendship with Alyssa, who is sort of a childhood friend and has been there for him forever, but is overwhelmed by his needs, and with Felicity, who enters Morgan's sphere suddenly and violently, yet despite their constant clashing, the two can't help but be drawn together by each other's messes.
The book deals a lot with trauma, mental health, the pitfalls of true crime, the troubled teen industry, and how the voyeurism of social media ties into all of these.
My one complaint is that I just wanted more from all of it. I would have enjoyed more details about the cases, more details about Felicity and their story, more details about where Morgan's life is headed next, and also maybe more from the finale. It wasn't that it didn't meet my expectations, this is a YA horror novel after all without any supernatural elements, so only so much could happen at the climax. It was a great release of all the tension, don't get me wrong, but it also felt like it ended a bit suddenly.
Overall I had a great time with this, and my criticism is based on my mind still being tied up in the book and not quite having come to terms with it being over yet. What a ride. I cannot wait to see more from this author, and I am also impressed and relieved and proud that books with complex characters and thematics like these, that are not easy to read, can still be published.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and volutnarily.
Please mind the content warnings, which you can find at the front of the book, here, or on the author's website.
Part of me is genuinely stunned that this is a YA horror novel, both due to the horrifying content and because it's one of the most psychologically complex books I have read. The only books that are on the same level are the author's other books. Being in Morgan's mind and experiencing his trauma, desires, and intrusive thoughts, most of which he is often unable to keep apart and which are full of violence against himself and others, was quite the experience. Adding his autism and gender dysphoria made for an even more jarring mix. I related to Morgan as much as I was fascinated and disturbed by him. Even so, I was always fully immersed in his narration.
Morgan was not an easy protagonist, but I really appreciated that. He is a terrible friend, he lies and manipulates, but he is also a deeply hurt teenager, struggling, and denied the help, resources, and support he needs from the adults around him, especially his mother and the documentary production crew that wants to turn his life into a spectacle.
I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of Morgan's friendship with Alyssa, who is sort of a childhood friend and has been there for him forever, but is overwhelmed by his needs, and with Felicity, who enters Morgan's sphere suddenly and violently, yet despite their constant clashing, the two can't help but be drawn together by each other's messes.
The book deals a lot with trauma, mental health, the pitfalls of true crime, the troubled teen industry, and how the voyeurism of social media ties into all of these.
My one complaint is that I just wanted more from all of it. I would have enjoyed more details about the cases, more details about Felicity and their story, more details about where Morgan's life is headed next, and also maybe more from the finale. It wasn't that it didn't meet my expectations, this is a YA horror novel after all without any supernatural elements, so only so much could happen at the climax. It was a great release of all the tension, don't get me wrong, but it also felt like it ended a bit suddenly.
Overall I had a great time with this, and my criticism is based on my mind still being tied up in the book and not quite having come to terms with it being over yet. What a ride. I cannot wait to see more from this author, and I am also impressed and relieved and proud that books with complex characters and thematics like these, that are not easy to read, can still be published.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and volutnarily.
May 29, 2026
5⭐️
Inhaling AJW’s books in a disturbingly short amount of time has become one of my favorite hobbies.
I finished this in less than 24 hours (it would have been one sitting if I hadn’t needed to wake up early for work the next morning). AJW is masterful at fully immersing his readers. Even when Morgan was making poor decisions that had me wanting to scream, I couldn’t help but root for him. The raw emotions bleed off the page and had me holding my breath.
One of my favorite aspects was the examination of exploitation within the true crime scene. Given the popularity of the genre, I think it’s an incredibly important discussion to have. This novel heavily focuses on mental health and trauma—not only how they shape a person, but also the struggle to find oneself in the midst of crisis. White also sheds light on the strange nature of social media: how things are not always as they seem, the rise of apathy in online spaces, and the harm of parasocial relationships.
AJW once again delivers a delightfully horrifying and impactful experience. He continues to be one of my favorite authors, and I will absolutely read everything he releases.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Inhaling AJW’s books in a disturbingly short amount of time has become one of my favorite hobbies.
I finished this in less than 24 hours (it would have been one sitting if I hadn’t needed to wake up early for work the next morning). AJW is masterful at fully immersing his readers. Even when Morgan was making poor decisions that had me wanting to scream, I couldn’t help but root for him. The raw emotions bleed off the page and had me holding my breath.
One of my favorite aspects was the examination of exploitation within the true crime scene. Given the popularity of the genre, I think it’s an incredibly important discussion to have. This novel heavily focuses on mental health and trauma—not only how they shape a person, but also the struggle to find oneself in the midst of crisis. White also sheds light on the strange nature of social media: how things are not always as they seem, the rise of apathy in online spaces, and the harm of parasocial relationships.
AJW once again delivers a delightfully horrifying and impactful experience. He continues to be one of my favorite authors, and I will absolutely read everything he releases.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
April 22, 2026
I’ve been hyped about this book since it was announced. I cheered when my request got approved. This absolutely exceeded all of my expectations. It’s jumped to the top of my rankings of AJW’s books. Morgan is probably my favorite main character so far. This book is definitely gnarly, but I couldn’t stop reading. It does such a good job of examining/criticizing the true crime community/industry. I can’t wait for this book to come out so I can get a copy for my library. Thank you so so much to Edelweiss for the ARC!!
