Death Valley

pre-release review, march 2023: i'm a simple gal: i see a Melissa Broder book, i add it to my TBR and lust over it until it is released

review, september 2023
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration.

if you've read anything by Broder before you have a general idea of her writing, but Death Valley goes completely off the rails. if you don't like rambling protagonists and conversations with inanimate objects then this will not be your jam. if you like reading about grief and grappling with the mortality of your loved ones, you might enjoy it! this worked for me because of the latter.

I keep accidentally reading a lot about parents who are dead and/or dying, which is a cathartic experience for someone who lost a parent this year. so this brought me close to the protagonist as i clung to sentences that in previous years i would have just found nice. i highlighted so many bits of this and at points just stared at the ceiling, processing how hard they were hitting me.

this novel is completely out there! but if you can get past that, you might just love it.