The Passenger Seat

by Vijay Khurana

A searing examination of male friendship and the broader social implications of masculinity in an age of toxic loneliness

In a small town in North America, two boys, or men, embark on a vaguely charted road trip through the northern wilderness with little more than canned food and secondhand camping gear—and the rifle they buy on their way out of town for reasons neither seems able to articulate. The more they handle the gun, and the farther they get from their parents’ houses and their peers, girlfriends and online gaming, the grim future that awaits them in their nowhere town, the less their actions—and the games, literal and metaphorical, they play—are bound by the usual constraints. When Adam decides to harass a young couple they meet on the highway, the outcome is irreversible, and leads them even further down a road from which there’s no turning back.

A searing examination of male friendship and the broader social implications of masculinity in an age of toxic loneliness, The Passenger Seat introduces Vijay Khurana as an powerful new voice in fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Literature

227 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2025

Reviews

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this thought provoking novel. Drawn in immediately by two underwhelmingly and dissatisfied youth, who were bonded together by this unease with life, a dissatisfaction, an awkwardness. These traits created a general malaise about what they were like as young men. Not likeable, but understanding why so.

Not unsurprising then they would end up on a trip, simply to take off, destination unknown. Purchasing supplies, a gun, leading the reader to prepare for drama to unfold.

The description of the boys cleaning their unclean bodies, the stench, the desire to be clean, and the imagery of the landscape built an unexpected and underrated tension.

One of the duo wanting to reach a body of water showed a desire for something good was a backdrop to a dense and depressing set of themes.

This story of competing manhood, the innocence of youth becoming disastrous was told in a removed yet interesting way. This was the surprising element for me as I was not able to attach emotionally to the characters in the way I normally do, but the character study was really interesting. This book won’t take you on a deep emotional journey in a conventional way, but it will show the introspection of two young men heading nowhere fast.

This is quality literary fiction which I tackled after reading the author’s wife’s book. They are so similar, quite eerie!

With thanks to Ultimo Press for my review copy.

[Mae Lees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really smart. so many descriptions of smelly unwashed men. The feeling of ick lingers with me a few days after finishing this.

[Craig and Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big thanks to Ultimo Press for sending us a copy to read and review.
A snapshot of the desire to escape hometown shadows, misadventure and perceived maturity as two guys embark on a journey that will change futures and create physical and emotional turmoil.
Adam and Teddy coupled with a huge dose of testosterone pack up and leave town.
Encountering a couple in an isolated camping area is a defining moment for the boys as ill fated decisions and actions erode trust and define destiny.
Aggression and ego illuminate a toxic element of masculinity and male influence.
You can run but not hide…..
Like a snowball gathering speed and extra baggage on downward roll the adage of one wrong decision comes into play.
This evocative story challenges the reader to understand what makes people act upon devious and miscreant urges while derailing the success of the original plan.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before the review I would like to thank Biblioasis and Edelweiss for giving me a digital reviw copy of this book. I really enjoyed reading this book. Thank you.

This book is about friendship.
This book is about loneliness.
This book is about masculinity.
And about trying to impress others.

The spotlight is on two boys or men taking a road trip. It seems that they are best friends, but do they stay like that under all circumstances? What keeps them together? Do they even know each other that well?

The two boys or men have different views on their future, and they are constantly trying to impress each other while coming to terms with their own masculinity by testing boundaries. One of them wants to get away from the life he has known. The other just wants a fun and new experience with his friend. They want to get away from the town where they grew up, from their parents, from the people they know, and from the videogame. But they find themselves in a situation that quickly turns their life upside down. One mistake that will have consequences. That will change their whole future. But their problem is not only changing their plans or taking action. This event also causes rivalry between them, making them reconsider how well they can actually trust each other.

In this interesting and quite addictive novel, we can see how difficult it is to grow from a boy to a man and to please others while also sticking to your own wants. After all, this book is about human connections and, in a way, about life.

[nina.reads.books · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana, two American teenagers jump into a car and drive north hoping to leave their small town behind at least for a little while before their final year of school is upon them. They leave on a whim and with no clear sense of where they are going.

