Description
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—for fans of Detransition Baby and Chain-Gang All-Stars
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.
Product Details
| Publisher | Flatiron Books |
| Publish Date | April 08, 2025 |
| Pages | 224 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Hardback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781250365675 |
| Dimensions | 8.6 X 5.7 X 0.8 inches | 0.7 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
Praise for Make Sure You Die Screaming
Named one of the "hottest debut novels of 2025" by Goodreads
A Barnes & Noble pick for their 2025 Yearly Reading Challenge
One of Them's Most Anticipated Books of 2025
One of Debutiful's Most Anticipated Debut Novels of 2025
The Mary Sue pick for its 15 Most Anticipated LGBTQ Books of 2025
“The breezy narration contrasts delightfully with the heavy topics laden like buckshot throughout the book, set in the post-truth Now, and Carlstrom’s unique voice is a breath of fresh air with just the right mix of humor and resigned cynicism with a dash of hope. Make Sure You Die Screaming is exceptionally well timed for the increasingly strange world we find ourselves in. Carlstrom’s debut has almost everything: comedy, action, adventure, philosophical musings, banter, alcoholism, crimes, weird cult-y things, and even some modicum of closure.” —Associated Press
“Carlstrom has written a book that feels incredibly of the moment, twining together anger and glee, hope and despair, alienation and community.” —LA Times
"Make Sure You Die Screaming roars to life from page one and never lets up. It’s a Fear and Loathing for the generation devastated by the generation that brought us Fear and Loathing." —Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby
“Zee Carlstrom is a scary amazing writer. They took me on a joyride that had me holding on for dear life, utterly immersed in their exquisite prose and skewering humor. This iconic road trip novel is a balm for a bleak, uncertain world.” —Vanessa Walters, author of The Lagos Wife
“Make Sure You Die Screaming is a twist on the American road trip novel that pumps the tank full of illegal biodiesel and fills the glove compartment with poppers. Carlstrom's debut blends asphalt-black comedy with the greasy darkness pervading the nuclear family, the workplace, and the U.S. itself. Zee Carlstrom writes like a genderqueer Sam Pink with a bigger, nastier heart; they should hand this book to anyone who leaves a hair salon with a mullet on purpose.” —Calvin Kasulke, author of Several People Are Typing
“Zee Carlstrom dives down the trap doors of America’s rock bottom and emerges every time with the beautiful jaggy truth. Outrageous and funny and heartbreaking and redemptive, whether you’re grieving a person or a country, Make Sure You Die Screaming is the novel for you.” —Holly Wilson, author of Kittentits
“I loved every loud, messy page. Zee Carlstrom is the first writer to make me feel better about my own life choices.” —Sam Irby, New York Times bestselling author of Wow, No Thank You
“This intense, shapeshifting, nightmarish debut is like a sweatier, sweeter, queerer, and somehow more mullety Natural Born Killers, where all bets are off, all rules crossed out. Even just one line will keep you up all night.” —Patrick Nathan, author of The Future Was Color
"Make Sure You Die Screaming is the debut novel our country needs (but doesn’t deserve). It’s a tight little banger about the shared delusion of family that left my heart, as Zee Carlstrom’s head-wounded unnamed narrator would say, 'as full as my bladder,' because putting it down long enough to pee was out of the question." —Ruth Madievsky, bestselling author of All-Night Pharmacy
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