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.

In Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker has created a poignant and terrifying narrative that calls out systems of queer and trans identity erasure that show how to unleash your true identity with the help of friendship and found family against the true monsters of the world. 

There are so many details that will call out to those facing struggles like the ones the protagonists in this novel face. From the very first, it begins with an intensity and emotion that will haunt the reader. The narrative brings you face to face with safe spaces and how often it is difficult to be true to yourself when you do not feel safe to do so. And as the supernatural elements creep in and thread throughout the story, it only highlights the way real families and adults force queer teens into hiding or burying who they truly are. 

I love how Fern and Jaq slowly find their reality as they are supported by friends who become family for them, how much they are family for each other along with Mallory. In the end, found family and friendship are truly what save the day for these teens and their monsters are not just faced down in the forest but the powerful story will demonstrate how important it is to listen to children and teens as they discover themselves and how important it is to create safe spaces. The authenticity and real emotions in this novel will connect with anyone who has felt similar to these three teens.

If you like powerful and intense stories about queer identity or supernatural horror that originates from the very real terror of being different, then this novel is for you. Come Out, Come Out is poignant and terrifying, touching on themes of queer and trans erasure, homophobia and parents who don’t want to allow their children to be queer. It is very real while containing a sinister supernatural element. This one is as spooky as it gets.

Rating: 5 out of 5 teens.