Adam and Teddy have an uneasy kind of friendship and this is tested as the journey progresses. Then one day Adam harasses a young couple they meet on the highway and it sets off a series of events that neither boy will be able to walk away from.

This was a quite perplexing read. The writing and dialogue is sparse and there is a lot left unsaid. I really couldn't see how the storyline would come together and well the ending really threw me. It leaves the two boys at a pivotal point with the next steps implied but certainly not certain and suddenly it shifts to a tangential character, one that we have head the name of but who is so unimportant to the storyline. Why? Why do we hear from him after the main plot is over?

Anyway I didn't mind reading this but it wasn't a favourite. Interestingly after I finished it I discovered that the author is the partner of Madeleine Watts, whose book Elegy, Southwest was released in March. Both books have a road trip through America as the central plot point. I enjoyed Elegy, Southwest more but would certainly read another book by Vijay Khurana.

Thank you to @ultimopress for my #gifted copy.

[Sammy thebookninja_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a read like no other—intensely powerful and deeply uncomfortable - and one of the most unsettling reading experiences I’ve ever had.

From the very beginning, there is a foreboding dread that puts the reader on edge—almost unbearably so. We sense that violence is coming long before Adam and Teddy do.

As the story progresses and Adam and Teddy become increasingly filthy and unhinged, I felt both disgusted and disturbed. I didn’t feel warmth or emotional connection toward them, yet I was held tightly in their grip.

It was a strange paradox: I wanted to race through the story to avoid spending too much time with these characters, but I also found the narrative addictive to keep coming back to.

And I mean all of this as a sincere compliment to the writing. To provoke such strong and conflicting emotions is impressive.

The writing is particularly clever in its restraint. Quietly and deliberately, Vijay crafts a haunting exploration of toxic masculinity, hinting at the layered influences that shaped these boys. The shift in narrator at the end is another subtle play- a mirrored version of another dysfunctional male friendship, which adds a chilling symmetry. And the way we learn the boys' fate - again not overtly explained- is masterfully executed.

Overall, despite the constant state of tension and unease, a very impressive read.

[endrju]

Fascinating subject matter - white cis straight masculinity (murderous, as it always is) - for those of us living on the outside of it, but handled rather unsuccessfully. The style is neither here nor there, neither distancing enough (psychotically flat would be most appropriate here) nor giving us any kind of interiority (stream-of-consciousness in whatever form to get us inside the characters' heads). It's not even analytical enough, and those late media additions are indeed too late. It is obvious that Vijay Khurana is as much on the outside looking in as I am, and that is simply no fun at all.

[Tiffany Heisenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The cold-blooded murders we see on the news are always so shocking and we build these perpetrators up as monsters. In this book, we see that these acts can also be meaningless, impulsive, driven by a pathetic feeling of inferiority, a desire to impress. The victims aren’t even significant, the men-or-boys see them in a detached manner, as if playing a video game.

I do not personally believe that violent video games are responsible for gun violence because these games are played all over the world, yet gun violence is most prevalent in the US. That said, I think the book makes an interesting case for the idea that playing first person shooter games can facilitate the transition to holding and using a gun. We see this with Adam, whom the author tells us has played a lot of Patriot. Even though there are a lot of important rules for using a firearm that Teddy learned when he got his license, Adam quickly grows accustomed to it just relying on comparisons to his virtual experiences. I thought this was interesting.

Women in this book are insignificant. They are victims, catalysts, playthings or threats to ego. Even in the high adrenaline moments leading up to the gunshots, the woman is being objectified (pretty at first, and not so pretty upon closer inspection). As the men argue and struggle for dominance; the woman is an afterthought. She has no agency. Grace’s academic success only serves to make Teddy feel insecure and lost by comparison. Ron’s mother cruelly reminds him of his loneliness. Toxic masculinity (or whatever we are calling it these days) presents a world where these are the only roles for women.

Adam is made out to be the leader of the two, but we see most of his thoughts are not original, he is simply parroting ‘manosphere’ drivel. Teddy realizes this full well, but still goes along and follows Adam’s lead. I believe it is important that Teddy is the one that actually pulls the trigger and commits murder, not Adam. It reflects the reality we see constantly unfolding where the “thought leaders” radicalizing their audiences are rarely the ones who commit the atrocities.

