ARC Review: “Doe” by Rebecca Barrow

“Doe” by Rebecca Barrow

Publishing Date: June 23, 2026

Genre: YA, Fiction, Horror, LGBTQ

Page Length: 368 pages (paperback review edition)

Synopsis:

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.

Review:

Going into reading DOE I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what lies in the pages is a slow-burn supernatural tale that leaves the audience with thrills and chills. Barrow does a great job of showing, not telling in this novel which leaves things up to interpretation. I appreciated the open-ended questions and constant guessing of where the plot would take us next. The setting of a small town seems normal enough, but the behavior and cult-like nature of the cheer team Mavis is a part of seems anything but. The way they move as a unit is unsettling and so creepy, especially how it ties into Doe’s past with her own girls.

The deer itself is sounds like nightmare fuel and Barrow uses this horror trope in order to convey the true terror lying in plain sight. In horror, deer often symbolize foreboding, bad omens, trauma, or the chaotic intrusion of nature on humanity (ex. movies like Get Out, The Ritual). Doe mirrors the vulnerability these girls have and their trauma that binds them together. Cheer is the only thing that keeps them alive and Doe uses that to her advantage. Their symbiotic nature propels the plot into a climatic ending with some surprising twists.

I would describe this novel as a horror that is heavy on suspense and tension, but no jump scares. There are some mentions of body horror which are not extreme, but if you are squeamish you may want to read with caution. This novel wasn’t what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by it and look forward to reading more of Barrow’s work. Recommended for readers who like supernatural horror mixed with thriller vibe!

Final Verdict: