Doe by Rebecca Barrow
Minotaur Books (June 2026)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool
Meet Maris. She is the captain of the West Eaton High cheer team, who has an unstable home life. As such, she loves the power that she wields over her team…until Genevieve shows up. Genevieve is a force to be reckoned with and, as an elite gymnast, threatens the very life Maris holds dear. This rivalry quickly ramps up as Maris begins dreaming of a supernatural beast, Doe, who promises her a way to defeat her nemesis. But at what cost?
Doe offers readers three separate points of view: our two rivals and the entity, Doe, that gives a deeper look into each of these characters and their decision-making. I love the chapters where we get inside Doe’s head. You would think Doe would be the main antagonist here, but instead, readers uncover how heartbreaking her story truly is. Her chapters are full of angry revenge, and I was here for every bit of it. We also get a bit of the sheep mentality with the rest of the girls, who are written as one. This just exemplifies how a group-mind setting can become volatile.
I love a book that shows layered characters we likely should not root for, but cannot help but do so as we learn more and more about them. You would be hard-pressed not to understand why each of these characters does what they do.
A young adult horror novel written in verse, Doe is a story that explores themes of jealousy, grief, the desire to belong, and how competition can completely encompass someone. Highly recommend adding to your TBR.
