Title: Come Out, Come Out
Author: Natalie C. Parker
Genre: YA horror
Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.
I hate that books like this have to exist, but I’m so glad this book exists. Mallory, Fern, and Jaq are friends who explore the woods. Mall never comes out, and Fern and Jaq have no memory of her or their time in the woods.
At a party, they both go back into the woods, and their memories begin to return. Turns out, all three identified as queer in some form (gender fluid, gay, pan, etc) and those memories were taken from them.
This book deals with religious trauma, gay conversion, and parents who refuse to accept their children for who they are. While this is horror due to supernatural elements, the worst horror in the book is the one that is real and present for many LGBTQIA+ kids. This book was really wonderful, but also really difficult to read because of the real-life horror so well represented.
Pleasant Nights 