Starred Review: WHAT A NIGHTMARE by Rebekah Faubion

Library Journal: Haven has been shutting down all strong emotions and blending into the scenery for years. When she lets herself feel anger at her boss, he turns up dead, and she knows she caused it. News of her dying father drags her back to her hometown and the family she left behind. Only being perfect is acceptable there, and Haven breaks the rules just by existing. As her emotions get stronger while the town celebrates the harvest festival, she worries that those around her might not survive it. Faubion’s (The Sun and the Moon) deftly paced horror is a slow drip of information that urges readers forward. The tying of deadly power to strong feelings is a genius way to hold back context until the emotional stakes are high enough to warrant using it. The abuse of power, both interpersonally and institutionally, fuels the storyline, and the reactions to it are naturally messy and personal. Side characters are complicated, and morality is deeply gray. VERDICT: A brutally drawn and chilling examination of misogyny, power, abuse, and what happens when the powerless suddenly aren’t. Recommended for every horror collection.