I loved the ending; I think it drives home the main themes of the book. Throughout the story we learn that Ron is this mysterious man making Teddy’s mother happy and Teddy thinks she will surely end up running away with him. When we finally meet Ron, we see he is yet another example of a toxic white male who imposes himself on the women in his world (calling Elizabeth despite her pleas not to, insisting on saying hello to Grace and overstating their relationship, ruining the little girl’s bedroom with his filth and stench).

[Nathan]

Masculinity really has the power to be corrosive. In your teenage years, it is formed by inheritance - your father, your friends, other male role models - you kind of pick and choose your values based on what has been absorbed by them. The thing about growing up in the realm of instant access is that you can find role models anywhere, and despite looking 'cool', what they are modelling is likely not what you should be looking for. 

The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana is an eloquent novel about horrible circumstances. It is a story of friendship and emotional illiteracy, of masculinity ruining vulnerability. Somewhat a quiet book but still full of tension, we follow Adam and Teddy on a road trip that takes a morbid turn that the boys find themselves glorifying rather than regretting. Khurana has written this really interesting character study about the implications of not knowing what being a man could truly involve, instead having the boys buy into the violence and emotional disconnection of advertised manhood. 

Written beautifully, eerily, and with thoughtful consideration, The Passenger Seat packs a punch that will leave you sitting uncomfortably as you flick through the pages. 

Shout out to Ultimo for the copy AND for the gorgeous cover - this is one of the occasions where you can 'judge a book by its cover'.

[Joshua Mogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good exploration on the toxicity of white masculinity in today’s day and age

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. What amazing character study work! This novel was intense, but it was the last 25 pages that really made this an excellent book. The title took on another layer of psychological complexity.

[Amber Hawken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one surprised me. It’s a quiet book, but there’s this constant tension running underneath everything. It is like something could break at any moment, even though nothing really does in any dramatic sense.

There is a sense of slipping into the passenger seat of your own life without being conscious of it entirely but also desiring it.

The male characters are driven by the influence of others and the power they desire. The female characters, that are dotted throughout, are subtly more cautious. Which is very clever, given the themes.

There is almost physical discomfort in this book. You can feel the main characters awkwardness, their dirtiness, the fear, the power. I felt tense at times when the characters did.

There was a lot of depth to this novel.

[Amy Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

.....📚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 📚.....

The Passenger Seat is the searingly intense debut novel by author Vijay Khurana. What begins as a rite of passage for two dissatisfied youth morphs into a devastating and violent portrayal of masculinity gone wrong.

In a small town in North America, two boys, or men, embark on a vaguely charted road trip through the northern wilderness with little more than canned food and secondhand camping gear—and the rifle they buy on their way out of town for reasons neither seems able to articulate.
Escaping from their small-town existence, Adam and Teddy hope to leave boyhood behind, but as the journey progresses, their friendship becomes a struggle to prove themselves.
The more they handle the gun, and the further they get from their parents and their peers, girlfriends, online gaming, and the grim future that awaits them in their nowhere town, the less their actions are bound by the usual constraints. When Adam decides to harass a young couple they meet on the highway, the outcome is irreversible, and leads them even further down a road from which there’s no turning back.

The writing of this book is exquisite in its intensity and hypnotic menace. This is a story that will sit with me for a long time, and exposes the ways toxic masculinity so easily slides into unfettered violence and alienation into aggression. A very talented author, and very powerful read.
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Thank you to @ultimopress for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Suzanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 🌟 rounded up

A slow moving but tense story about two boys, or men, growing up in the age of toxic masculinity, abd how that affects their relationship with each other, their families, and women. The story is visceral - the descriptions of the teens hygiene made me feel icky. But also, the tension is palpable throughout, even when they're just talking or driving.

[Mark Palacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a reflection of toxic masculinity and its reverberations through society. Terrible to look at, hard to read, but very poignant. The author put into words things I have felt and seen through my life in ways I didn't think possible. 

