Sometimes, when looking for a new book to read, you find yourself in the mood for something more. Something that is unlike what you've been reading. Doe was one of those books. A novel in verse and a horror novel; both things that I don't read very often, though I do enjoy both of them. But I was intiruged by the cover and summary and decided to give this book a shot. This review was originally posted on YABooksCentral and can be read by clicking this link.
If you're in the mood for: hauntingly lyrical writing, a loyal but rough group of girls, and an ending that had me gasping; this book might be for you. Please check trigger warnings as this book does discuss a lot of dark topics. Happy reading!
Author: Rebecca Barrow
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication Date: June 23, 2026
Genres: LGBT, Young Adult, Horror, Novel in Verse
Pages: 368
Maris Larsen is the captain of the West Eaton High cheer team. She’s Coach’s favorite and the team worships her. Being on the team makes her feel special—powerful. When she’s leading the girls on the mat, Maris doesn’t have to think about her dead-end life in a dead-end town. She can forget about her depressed mother and absent father and the fact that her girlfriend doesn’t really love her. But when newcomer and Coach’s new golden girl, Genevieve Ray, joins the team, the only thing going right in Maris’s life is suddenly in jeopardy. A bitter rivalry develops between the two, but Maris is determined to take Genevieve down. The knife she needs to wield comes to Maris in her dreams.
While sleepwalking, Maris is visited by a monstrous, decaying beast in the shape of an enormous deer. Doe is an ancient, tired creature who has been wandering, trapped in her current form for decades. She cannot die, but she cannot go on living as she has. Only a girl related by blood to those who bound her in this form can free her, but those girls she loved died years ago—murdered in a fire.
But Maris is somehow linked to Doe’s beloved girls—linked by blood—and so she has the power to free Doe, to unleash her immense power. In Maris’s dreams, she and Doe form a bond, but Maris doesn’t know the creature from her dreams is real. Maris doesn’t understand the danger she’s in. She only knows Doe has promised her a way to win her battle with Genevieve. But for Maris to win, someone has to die, and the only real winner in the end will be Doe.
Finish Date: May 26, 2026
Format: Physical
Source: ARC from YABooksCentral
Representation: Sapphic
Purchase: Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Indigo, Amazon
Overall:
Plot:
Writing:
Characters:
Ambiance:
...if only to stare the dead boy in his face and rip his throat out...
Sometimess you go into a book expecting to feel a certain way, only to be surprised. Now this can be a pleasant surprise or an unpleasant one. Thankfully, for Doe it was a very pleasant surprise! I never could've imagined that I would've been entranced by this book. That I wouldn't be able to bare putting it down and that it would've lived in my brain when I wasn't reading it.
This book is split into multiple POVs and each one adds a new layer of depth to the story. Doe’s chapters are haunting and lyrical; revenge and anger and loneliness etched into every word. She has a good number of chapters, and I loved getting to experience everything from her POV. Her story is heartbreaking and it creates a character whose choices make a lot of sense in the book.
Maris’ POV is one of the most prominent. She is cloaked in anger and gloominess; but she’s also fiercely loyal to her team, the only people who seem to like her exactly how she is. Do you know how hard it is to write a character like Maris – who does things during this book that should be off-putting – and still want to see her get the best out of life? I didn’t love her the way I love a character I truly connect with and adore, but I rooted for her the entire way through. She felt so complex and messy, wanting things that she didn't think she could have.
The team are also given chapters, ones that use “we” pronouns and seems to speak as a hive mind of sorts. It leans into the idea that they act as one, they serve Maris and Coach as one, they are one. Not singular people that make up a cheer team, they ARE the cheer team. It's their identity. The one that they found beyond their families and experiences. It’s compelling and freaky all at once. They make each other worse, but they also have each other's backs.
One of the strengths of this book is the characters and all the shades of gray that they show. Maris is not a “good” character. She’s not your typical sweet girl next door, looking for love and companionship. Her team isn’t made up of girls who are kind and gentle with newcomers. They’re all rough, edges jagged and worn by everything the world has thrown at them. They bring out the absolute worst in each other, but they also know that they have each other even when no one else does. It’s a strange experience, seeing these girls who are cruel to everyone and at times even each other, but who would destroy anyone that tries to take their home from them.
The writing style in this book took me a bit of time to get used to, but it easily managed to grab my attention. I'm not used to novel in verse formatting, but even with that barried Rebecca Barrow's writing is haunting and thrilling. Even when I got confused or had to re-read lines, I couldn't put the book down.
Doe moves at a fairly steady pace. It builds up the conflict, both wwith Genevieve and Doe, allowing characters to grow and expand before charging towards a climax and resolution. But even when certain plot points or POVs seem to be moving and changing rapidly, other chapters still hold the story steady. It keeps the tension up, keeps the story and fear building.
If this book had gone on for another 200 pages, I would've read it. If it had followed these characters through years of their lives, I would've read it. I loved it. Messy and haunting and grim and thrilling all at once. A read I didn't know I needed until I was already halfway through the book!
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