Kirjahaku

When their mother calls with news that their MAGA-pilled, conspiracy-theorist father has gone missing, the newly unemployed queer narrator of Make Sure You Die Screaming does what anyone would do: steals their ex-boyfriend's BMW and races from Chicago to deep-red Arkansas on a mission to kidnap their estranged father and bring him home. Now, with a bottle of premixed margarita jiggling in the cupholder and the narrator's brand-new garbage goth bestie, Yivi, screaming through night terrors in the passenger seat, our hero hurtles toward a family reunion from hell. Along the way, they experiment with Yivi's mystery pills, elude a relentless stalker and outrun some cops who believe the narrator committed a tragic murder. An unflinching interrogation of class rage, economic (im)mobility, gender expression, the rot at the heart of capitalism and the political bloodbath dividing so many American families, Make Sure You Die Screaming is the loud, funny, 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.

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.