[Anne Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana was pitched to me this past spring, I recall being immediately intrigued by its premise; the exploration of toxic masculinity, based loosely upon a horrific incident that took place in Canada a few years ago. I liked the idea of a creative interpretation of the situation; an imagining of what could have led to the tragic turn of events, and how the young men’s lives may have looked leading up to that fateful summer. Instead of sensationalizing the story, it carefully examines their circumstances, coming up with a searing look at the growing pandemic among youth: loneliness.

Plot Summary

Teddy and Adam are on the cusp on manhood, living in a small town, and enjoying their last few weeks of summer vacation before school starts up again. Both are frustrated by their lives; Teddy has a girlfriend that simultaneously frustrates and enamors him, while Adam is ashamed of his father’s poverty and listlessness. Although coming from a more stable home, Teddy is sickened by his parents denial; it’s obvious his mother is engaging in an ongoing affair while his father remains resolutely oblivious, even Teddy’s older sister is desperate to escape the charade and go away to university as soon as possible. Adam struggles with making friends, working a part-time job to keep himself out of the house and fed, but awkward around most of the kids his age, connecting only with Teddy. On a whim they decide to embark on a road trip north, hopefully ending up somewhere near Alaska. Teddy seems a bit more hesitant, but Adam is committed to never coming back, and for reasons somewhat unknown, they stop and purchase a gun at a hunting store, along with plenty of ammunition as they exit town. It’s not much of a spoiler to reveal that the trip takes a violent turn, and early on in the novel there is obvious foreshadowing that Teddy and Adam will become the subject of major speculation in the media. The majority of the book describes the road trip, but the last twenty pages push the reader into a jarring perspective; that of the man that Teddy’s mother was having an affair with.

My Thoughts

At the risk of sounding like a hand-wringing old woman, I will caution people in picking up this book if they already think ‘kids these days’ are a danger to themselves and others. Although it doesn’t directly point the finger at any one particular issue, first-person shooting games are most definitely a piece of this puzzle that Khurana references. Would it be unfair to label all ‘shooting’ gamers as potentially dangerous loners? Of course, but what this book is suggesting is not the games itself that are the problem, but the void of social skills these activities have filled for young men.

The novel actually begins with an almost heart-warming scene; two boys jumping off a bridge into cool water, playing outside together to beat the heat and laze away a summer day. But because we live solely in their interior lives, we are quickly alerted to the destructive thoughts that ping pong inside their heads. They are completely unequipped to recognize or communicate their emotions, both positive and negative. Instead, their internal dialogue is peppered with suspicions of one another, attempts to connect that are thwarted, and much anger and confusion. Their inner thoughts came across as odd, detached, and made me uncomfortable almost as soon as we meet these characters:

“Maybe it’s just him, maybe he’s a freak like everyone says. It isn’t the sort of thing he can talk about, to Teddy or anyone else…So much focus has been on the hazards of sex for women, and rightly so, that nobody, until now, has talked about what dangers it holds for men. He learned that from a streamer he follows, a guy who monologues while he plays and whose thinking seems sharpened by the mechanics of combat” (p. 45 of The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana, ARC edition).

The choice to end the book with the perspective of an outsider who played only a peripheral role to the boys’ lives seemed an odd one at first, I figured it was meant to lend the situation an air of seriousness not usually viable through a first person narration. Instead, I quickly realized the author was doing something much more impactful; he was drawing connections between a teenaged male friendship, and a similarly odd (although much less violent) friendship between two middle-aged men who do NOT play video games. My judgement of these friendships is of course skewed being female myself, and I did not recognize any kind of warmth in this story at all. That being said, I’m (desperately) curious to know a man’s perspective of this book – did you feel the men were portrayed unfairly? Did it oversimplify the challenges men face nowadays? Does it only reflect a very extreme kind of male friendship or psyche? I’m sure the answers to all those questions is ‘yes’ depending on who reads this and comments, but I’d love to hear from you guys regardless.