Want to Read
March 2, 2026im so so so so so freaking excited for this book. already preordered. yall don't understand
Want to Read
April 15, 2026I HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK YET BUT
I have said it before and I will say it again AJW could release 100 horror books about autistic trans men and I will eat it up like a wildfire EVERY SINGLE TIME! I can't wait to see what masterpiece you've cooked up king
I have said it before and I will say it again AJW could release 100 horror books about autistic trans men and I will eat it up like a wildfire EVERY SINGLE TIME! I can't wait to see what masterpiece you've cooked up king
April 7, 2026
AMAZINGGGGGGGG
The second Edelweiss sent me this galley I cancelled all my plans to read it. HOLY SHIT. AJW always delivers. Loved all of it & especially how all the relationships are written. Incredible cover too. I do wish the ending was fleshed out more but nevertheless will be reccing this to all my friends.
The second Edelweiss sent me this galley I cancelled all my plans to read it. HOLY SHIT. AJW always delivers. Loved all of it & especially how all the relationships are written. Incredible cover too. I do wish the ending was fleshed out more but nevertheless will be reccing this to all my friends.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
There's no one writing YA like AJW, this was book was a fucking explosive journey. I'm not the fastest reader, so when I finish a book in two days you know I'm hooked. Thank you Edelweiss for the eARC, my first 5 star YA read of the year.
March 5, 2026
Early review copy provided by Edelweiss.
"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" -Cesar A. Cruz
And let me and you, Andrew Joseph White has once again created a thriller that perfectly straddles that line.
Our protagonist, Morgan, embodies the gritty truth of complex trauma to an extent that I could never decide whether or not I was rooting for him. He is a pathological liar, manipulative, and an awful friend, but at the same time, all I wanted was to see him find peace and closure.
Morgan's characterization is what made this book an absolute page turner, and I finished it in under a day.
Unfortunately, I found many of the other characters, particularly the adults, a bit flat and one dimensional. Maybe this was purposeful, being that the novel is first person limited from Morgan's perspective, and many of his struggles stem from his inability to connect with others. But it resulted in the rest of the cast acting like caricatures rather than actual people.
Despite that, as with AJW's previous works, I couldn't set this book down. It was gripping and disturbing in a way that didn't just feel like torture porn, which was absolutely necessary given the subject matter.
4.25/5 stars
"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" -Cesar A. Cruz
And let me and you, Andrew Joseph White has once again created a thriller that perfectly straddles that line.
Our protagonist, Morgan, embodies the gritty truth of complex trauma to an extent that I could never decide whether or not I was rooting for him. He is a pathological liar, manipulative, and an awful friend, but at the same time, all I wanted was to see him find peace and closure.
Morgan's characterization is what made this book an absolute page turner, and I finished it in under a day.
Unfortunately, I found many of the other characters, particularly the adults, a bit flat and one dimensional. Maybe this was purposeful, being that the novel is first person limited from Morgan's perspective, and many of his struggles stem from his inability to connect with others. But it resulted in the rest of the cast acting like caricatures rather than actual people.
Despite that, as with AJW's previous works, I couldn't set this book down. It was gripping and disturbing in a way that didn't just feel like torture porn, which was absolutely necessary given the subject matter.
4.25/5 stars
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Andrew Joseph White genuinely has a talent for writing books that feel like being trapped inside someone else’s spiraling mind in the absolute best and most horrifying way possible, and “You’re No Better” might honestly be one of the most psychologically intense YA thrillers I’ve ever read. This book is brutal, messy, angry, deeply upsetting, and somehow still incredibly hopeful underneath all the blood and trauma.
Before anything else, please take the content warnings seriously with this one. The book deals heavily with transphobia, serial murder, child abuse, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, addiction, sexual assault, and exploitation within the true crime industry. This is very much older YA territory and definitely not a casual thriller. Andrew Joseph White does provide extensive content warnings at the beginning, which I really appreciated.
The story follows Morgan, a trans autistic teen whose father is an infamous serial killer responsible for torturing and murdering over fifty girls and women; these were crimes Morgan was exposed to as a child. Even years later, Morgan is still trapped in the fallout of his father’s crimes because his mother continues dragging him into documentaries, interviews, and true crime media exploitation for money. And to make things even worse, Morgan is forced to hide the fact that he’s trans in order to maintain the public image his mother and the documentary crew want from him.
Honestly, Morgan is one of the most complicated protagonists I’ve read in a long time. He’s not particularly likable a lot of the time. He lies constantly, manipulates people, lashes out violently, and is often a genuinely terrible friend. But at the same time, every awful decision he makes feels deeply rooted in his trauma, fear, rage, and complete lack of support. I spent the entire book swinging between wanting to shake him and wanting to protect him from literally everyone around him.
And that’s what made this book impossible to put down for me.
