Make Sure You Die Screaming: A Novel
Apr 2025 · Sold by Flatiron Books
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256
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About this ebook
One of NPR's best books of 2025
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.
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.
One of NPR's best books of 2025
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 ...
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Ratings and reviews
2 reviews
Julia Chilicas
- Flag inappropriate
May 4, 2025
Uuuuugh. Painfully socially conscious to where it gets in the way of the (meh) story.
About the author
Zee Carlstrom grew up in Illinois. They believe in Frederick Douglass’s vision of America as a composite nation, where every human person can come together to live in harmony.
Zee Carlstrom grew up in Illinois. They believe in Frederick Douglass’s vision of America as a composite nation, where every human person can come together to live in harmony.
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