To read the rest of my reviews, please visit my blog:
https://ivereadthis.com/

[Marles Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

“What would either of them be without the other to define him?”
Two teenagers, an unlikely match, decide to drive north for the summer without a destination. Their connection is not entirely clear: Adam’s family has fallen apart, and Teddy’s family seem to have everything on the surface. Adam seems to repel girls, Teddy has them at his feet. Even as friends, it is hard to ascertain what about each of them was the drawcard. As friendships go, its was a hard one to crack. Are they two teenage boys, or are they already men, unsure of who they are meant to be?
Adam and Teddy are thinking about how they relate to the world around them. Their thoughts become the narrative. They are unsure, consciously unconscious to how their sexuality is affecting how they are thinking and acting. They don’t act like two friends going for a summer road trip. There is no languorous chill to their demeanour. They are quiet, their conversations quiet and static. They are lost souls individually, and together they are also devoid of the friendship they possibly were looking for in each other. For most of this book they sit side by side in the car viewing the world as it goes by from the car. There in the passenger seat to the world that they could be taking a step into, but don't.

Both Adam and Teddy are flawed a much as their actions are nothing but horrific. Were they every good? Were they always lost? Were they never able to trust each other in the first place, and they were both just too blind to see? The uncomfortableness to their relationship grows exponentialy they continue driving after they confront the couple by the side of the road. This is a book that will make you think about hard questions and concepts around masculinity and young men and the struggles that they might be facing they will that's giving them conflicted answers, or setting themselves up to ask conflicted questions.

Thank you #ultimopress for this #gifted copy.

[Col · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminds me most of the movie (not book) Lords of Chaos.

In Lords of Chaos, a man is so upset by the suicide of his friend that he doesn't recognize the red flags in his social circle's new entry. The new friend, whom he gloms onto as a replacement for the dead one, turns out to be a psychopath who believes all of this mayhem and destruction is real and not just a fun thing to play with. Because they as young men don't know how to communicate emotions effectively, they end up destroying each other.

In this book, Teddy and Adam engage in a game of silent, violent one-upmanship for no reason other than they can't begin to articulate to each other their real social-emotional needs. What they are both desperately saying is like me, like me, please somebody like me. The closest they can get is the performance of atrocities: like me because I'm cool, like me because I don't give a fuck, like me or else.

Having driven in these same Canadian woods, unwashed after a camping trip, running out of money - this book is so evocative of that particular setting that it's hallucinatory. Just an amazing read.

[Natasha (jouljet) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two boys, or men, set off on a roadtrip for the Summer, leaving their small town, complicated family lives, limited social connections, and world of video games. Seeking freedom, stories, and maybe escape.

The two both have strained family circumstances, with the loss of a mother, the other knowing about the affair his mother is conducting in clear view. Both are on the outskirts of school and town social circles, outcasts and awkward. Even with each other, they just happen to hang out.

When Adam suggests they hit the road, Teddy doesn't know he means far, long, and maybe with no return. Each trying to impress and out trump the other, a moment of pure madness changes this relaxed trip into a sinister drive of no return.

A book of toxic masculinity, impulse decisions without thought of consequences or impact. Landing in trouble and not fully understanding how they got there. Of men, grown and growing, in their own story, not taking the step, making an impact, or forcing a change. Not saying anything, to stop something very wrong happening.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few pages into this work I was seriously contemplating not finishing it as I found it almost claustrophobic but my rule is I have to read at least 5-10 pages before doing that, plus there was a whiff of promise. I did finish it though, its not an easy read but it is also intensely gripping and not finishing was not an option. Not because I suddenly found it easy but because it wouldn't let me. Its a book about violence in people that could be your neighbours, and people who, in other circumstances, would not have done the thing around which the action pivots. Its also a book about loss and despair. Its not the tragedy of Gaza or what is happening in America. Its a far lower level of awful but its impact is powerful, and, for me, all the characters and especially the central two are still moving and speaking in my mind the way good stories do for a long time after the credits come down or the last page is turned.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Two high school boys, with little discussion or planning, hop in the truck that belongs to one of them and hit the road for a camping trip as they “head north.” Oh, and they make a stop on the way and buy a rifle. And then, for no discernible reason, start killing strangers who were doing absolutely nothing objectionable. (I diagnose testosterone poisoning.) And then the author does the oddest thing. After subjecting the reader to a deep dive into both boys’ thoughts and emotions as the (unfortunately all too common) story unfolds, he does a hard turn away, leaves that story unfinished and fast-forwards two years into the future with a minor character who is mentioned in passing in the earlier part of the book. We are given a few hints about the denouement of the first story, enough that it’s not left unresolved, but here we are, definitely elsewhere.