Being inside Morgan’s head is exhausting in the most intentional way possible. His intrusive thoughts, violent impulses, sensory issues, self-destructive tendencies, and overwhelming fear that he might somehow become like his father create this constant suffocating tension throughout the entire story. The autism representation especially felt incredibly sharp and authentic, particularly the sensory details and Morgan’s struggles with emotional expression and connection. Andrew Joseph White continues to write neurodivergent protagonists in a way that feels painfully real rather than sanitized.
The book also absolutely tears apart the true crime industry and the way real suffering becomes entertainment. The multimedia elements like documentary transcripts, online forum posts, articles, social media comments were honestly some of the most disturbing parts because they felt so believable. The book really captures how grotesque true crime fandoms can become, especially when people start treating victims and survivors like fictional characters for entertainment. Some of the online comments genuinely made my skin crawl because they sounded exactly like things people say online every day.
There’s also a lot here about exploitation in general. Morgan’s mother is honestly horrifying in her own way, constantly controlling him through money, alcohol, guilt, and manipulation while profiting off his trauma. The fact that Morgan trusts his imprisoned serial killer father more than his own mother says everything about how broken and predatory his home life is. Almost every adult in this story is trying to use Morgan for something, whether it’s fame, pity, money, or emotional control.
What surprised me most though was how emotional the relationships became. Alyssa and Felicity were easily some of my favorite parts of the book. Alyssa, Morgan’s childhood friend, clearly cares about him deeply but is also exhausted and hurt by his constant self-destruction. Meanwhile Felicity crashes into Morgan’s life in this chaotic, angry way, and the two of them somehow become exactly what the other person needs. The romance was messy and intense but also really healing for Morgan, especially in how it helped affirm both his identity and his ability to be loved despite everything he believes about himself.
This book is also dark. Like genuinely dark. Morgan struggles heavily with self-harm and suicidal thoughts throughout the story, and there are scenes that are emotionally brutal to sit through. The violence is graphic at times, but it never felt exploitative or pointless to me. Even during the goriest moments, the story always remained focused on trauma, survival, and the emotional aftermath rather than shock value alone.
I did predict certain twists before they happened, but honestly that didn’t lessen the emotional impact at all. The final stretch of the book becomes explosive, bloody, and heartbreaking as Morgan is forced to fully confront both his father’s legacy and his own fear that he’s somehow doomed to become monstrous too.
But what I loved most is that despite how relentlessly bleak parts of this book are, it never fully gives up on hope. At its core, this is a story about someone learning that trauma does not automatically make you evil. Morgan’s journey is messy and painful and far from complete, but by the end there’s this fragile sense that maybe he can survive himself after all. Maybe he can build a future outside of what other people have done to him.
Overall, “You’re No Better” is one of the rawest, angriest, most psychologically layered YA horror thrillers I’ve read in a long time. It’s disturbing, emotionally exhausting, and absolutely not for everyone, but if you want a horror novel that digs deep into trauma, identity, rage, exploitation, and survival while still delivering genuine suspense and gore, Andrew Joseph White absolutely delivers here.
Andrew Joseph White genuinely has a talent for writing books that feel like being trapped inside someone else’s spiraling mind in the absolute best and most horrifying way possible, and “You’re No Better” might honestly be one of the most psychologically intense YA thrillers I’ve ever read. This book is brutal, messy, angry, deeply upsetting, and somehow still incredibly hopeful underneath all the blood and trauma.
Before anything else, please take the content warnings seriously with this one. The book deals heavily with transphobia, serial murder, child abuse, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, addiction, sexual assault, and exploitation within the true crime industry. This is very much older YA territory and definitely not a casual thriller. Andrew Joseph White does provide extensive content warnings at the beginning, which I really appreciated.
The story follows Morgan, a trans autistic teen whose father is an infamous serial killer responsible for torturing and murdering over fifty girls and women; these were crimes Morgan was exposed to as a child. Even years later, Morgan is still trapped in the fallout of his father’s crimes because his mother continues dragging him into documentaries, interviews, and true crime media exploitation for money. And to make things even worse, Morgan is forced to hide the fact that he’s trans in order to maintain the public image his mother and the documentary crew want from him.
Honestly, Morgan is one of the most complicated protagonists I’ve read in a long time. He’s not particularly likable a lot of the time. He lies constantly, manipulates people, lashes out violently, and is often a genuinely terrible friend. But at the same time, every awful decision he makes feels deeply rooted in his trauma, fear, rage, and complete lack of support. I spent the entire book swinging between wanting to shake him and wanting to protect him from literally everyone around him.
And that’s what made this book impossible to put down for me.
Being inside Morgan’s head is exhausting in the most intentional way possible. His intrusive thoughts, violent impulses, sensory issues, self-destructive tendencies, and overwhelming fear that he might somehow become like his father create this constant suffocating tension throughout the entire story. The autism representation especially felt incredibly sharp and authentic, particularly the sensory details and Morgan’s struggles with emotional expression and connection. Andrew Joseph White continues to write neurodivergent protagonists in a way that feels painfully real rather than sanitized.
