Come Out, Come Out

by Natalie C. Parker Narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker

Overview

A spine-tingling LGBTQIA+ YA horror about queer teens who accidentally invoke a twisted spirit who promises help but delivers something sinister.

Perfect for fans of Kayla Cottingham, Andrew Joseph White, and Ryan La Sala.

"A searing and poignant portrait of queer identity wrapped in an unflinching tale of terror." -Kalynn Bayron, New York Times bestselling author of You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight

"Modern horror at its best." -Bram Stoker Award Nominee Sarah Henning

It's never been safe for Fern, Jaq, or Mallory to come out to their families. As kids their emerging identities drove them into friendship but also forced them into the woods to hide in an old, abandoned house when they needed safety. But one night when the girls sought refuge, Mallory never made it back home. Fern and Jaq did, but neither survivor remembered what happened or the secrets they were so desperate to keep.

Five years later, Fern and Jaq are seniors on the verge of graduation, seemingly happy in their straight, cisgender lives-until a spirit who looks like Mallory begins to appear, seeking revenge for her death, and the part Fern and Jaq played in it. As they're haunted, something begins to shift inside them.

They remember who they are.
Who they want to love.
And the truth about the vicious secrets hiding in their woods.

This delightfully dark and pointed novel calls out the systems that erase gay and queer and trans identity, giving space to embrace queerness and to unleash the power of friendship and found family against the real monsters in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

★ "Alongside supernatural terrors, Parker sets light on true worldly horrors within the work: the perpetuation of compulsive heterosexuality ideals by religious zealots and the disregard of young people’s identities at the hands of their parents." —Booklist (starred review)

"A searing and poignant portrait of queer identity wrapped in an unflinching tale of terror." —Kalynn Bayron, New York Times bestselling author of You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight

"A taut and expertly plotted mystery that puts queer kids at the center. Natalie C. Parker is at the top of her game." —Zoraida Córdova, USA Today bestselling author of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

"Beautifully unsettling and eerie, Natalie C. Parker’s Come Out, Come Out, lures you into a dark wood where frightful delights leave behind poignant social commentary about identity, queerness, survival, and hope for young readers. You won’t be able to escape its grip." —Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author

"Parker has crafted the new standard in young adult horror. This book manages to be intimate and bombastic, terrifying and tender, timeless and vital. A jaw-dropping, unforgettable journey!" —Mark Oshiro, #1 NYT Bestselling author of Into The Light

"A creepy, atmospheric horror packed with explorations on sexuality, identity, and self-acceptance. It's rare to read a book where you feel both wildly unsettled and deeply seen and loved. It's like horror with a hug." —Rebecca Coffindaffer, author of Crownchasers

"A story of queer survival, and what it takes to be yourself. Chilling, frightening, and needed."  —Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best and Okay, Cupid

"Perfectly haunting and queer, this story is deeply felt and pulls on the threads of three storylines in a small town that eventually connect to reveal the power of finding one’s true self through found family, friendship, and a horrific truth that refuses to let go." —Britney S. Lewis, award-winning and acclaimed author of The Undead Truth of Us and The Dark Place

"COME OUT, COME OUT is both fresh and classic, suffocatingly personal while being intensely relatable. Natalie C. Parker has crafted a tale that explores the horrors of heteronormative social structures pushed on queer teens as intricately as it delves into the terrors of a lost sense of self. Modern horror at its best." —Bram Stoker Award Nominee Sarah Henning
 
"COME OUT, COME OUT perfectly captures the horror of being forced into an identity that doesn’t fit, and the strength it takes to break free and live on your own terms. Haunting, heart-wrenching, and absolutely unforgettable." —Tracy Banghart, author of the Grace and Fury series

"Dark and terrifying, twisted and yet beautifully hopeful, COME OUT, COME OUT shines a light on the evils of identity erasure for the queer community, and reminds us that sometimes, the monsters at home are every bit as dangerous as the ones who lurk in the woods." —Gretchen McNeil, author of Ten and #murdertrending

"Full of mind-bending twists, heart-rending relationships, and a creeping realization that monsters come in many forms. Natalie C. Parker wields creepy atmospheres like a fine art and takes queer horror to another level. Warning: do not read this book in the woods like I did. You’ll be looking over your shoulder forever!"—Tess Sharpe, author of The Girls I’ve Been

"Full of terrors both supernatural and all too real, COME OUT, COME OUT is a timely look at the true horrors of self-erasure, as well as a powerful meditation on acceptance and seizing hold of your own agency. Come for the scares, stay for the heart. I loved this book!" —Erin A. Craig, #1 NYT bestselling author of HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS

"Come Out, Come Out is absolutely riveting—equal parts tender and terrifying, brimming with hope while packed with spine-tingling scares (supernatural and otherwise). Fern and Jaq’s journey to reclaiming their true selves is deeply felt and deftly written, full of moments that will make you swoon, shriek, cry, and cheer in turn. Parker succeeds at crafting a story that is both a powerful affirmation of queer identity and a thrilling ghost story that will stick with me for a very long time." —Kate Alice Marshall, bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods and Rules for Vanishing

Kirkus Reviews

2024-05-17
Coming out is never easy, especially for teens in the small Puget Sound town of Port Promise.