[Katyak79 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have rated this much higher if it wasn't for the last chapter. Why was it necessary? Ron's chapter does not add anything to this book and I cannot for the life of me figure out why it was included. We have an idea that the story does not end well for the boys throughout the novel thanks to some foreshadowing and there is a sentence toward the end that spells out what happens pretty clearly (again, violence is off screen). Besides that last chapter, this is a very well written novel that manages to keep a constant feeling of dread going throughout the narrative, and most of the violence happens off screen which is unusual. What's important in this book is how the boy's behavior ties in to the 'manosphere' where young men consume media by pod casters such as Tate, and how these ideologies influence their actions.

[Lena Bachiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing this review about a minute after i finished the book. I’m feeling very mixed emotions about it. Took me a bit of time to really get into it, and i honestly hoped we could get a bit more of the boys story. I think the book could have easily had 200 more pages, and it would’ve been perfect. But in a way i also really understand the writers vision of simply stoping the main story at some point and letting us properly guess what really happened. I think i’m really keen to read brotherhood stories, and i think this one was really interesting cause it highlights the part that masculinity, taught by society, plays in boys relationships/friendship/brotherhood. Really liked this book, but again was hoping for more.

[Georgia H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam and Teddy, two friends on a road trip in their camper truck with the intention to never return home. The book was random, uncomfortable but slightly addictive. I liked the writing (although perhaps minus a point for no quotation marks) and thought that it dictated the different perspectives of Adam and Teddy well. The narrator’s use of the phrase “two boys, or men” when describing Adam and Teddy stood out to me, as it invites the reader to consider how their identities shift between youth and adulthood, leaving their maturity open to interpretation.

Thank you, Ultimo Press, for the advanced reader copy! Forever grateful.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you put a coming of age novel in front of me, I simply will be reading it. This one was oddly gripping, and I loved the relationship between the two main characters. There were so many little details of the mundane that proved just how much they cared about each other. BUT! What was the reason for no quotation marks. Call me a square but jeez it was hard to distinguish the dialogue sometimes! AND THE ENDING MADE ME WANT TO PULL MY HAIR OUT!!! WHO TF IS RON (I know who tf Ron is but why is Ron, ya know?)

[Leigh Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first review. I am pretty new to properly reading novels, but I have read over 20 books so far this year. This is my first 2 star rating. Obviously every other book has been 3 stars or better. I really got engaged in this book and was keen to know what happened to the two protagonists. Unfortunately, I thought the ending was annoyingly bad. You don’t fully find out what happens to the two boys, men. To quote another reviewer: “the ending was perplexing”. Not only was it perplexing but it ruined the book for me.

[Kristi Majni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully honest portrayal of the interplay of emotions and power struggles between two young boys on a daring route through the Canadian countryside. I could easily see how young boys in our society could potentially be led down this susceptible route of cascading poor choices. This book was a dangerous adventure I didn't want to put down and I ended up reading it in only a couple days. It's one of those books who's characters just sticks with you.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found The Passenger Seat to be an addictive, yet slightly disturbing read. It follows the story of two young adult men who travel north and encounter events which shape them as individuals and change the course of their lives. Toxic masculinity, friendship, the desire to be accepted are all themes covered in this book. The story is relatively slow moving, however I enjoyed the pacing. I would definitely read a book by Vijay Khurana again.

[♡̆̈ madison ♡̆̈ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has some really beautiful philosophies on being victims of circumstance versus having agency over your own life. I felt like the murders were kind of senseless and unexplained? Like I understand that Teddy feels he has nothing to lose, but do humans really all default to being primal and animalistic? Is there nothing more to us or these characters? The story overall is poignant and articulated extremely well.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

AH! I realized I rarely read male writers or male stories and AH! This was one big bone chilling male story. I picked it up thinking I probably wouldn’t crack it open and should just return it to the library, but then I started reading it and was fully pulled in and read in under 48 hours - the writing really grabbed me and we went full throttle no letting up, and teenage boys are not to be trusted, even in Canada!