The book also absolutely tears apart the true crime industry and the way real suffering becomes entertainment. The multimedia elements like documentary transcripts, online forum posts, articles, social media comments were honestly some of the most disturbing parts because they felt so believable. The book really captures how grotesque true crime fandoms can become, especially when people start treating victims and survivors like fictional characters for entertainment. Some of the online comments genuinely made my skin crawl because they sounded exactly like things people say online every day.
There’s also a lot here about exploitation in general. Morgan’s mother is honestly horrifying in her own way, constantly controlling him through money, alcohol, guilt, and manipulation while profiting off his trauma. The fact that Morgan trusts his imprisoned serial killer father more than his own mother says everything about how broken and predatory his home life is. Almost every adult in this story is trying to use Morgan for something, whether it’s fame, pity, money, or emotional control.
What surprised me most though was how emotional the relationships became. Alyssa and Felicity were easily some of my favorite parts of the book. Alyssa, Morgan’s childhood friend, clearly cares about him deeply but is also exhausted and hurt by his constant self-destruction. Meanwhile Felicity crashes into Morgan’s life in this chaotic, angry way, and the two of them somehow become exactly what the other person needs. The romance was messy and intense but also really healing for Morgan, especially in how it helped affirm both his identity and his ability to be loved despite everything he believes about himself.
This book is also dark. Like genuinely dark. Morgan struggles heavily with self-harm and suicidal thoughts throughout the story, and there are scenes that are emotionally brutal to sit through. The violence is graphic at times, but it never felt exploitative or pointless to me. Even during the goriest moments, the story always remained focused on trauma, survival, and the emotional aftermath rather than shock value alone.
I did predict certain twists before they happened, but honestly that didn’t lessen the emotional impact at all. The final stretch of the book becomes explosive, bloody, and heartbreaking as Morgan is forced to fully confront both his father’s legacy and his own fear that he’s somehow doomed to become monstrous too.
But what I loved most is that despite how relentlessly bleak parts of this book are, it never fully gives up on hope. At its core, this is a story about someone learning that trauma does not automatically make you evil. Morgan’s journey is messy and painful and far from complete, but by the end there’s this fragile sense that maybe he can survive himself after all. Maybe he can build a future outside of what other people have done to him.
Overall, “You’re No Better” is one of the rawest, angriest, most psychologically layered YA horror thrillers I’ve read in a long time. It’s disturbing, emotionally exhausting, and absolutely not for everyone, but if you want a horror novel that digs deep into trauma, identity, rage, exploitation, and survival while still delivering genuine suspense and gore, Andrew Joseph White absolutely delivers here.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
lıllılı.ıllı.ılılıılıı.lllııılı.
𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"You're no Better⋅" ★
𝟶𝟷:𝟻𝟷 ━━━━━━●─── 𝟶𝟹:𝟶𝟹
⇆ ◁ ❚❚ ▷ ↻
I was fortunate enough to read an advanced copy of You're No Better as part of assessing it for our public library collection. (But disclaimer that I'm also a long-standing Andrew Joseph White enjoyer.) So this is both a personal and reference-teen-librarian review.
The concept for You're No Better promised glaring excisions of the True Crime entertainment industry (call it what it is, tragedy porn) and that was a big draw for me. It doesn't shrink from how skeevy the online world revolving around True Crime and the lives (and deaths) of very real people are reduced to mundane fandom-style giggling about blorbos. For that purpose I believe that the social media post-stylized slices really felt uncomfortably realistic. Like, that's not a "Wouldn't it be wild if someone said this!" it's quite literally reading like a very real-existing comment somewhere right now with user names edited for anonymity. Right down to the stomach-roiling countdown. (You'll see.)
It also crosses paths with the equally unsettling reality of modern day stage parents commodifying the journey of parenthood for online gratification at the cost of the child's well being. I abhor influencers that peddle their children like products, so this hit a nail directly on the head for me.
I felt an immense satisfaction as usual when it comes to reading from the perspective of an autistic protagonist, specifically written by White. The sensory details, whether delicious or grating, felt satisfying and I found myself also getting stuck on the idea of dirt under my nails on many occasions.
I will say that I felt very sad when I realized I was reaching the end of the book. I didn't feel ready to let go of Morgan or his journey. Which I guess ultimately really plays into the closing feeling of his life no longer being plastered online.
Coming fresh off White's previous book, You Weren't Meant to Be Human, I will say that it definitely felt like being reeled back into young adult territory (I wont go into more comparisons because this is a reflection on You're No Better, not a side by side). BY NO MEANS DOES THIS MEAN IT'S A WALK IN THE PARK. But you can definitely feel where some parts perhaps had more room to poke around and how it had to scaled down just a bit to fit the rating (14 and up, according to Google). I would personally say that this is very much a book for a seasoned horror/thriller reader for the violence AND psychological themes, it's not a starter book at all (this hypothetical morbid precocious adolescent certainly exists as I deffo remember being 14 and unsupervised on the internet). I don't think it crosses solidly into Adult Reading territory, but I can imagine pearl-clutching at some of the themes that pop up like underage drinking (don't worry parents, the narrative goes out of its way to remind the reader that this is a Bad(TM) thing, and in this setting it is not presented as a Fun thing to do but actually rather miserable in context), intimate scenes (nothing super explicit), and of course the murder(s)(Varying detail, lots of gruesome little moments).