Life seems idyllic in Port Promise—it’s the kind of place where everyone knows each other and high school sweethearts expect to be together forever. The biggest news lately is the gender-neutral casting for the senior musical, Grease. When 13-year-old Mallory Hammond, an “angry, unhappy” closeted lesbian, disappeared, the townspeople thought she’d finally run away. But to her friends Fern Jensen and Jaqueline De Luca, something about her disappearance felt off. On the night Mal vanished, Fern and Jaq found themselves on the edge of the woods without any recollection of what had happened. Five years later, at a party in those same woods, Fern and Jaq are flooded with horrifying memories of that night. There’s no denying it: Mal is dead, and whatever happened to her caused Fern and Jaq to forget their own queerness. The two friends must try to come to terms with their own identities and fix whatever happened that night, even at the risk of their own lives. This strong supernatural thriller tackles the very real issues of homophobia, transphobia, and forced conversion head-on. Parker manages to balance serious discussions of identity and bigotry with genuinely spine-tingling horror. Main characters present white.

A poignant blend of queer identity and modern horror. (resources) (Horror. 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160176628
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

THAT NIGHT

Three friends went into the woods tonight, but only two are left.

They are running. No longer daunted by the dark. Their eyes wide, their breath sharp and fast, every part of their bodies alight with the electric desire to live. Behind them, looming hemlock trees swallow the path they took inside, obliterating every trace of their presence.

One of them stumbles. Lands hard and gives a small cry. Their knees crush damp moss. The other one whips around, eyes marking the shadows in their wake. Something moves from tree to tree, a darting haunt, a hunter.

"Fern," Jaq says, pulling at her friend's arm. "Get up. We have to keep going."

Fern looks up. Tears drop from their eyes, leaving tracks in the blood that mars their skin.

A cry of anguish rings through the dark. The voice grows louder instead of fading away. In its wake the forest is silent and cold. Not even the rustle of wind or chirp of a frog.

"Jaq-" Fern's breath catches. Their voice is too loud. They reach for Jaq's hand and squeeze, fingers cold and wet.

Jaq makes a move as if to look behind her, but she cannot bring herself to search for whoever-or whatever-made that sound.

"Get up," she whispers, tugging Fern's hand, but Fern still doesn't move.

"We have to go back for Mal," Fern sobs. "She might still be-"

"She's not." Jaq cuts them off. "Look at us!"

Blood-splatter paints across Jaq's pale pink hoodie, smeared along the bottom of her jaw. In the moonlight it's a vivid, horrible brown. But Fern almost finds the contrast lovely, their mind desperate to create something beautiful, even now. Especially now.

In a daze they look down at the blood staining their fingers, thinned to a sticky paste. They raise a hand and trace the edges of blood on their cheek toward their ear. Feel the wetness clinging to their blond curls. Wonder if blood can stain hair.

"But what if-"

"No," Jaq whispers. They've been still for too long. Her mind is reeling. The only girl she's ever kissed is gone. "Not now. Fern, we have to-"

RUN.

The voice is a thunderclap between them.

It jolts through their bodies, forcing Fern onto their feet and Jaq into a sprint. They crash through low ferns and slip against crumbling deadfall. Neither of them knows if the direction they've chosen is the right one, only that it is better than going back, better than returning to that house where their friend is nothing more than blood soaking into the earth.

Hand in hand, they run, their hearts twisted and terrified as they race for safety.

How they could have been so wrong? How could the place they'd trusted so well have betrayed them with such malice?

The edge of the woods appears. The trees thin to reveal the houses beyond, each one wrapped in a peaceful quiet, with curtains drawn against the cold night.

The relief the two friends feel at the sight is ruined by the knowledge that this is what they were running from in the first place. That peace is only ever a lie. But right now, they have no choice.

"They'll help us." Fern pauses. "Won't they?"

"We can't tell them the truth," Jaq answers, thinking especially of her parents. They would have to lie. Keep lying. Only, what lie could explain why she's covered in her best friend's blood? Or why they went into the woods tonight?

But as the two step through the trees and onto the scrubby grass of their neighborhood, something shifts. The sensation is a little like falling and a little like being tugged by the ocean tide. A current runs through Fern and Jaq, swift and cold. It takes. Fern wobbles on her feet. Jaq frowns and blinks.

And when they look at each other again, the blood on their skin and hair and clothes has vanished.

They stand beneath the thin light of a crescent moon, not entirely sure how they got there.

"Are you, um . . ." Fern begins, but the question has no end point. She only has the faintest memory of deciding to come out tonight with Jaqueline De Luca and Mallory Hammond. Neither of whom she knows very well. But Mal never showed.

"I should probably go," Jaq answers, baffled that she ever thought it was a good idea to sneak out with Fern and Mallory. People she's not even friends with. "My parents will kill me if they find out I'm gone."

"Yeah, me too."

The two walk together in silence before going their separate ways.

By morning, Mallory's parents activate the church phone tree. Jaq's parents get the call, and they ask Jaq if she saw Mallory last night. She answers honestly: she didn't. She hasn't seen Mallory since school on Friday.

Fern doesn't hear about it until Monday morning, when the news is all over Port Promise: Mallory Hammond, the closeted, angry girl, has finally run away. Everyone in town believes it's true.

And though something scratches at the back of their minds, muffled as though trapped beneath layers of ice, Fern and Jaq believe it, too.

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