Why I'm Reading: Persona and Itch! via Booklist

The December 2025 issue of Booklist features two reviews by me. Both are excellent choices for all library audiences. 

As usual, here on the blog I am presenting my draft review with lots of bonus info. 

First up an impressive debut,

Persona
by Aoife Josie Clements

Jan. 2026. 280p. LittlePuss, paper, $15.95  (9781964322063); e-book (9781964322070). First published December 1, 2025 (Booklist).

Annie, early twenties, is a trans girl who has become a shut-in, struggling to get by over the last year with a meager online job, as the garbage (and bugs drawn to it) builds up in her apartment. Her depression is getting worse by the day, making her question if she should even keep living. That is, until she happens upon a video, on a porn site, of a trans girl that looks and sounds exactly like her. Amy is that other girl and Clements introduces her story to readers in part two before bringing the doppelgängers together for a nightmarishly realistic and immersively terrifying journey, forcing the reader to take a long hard look at late stage capitalism, internet obsession, even what it means to be human. A disorienting story that will hold readers in its thrall much like the sf-horror tinged novels of Blake Crouch and Caitlin Starling, but also suggest to fans bleak but honestly thought provoking stories like Coup de Grȃce by Ajram and Tell Me I’m Worthless by Rumfitt.

Three Words That Describe This Book: disorienting, doppelgänger, nightmarish

Further Appeal: More words-- thought provoking, hard truths, immersive terror, SF horror.

An impressive Debut-- I am excited to see what else this author can do. The storylines of first Annie and then Amy-- telling the same story in part 1 and 2 but from Annie and then Amy's perspective was an awesome narrative choice. And then part 3, they come together-- it is so disorienting both because their names are similar and they look the same and they are in conversation back and forth..... what a great example of the writing itself adding to the readers disorientation. It ratchets up the unease and makes the entire story better.

And then they go on a road trip together and it all goes from disorienting to nightmarish and quite honestly existentially terrifying. This is when the book goes from a good horror story about 2 trans women who find out they look exactly the same and have mirror image apartments to a universally terrifying story.

It stays realistic even as it gets more nightmarish and delves into a bit of SF horror. So many stairs. I don't want to go into a stairwell anytime soon. Seriously. 

The entire metaphor of the doppelgänger as what it feels like to live as a transperson is not new-- the life before and after- but what Clements does with it is unique and new. Also, being trans in and of itself has nothing to do with the horror. It is just who these two women are. The horror is much much much bigger than them and their lives. I loved that as well. 

The book is a horror story that critics late stage capitalism, especially how hard it hits young workers, the horror of lives ruled by the internet, and how easy and horrific  it is for women on the fringes of society to turn to sex work for money. Loneliness, depression, suicide are all here. Garbage piling up and lots of bugs as well. But the garbage and bugs are there to set the stage. They are not the horror.

This book is a solid 4.5. Like a lot of excellent debuts, it needed a bit more at the end. I loved that the ending was not tidy and that all the problems were not solved. But it needed just a bit stronger of a statement about the SF esque horror parts. Something to bring the terror out of the book. The last pages try to do that but I think it could have been more effective and stronger (I am trying very hard to not give anything away). If that final page was a little more direct and less detached (to mirror the directness and immersive present of the rest of the book) it would have been 5 stars for sure.

Overall-- a strong debut that will linger with readers long after turning the final page, every time they log into an internet chat room or even (as I said before) started walking down a long stairwell. *shivers*

Readalikes: There are many ways this book could lead readers to another title. For Blake Crouch mentioned above, I would suggest Recursion or Dark Matter and for Caitlin Starling 100% Last to Leave the Room but also The Luminous Dead.

All of what I have said here should make it clear to you that this book about two trans girl is for a huge swath of your SF-Horror readers, no matter their own identities. Do not pigeon-hole this book or you and your readers will miss out on a exciting new voice.

ITCH!
By Gemma Amor

Jan. 2026. 352p. Mobius, $28  (9781399745369). 

First published December 1, 2025 (Booklist).

Josie has returned home to the village of Ellwood, known for its centuries old “Devil’s March” festival, to recover from the head injury sustained at the hands of her London girlfriend. After the most recent march, Josie finds the decomposed, bug-riddled, body of a young woman on the festival path. The discovery rocks Josie’s tenuous recovery, but it also gives her the strength to begin addressing the trauma of her own repressed memories, memories which are key to getting justice for the dead woman. Told over the course of one year, this visceral, and original story deftly blends investigative, psychological, and folk horror elements, realistically and compassionately addressing the complicated horror of trauma, ultimately giving agency to its victims. And then there are the ants; so many ants. Have they really infested Josie? Does it matter? The answer may lie in how much scratching the reader does throughout? For fans of titles like The Haunting of Velkwood by Kiste, The Daughters of Block Island by Carmen, or Mothered by Stage.

Note: This book came out in 2025 in England but will be released by an American publisher in January 2026. 

There Words That Describe This Book:  folk horror, trauma, investigative elements

Further Appeal: Please note that "bugs" are not in the three words. They are important but honestly, the horror here goes way deeper than the bugs. They make a great hook to draw you in though.

Other words: bugs, strong sense of place, search for justice for dead girls, immersive.

More from my notes: Solid folk horror with a strong female main character-- a woman who has lived trough trauma and is finally uncovering past memories. She is working to overcome her trauma and heal and find the justice she can. The timeline and the up and downs of this process were honest here. Josie does not wave a magic wand to have a life of trauma fixed.

There is a good investigative element as well. The folk horror festival from the town-- Ellwood-- is creepy and the story is framed around one year from the day after until it happens the next year. 

The way Amor is able to intersect the dead girls with the festival was original and horrific. It made everything more terrifying. And it was seamless. There is a twist in the investigation as to how the girls were killed that was chilling and unique. 

Oh and bug. Lots of bugs, especially ants. They are incorporated into the story but also are part of Josie-- they are the manifestation of her anxiety and trauma, but they are also the source of her strength and fearlessness. Are all of them real? Does it matter? It does not. it was a well employed and visceral narrative device that works from start to finish. Also try not to itch while reading this.

But this book is so much more than the bugs and I liked that. As a horror novel it did a great job weaving the folk horror and psychological horror subgenres but also the investigative elements were weaved in well. Speaking of, those investigative/mystery elements resolve realistically. They figure out who is responsible, but not every questions can be answered, not every dead girl found, and I liked that. 

Readalikes: I fit in a bunch above, but also A Mask of Flies by Lyons and The Queen by Cutter for the bug horror fans. And anything by Simone St. James.