It also relies (not relies, actually, more like leans on a familiarity) on some baseline knowledge of things like True Crime podcasts/documentaries/exploitation, the Saw movie series, and the hardest part for me was already being familiar with the similarities between Morgan's father Graham Nathanial Slaughter and the real life case of David Parker Ray, who I find so revolting that I wasn't honestly sure if I'd be able to stomach reading continuously (Have to mention this because although we are told from the get-go this is about a child and their serial killer father, the specific kind is not in the general summary). But I did, because the worst part is that intentionally or not (probably intentionally because Andrew Joseph White knows ball when it comes to writing intrusive thoughts/feelings) the character of Graham Nathanial Slaughter is strangely fascinating in that hypnotizing-snake-stare way and I am still not totally sure how they managed to dilute that into writing. But yeah, it was awful to feel myself sinking into the same morbid fascination that True Crime exploitation mills thrive off of.
This read is definitely YA, but not the shallow end, and I would definitely say it earns its place in the Andrew Joseph White pantheon.
𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"You're no Better⋅" ★
𝟶𝟷:𝟻𝟷 ━━━━━━●─── 𝟶𝟹:𝟶𝟹
⇆ ◁ ❚❚ ▷ ↻
I was fortunate enough to read an advanced copy of You're No Better as part of assessing it for our public library collection. (But disclaimer that I'm also a long-standing Andrew Joseph White enjoyer.) So this is both a personal and reference-teen-librarian review.
The concept for You're No Better promised glaring excisions of the True Crime entertainment industry (call it what it is, tragedy porn) and that was a big draw for me. It doesn't shrink from how skeevy the online world revolving around True Crime and the lives (and deaths) of very real people are reduced to mundane fandom-style giggling about blorbos. For that purpose I believe that the social media post-stylized slices really felt uncomfortably realistic. Like, that's not a "Wouldn't it be wild if someone said this!" it's quite literally reading like a very real-existing comment somewhere right now with user names edited for anonymity. Right down to the stomach-roiling countdown. (You'll see.)
It also crosses paths with the equally unsettling reality of modern day stage parents commodifying the journey of parenthood for online gratification at the cost of the child's well being. I abhor influencers that peddle their children like products, so this hit a nail directly on the head for me.
I felt an immense satisfaction as usual when it comes to reading from the perspective of an autistic protagonist, specifically written by White. The sensory details, whether delicious or grating, felt satisfying and I found myself also getting stuck on the idea of dirt under my nails on many occasions.
I will say that I felt very sad when I realized I was reaching the end of the book. I didn't feel ready to let go of Morgan or his journey. Which I guess ultimately really plays into the closing feeling of his life no longer being plastered online.
Coming fresh off White's previous book, You Weren't Meant to Be Human, I will say that it definitely felt like being reeled back into young adult territory (I wont go into more comparisons because this is a reflection on You're No Better, not a side by side). BY NO MEANS DOES THIS MEAN IT'S A WALK IN THE PARK. But you can definitely feel where some parts perhaps had more room to poke around and how it had to scaled down just a bit to fit the rating (14 and up, according to Google). I would personally say that this is very much a book for a seasoned horror/thriller reader for the violence AND psychological themes, it's not a starter book at all (this hypothetical morbid precocious adolescent certainly exists as I deffo remember being 14 and unsupervised on the internet). I don't think it crosses solidly into Adult Reading territory, but I can imagine pearl-clutching at some of the themes that pop up like underage drinking (don't worry parents, the narrative goes out of its way to remind the reader that this is a Bad(TM) thing, and in this setting it is not presented as a Fun thing to do but actually rather miserable in context), intimate scenes (nothing super explicit), and of course the murder(s)(Varying detail, lots of gruesome little moments).
It also relies (not relies, actually, more like leans on a familiarity) on some baseline knowledge of things like True Crime podcasts/documentaries/exploitation, the Saw movie series, and the hardest part for me was already being familiar with the similarities between Morgan's father Graham Nathanial Slaughter and the real life case of David Parker Ray, who I find so revolting that I wasn't honestly sure if I'd be able to stomach reading continuously (Have to mention this because although we are told from the get-go this is about a child and their serial killer father, the specific kind is not in the general summary). But I did, because the worst part is that intentionally or not (probably intentionally because Andrew Joseph White knows ball when it comes to writing intrusive thoughts/feelings) the character of Graham Nathanial Slaughter is strangely fascinating in that hypnotizing-snake-stare way and I am still not totally sure how they managed to dilute that into writing. But yeah, it was awful to feel myself sinking into the same morbid fascination that True Crime exploitation mills thrive off of.
This read is definitely YA, but not the shallow end, and I would definitely say it earns its place in the Andrew Joseph White pantheon.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
"I've made the promise, and it's stuck in my teeth, and when I want something, Jesus Christ, I will burn through everything I touch if it means I'll get it in the end
Andrew Joseph White once again managed to write a book that blew me away and had me at the edge of my seat wanting- needing- more. This book was phenomenal. The writing was engaging and the plot and world building was amazing. I read part of the book while on the metro and I had to literally stop myself from crying and gasping out loud.
