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Make Sure You Die Screaming

A Novel

ebook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 10 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 10 weeks

Named one of the hottest debut novels of 2025 by Goodreads
"It's Fear and Loathing for the generation devastated by the generation that brought us Fear and Loathing." —Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby
An electrifying debut about a nonbinary corporate burnout embarking on a road trip from Chicago to Arkansas to find their conspiracy-theorist father, who has gone missing
The newly nameless narrator of Make Sure You Die Screaming has rejected the gender binary, has flamed out with a vengeance at their corporate gig, is most likely brain damaged from a major tussle with their now ex-boyfriend, and is on a bender to end all benders.
A call from their mother with the news that their MAGA-friendly, conspiracy-theorist father has gone missing launches the narrator from Chicago to deep red Arkansas in a stolen car. Along the way, the narrator and their new bestie—a self-proclaimed "garbage goth" with her own emotional baggage (and someone on her tail)—unpack the narrator's childhood and a recent personal loss that they refuse to face head-on.
An unflinching interrogation of class rage, economic (im)mobility, gender expression, and the rot at the heart of capitalism, Make Sure You Die Screaming is the loud, funny, tragic, suspenseful road trip novel of our times.

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    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2024

      Carlstrom debuts with a 75K-copy first printing for this story with a nameless narrator who has rejected the gender binary. While on a massive bender, they are interrupted by their mother, who says their father is missing. The protagonist hits the road in a stolen car to take an epic road trip while examining capitalism and self-expression. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      April 1, 2025
      Like a burst of adrenaline, Carlstrom's rollicking debut novel will leave your heart racing. The nameless narrator sets out on a wild, alcohol-fueled quest with their "garbage goth" friend Yivi, driving south from Chicago in a stolen car to find their missing conspiracy-theorist father in rural Arkansas. "I am in the mood for drama," the narrator declares, and drama they get, finding themselves in increasingly bizarre and comical situations. Fleeing from cops and cowboys, getting drunk in themed motel rooms and Uncle Slaton's Christmas Club, the narrator can't outrun their grief for their dead best friend, the guilt for the role they played in her death, and the series of self-destructive acts that followed. Just when you think things can't get any more absurd, the men in white robes show up. Exhausted yet? Underneath all the mayhem is the story of a nonbinary person reckoning with their past and the complicated relationships that have shaped them. Come for the chaos, and stay for some unexpectedly tender moments; this novel will surprise you at every turn.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • Kindle Book
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Languages

  • English

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