"Girlhood is a costume I'm putting on; a performance in exchanged for the trust fund. Of course this marionette made of eyeliner and c-cup breasts and kitten heels isn't actually me. It's a mask, like the veil of neurotypicality I drape over my autism. The kind of mask you can forget exists, the mask that becomes so second nature that it's difficult to take off... but a mask nevertheless"
Andrew, as always, managed to capture autism and transness perfectly. His books manage to reach in to my soul and capture parts that is not seen by everyone. They always make me feel seen in a way that no other books quite manage, and You're no better was no exception to this.
The struggle Morrigan goes through while forced to be in the closet hit hard. Tying your masking and your femininity to each other was something I didn't know that I needed to see represented.
"Am I actually feminine? Or is the mask I put on to hide my autism just in the shape of a girl? It might be easier to prefer something I don't have a choice to be"
I loved getting to know the other characters surrounding Morrigan. Felicity was a personal favourite of mine. Their story was perfect and I love them.
I loved that Morrigan wasn't perfect and that he gets called out on his bullshit like so many other characters doesn't. I loved that he is fallible and that he is realistic. I love him so much as a character.
"I don't want to hurt her, but I think about it so often that I don't believe myself when i say it"
Now I'm gonna shut up so I don't start to spoil things. I'll end this with a shoutout to Andrews author letter, which as always hit me hard. Yes It made me grit my teeth. It was perfect as always.
I can't wait for y'all to read this, and for me to be able to listen to how they do the audiobook once it's out. I can't wait!
Andrew Joseph White once again managed to write a book that blew me away and had me at the edge of my seat wanting- needing- more. This book was phenomenal. The writing was engaging and the plot and world building was amazing. I read part of the book while on the metro and I had to literally stop myself from crying and gasping out loud.
"Girlhood is a costume I'm putting on; a performance in exchanged for the trust fund. Of course this marionette made of eyeliner and c-cup breasts and kitten heels isn't actually me. It's a mask, like the veil of neurotypicality I drape over my autism. The kind of mask you can forget exists, the mask that becomes so second nature that it's difficult to take off... but a mask nevertheless"
Andrew, as always, managed to capture autism and transness perfectly. His books manage to reach in to my soul and capture parts that is not seen by everyone. They always make me feel seen in a way that no other books quite manage, and You're no better was no exception to this.
The struggle Morrigan goes through while forced to be in the closet hit hard. Tying your masking and your femininity to each other was something I didn't know that I needed to see represented.
"Am I actually feminine? Or is the mask I put on to hide my autism just in the shape of a girl? It might be easier to prefer something I don't have a choice to be"
I loved getting to know the other characters surrounding Morrigan. Felicity was a personal favourite of mine. Their story was perfect and I love them.
I loved that Morrigan wasn't perfect and that he gets called out on his bullshit like so many other characters doesn't. I loved that he is fallible and that he is realistic. I love him so much as a character.
"I don't want to hurt her, but I think about it so often that I don't believe myself when i say it"
Now I'm gonna shut up so I don't start to spoil things. I'll end this with a shoutout to Andrews author letter, which as always hit me hard. Yes It made me grit my teeth. It was perfect as always.
I can't wait for y'all to read this, and for me to be able to listen to how they do the audiobook once it's out. I can't wait!
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
This book is simultaneously too much and not enough.
Woof. I feel bad rating this so low, especially since I think I'm one of the first reviewers. I RAN to read this book on Edelweiss as soon as it became available. I'm a big AJW fan and (up to this point) I've loved all his other books. But this one didn't hit, and I think the seams are starting to show.
AJW has a "type" of book he writes, and he's very good at writing it. You can expect to find similar beats in each: similar main characters, similar love interests, similar content warnings. There's a niche he likes to explore, and usually, it's something he does with talent. But. But. This book felt very "2D," for lack of a better term. It all felt.. caricature-ish? Morgan is super flat as a character, and it's hard to sympathize when the antagonists in his life are just SO overblown and cartoonish. His evil mother is such an overblown parody of vapid influencer parents that anything (ANYTHING) she does feels mustache-twirlingly, bizarrely, cartoonishly evil. Felicity is irritating, and a little nonsensical in her motivations. The stakes don't feel high, and honestly, it feels like petty teenage drama which is deeply disappointing when there's literal serial murder getting investigated. The conclusion is both too climactic and unsatisfying at the same time.
I think that's the thing which made me so disappointed in this in comparison to his other books: it felt petty and flat, and Morgan didn't feel real. It veers into some of the common YA pitfalls (Everything Happening All At Once; bland first-person prose; The Grownups Are The Enemies) and kind of splashes around in a shallow kiddie pool of trauma. Things are either glanced over, or melodramatic, or somehow both at the same time. I really don't know why this one didn't work for me like the others did: maybe it's because I know how GOOD AJW's books can be, and therefore the bar is higher. I think this book would've benefitted from being "smaller" -- focusing on Morgan's internal struggles rather than going off on a goose chase of murder investigations. I can't help but compare it to Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey, an excellent novel about a daughter of a serial killer reckoning with who she is.
Sorry AJW I wish I could've rated this higher :( will still be reading the next one, though!
Woof. I feel bad rating this so low, especially since I think I'm one of the first reviewers. I RAN to read this book on Edelweiss as soon as it became available. I'm a big AJW fan and (up to this point) I've loved all his other books. But this one didn't hit, and I think the seams are starting to show.
AJW has a "type" of book he writes, and he's very good at writing it. You can expect to find similar beats in each: similar main characters, similar love interests, similar content warnings. There's a niche he likes to explore, and usually, it's something he does with talent. But. But. This book felt very "2D," for lack of a better term. It all felt.. caricature-ish? Morgan is super flat as a character, and it's hard to sympathize when the antagonists in his life are just SO overblown and cartoonish. His evil mother is such an overblown parody of vapid influencer parents that anything (ANYTHING) she does feels mustache-twirlingly, bizarrely, cartoonishly evil. Felicity is irritating, and a little nonsensical in her motivations. The stakes don't feel high, and honestly, it feels like petty teenage drama which is deeply disappointing when there's literal serial murder getting investigated. The conclusion is both too climactic and unsatisfying at the same time.
I think that's the thing which made me so disappointed in this in comparison to his other books: it felt petty and flat, and Morgan didn't feel real. It veers into some of the common YA pitfalls (Everything Happening All At Once; bland first-person prose; The Grownups Are The Enemies) and kind of splashes around in a shallow kiddie pool of trauma. Things are either glanced over, or melodramatic, or somehow both at the same time. I really don't know why this one didn't work for me like the others did: maybe it's because I know how GOOD AJW's books can be, and therefore the bar is higher. I think this book would've benefitted from being "smaller" -- focusing on Morgan's internal struggles rather than going off on a goose chase of murder investigations. I can't help but compare it to Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey, an excellent novel about a daughter of a serial killer reckoning with who she is.
Sorry AJW I wish I could've rated this higher :( will still be reading the next one, though!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
New Andrew Joseph White book? Drop everything.
So, if you've read White's work, you know this is a going to be dark. I'd compare this one to Dugan's "Last Girls Standing" and Gailey's "Just Like Home," but it's different in a few key ways, including a total lack of supernatural shenanigans. I think all of White's books have included at least some spec fic elements so far, and this one relies entirely on human psychology. I don't often get nightmares from reading books, but I did this time around. Oof.
I'm not sure how the general readership will feel about this once, but this hit close to home. I have a dear friend who has a lot in common with Morgan (OCD, PTSD, autism spectrum, trans) and this story reminded me so much of that person's experience. We've had conversations that parallel some of Morgan's fears in You're No Better. I might have more critiques on the structure of this one, including the ending, but I feel like White tapped into so many of the emotional elements of this story that, frankly, I don't care. This book is going to make people feel seen.
One thing I often appreciate with White's work is that, even when his characters are faced with transphobia, there's always something else that's the real core of the problem. Morgan gets sh** from his mom for being trans (and autistic), but the bigger problem is the PTSD and the fear that he's going to turn out like his father. There are a few places in here where other people try to pathologize his trans identity while completely overlooking the larger issues. The narrative is claustrophobic, and Morgan makes godawful choices left and right, but you can understand why they're happening even as you shake the book and ask, "WHYYYY would you do that?"
As I mentioned above, I'm of two minds about the ending, which is fairly abrupt. But overall I found this book very difficult to put down, and it very much got in my head. White remains a favorite author but also one to which I attach many trigger warnings when recommending his work. This one doesn't rely as much on body horror as his previous titles, but man, the psychology of this one is ON POINT.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
So, if you've read White's work, you know this is a going to be dark. I'd compare this one to Dugan's "Last Girls Standing" and Gailey's "Just Like Home," but it's different in a few key ways, including a total lack of supernatural shenanigans. I think all of White's books have included at least some spec fic elements so far, and this one relies entirely on human psychology. I don't often get nightmares from reading books, but I did this time around. Oof.
I'm not sure how the general readership will feel about this once, but this hit close to home. I have a dear friend who has a lot in common with Morgan (OCD, PTSD, autism spectrum, trans) and this story reminded me so much of that person's experience. We've had conversations that parallel some of Morgan's fears in You're No Better. I might have more critiques on the structure of this one, including the ending, but I feel like White tapped into so many of the emotional elements of this story that, frankly, I don't care. This book is going to make people feel seen.
One thing I often appreciate with White's work is that, even when his characters are faced with transphobia, there's always something else that's the real core of the problem. Morgan gets sh** from his mom for being trans (and autistic), but the bigger problem is the PTSD and the fear that he's going to turn out like his father. There are a few places in here where other people try to pathologize his trans identity while completely overlooking the larger issues. The narrative is claustrophobic, and Morgan makes godawful choices left and right, but you can understand why they're happening even as you shake the book and ask, "WHYYYY would you do that?"
As I mentioned above, I'm of two minds about the ending, which is fairly abrupt. But overall I found this book very difficult to put down, and it very much got in my head. White remains a favorite author but also one to which I attach many trigger warnings when recommending his work. This one doesn't rely as much on body horror as his previous titles, but man, the psychology of this one is ON POINT.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
May 31, 2026
Truly no one can write horror as well as Andrew Joseph White. The queer characters, the neurodivergent characters, the plot that drives a person to keep reading because they need to know what happens next.
The plot of this was so entertaining, the lore of the murders, the characters, and the overall writing style was all done so well. This author does such a good job at showing the ugly sides of being trans, being autistic, and while this is a horror book so things are a lot more over the top and filled with gore it shows the struggle of just trying to get by all the while having good endings. Keeping friends, doing whatever you can to try and calm yourself down when things get too much, and having people wanting to see your downfall.
Also it’s wild the serial killer was the better parent, not going to lie I liked him more than then the mom. The mom reminded me of a family members birth giver and I could not unsee it, especially with the Facebook mom posts.
(Note: I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to the publisher/author for the opportunity.)
POV: First Person
Sad Level: 💧💧💧
Would I Recommend? Yes
Favorite Character(s): Morgan
Emojis Based on Vibes: 🔪🚔🏳️⚧️
⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia
Minor: Confinement, Rape, Self harm
The plot of this was so entertaining, the lore of the murders, the characters, and the overall writing style was all done so well. This author does such a good job at showing the ugly sides of being trans, being autistic, and while this is a horror book so things are a lot more over the top and filled with gore it shows the struggle of just trying to get by all the while having good endings. Keeping friends, doing whatever you can to try and calm yourself down when things get too much, and having people wanting to see your downfall.
Also it’s wild the serial killer was the better parent, not going to lie I liked him more than then the mom. The mom reminded me of a family members birth giver and I could not unsee it, especially with the Facebook mom posts.
(Note: I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to the publisher/author for the opportunity.)
POV: First Person
Sad Level: 💧💧💧
Would I Recommend? Yes
Favorite Character(s): Morgan
Emojis Based on Vibes: 🔪🚔🏳️⚧️
⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia
Minor: Confinement, Rape, Self harm
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Okay I read this in just over 2 days. This was such a heart-racing and intense story, full of rage and incredibly harsh truths about the exploitation of the true crime industry, and how victims are often treated. I couldn't put this book down. Especially for any queer and/or neurodivergent teens who love thrillers, this is an absolute must-read and a must-purchase for library collections. Morgan is such a fascinating protagonist; he's so full of rage and fear but also has a very satisfying character development arc. The supporting characters, especially Felicity and Alyssa, feel so well fleshed out and add a brilliant emotional depth to the story. Gory and full of terrifying details and action-packed, high-stakes scenes, this is a fantastic thriller for older teens looking for a more intense story that's still age-appropriate but not overly-sanitized. Overall, this was a phenomenal book and I absolutely cannot wait for it to publish.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
If you are a fan of Prodigal Son, this book will be phenomenal! This is my fifth AJ White book that I have gotten on pre-release and I truly fell in love with it. The metro information that the character has a special interest in was so fun to read while actively taking the metro lines talked about. The ending (not spoiling anything) was something I did not see coming and his pacing for the story is truly something special. In tense moments, you really feel as though you are in it with the main character. Overall, a book that I will be recommending to EVERYONE I can. I believe this might be my favorite (or tied with You Weren’t Meant To Be Human).
March 2, 2026
Got an early reader copy and read it in one sitting!
I loved it so much. It’s just as shocking and gritty as his other books, but it feels more real and psychological instead of supernatural. The main character is messy and intense in a way that makes you have to keep reading. If you liked the raw emotion and chaos of Hell Followed With Us or Compound Fracture, this has that same punch, but with a different vibe that hits just as hard.
It’s dark, uncomfortable, and completely unforgettable in the best way. Hard to talk about it without spoiling, but go read it when you can.
I loved it so much. It’s just as shocking and gritty as his other books, but it feels more real and psychological instead of supernatural. The main character is messy and intense in a way that makes you have to keep reading. If you liked the raw emotion and chaos of Hell Followed With Us or Compound Fracture, this has that same punch, but with a different vibe that hits just as hard.
It’s dark, uncomfortable, and completely unforgettable in the best way. Hard to talk about it without spoiling, but go read it when you can.
April 26, 2026
I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this, and…wow. This is an absolute masterclass from Andrew Joseph White in the way trapped, wounded people can lash out at each other, generational trauma, and what makes for a “likeable” survivor, all wrapped within a meticulously-crafted plot and welcome commentary on the true crime industry.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Thank you to Edelweiss for the ARC!
I enjoy this author's premises, and this one had a promising beginning, but the ending didn't quite stick it for me. I was hoping for more of a conclusion, though I guess the moral of the story is things aren't always wrapped up in a satisfying way.
I enjoy this author's premises, and this one had a promising beginning, but the ending didn't quite stick it for me. I was hoping for more of a conclusion, though I guess the moral of the story is things aren't always wrapped up in a satisfying way.
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