Make Me a Monster: From the author of TikTok sensation Cinderella Is Dead

By Author / Illustrator

Kalynn Bayron

Genre

Horror

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Bloomsbury YA

ISBN

9781526680464

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

30-09-2025

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is back with a Frankenstein-tinged horror romance.

Meka is used to death. After all, it's the family business. As a mortician's assistant at her parents' funeral home, Meka's days are not for the squeamish. Luckily, her boyfriend Noah doesn't mind, and Meka finally feels ready to say those three little words that will change everything.

Then tragedy strikes and Meka's world is torn apart. Nothing makes sense, especially when strange things start to happen: Strangers follow her. Mysterious items are left at her door. And worst of all ... The dead don't seem to be staying dead.

Meka thought she understood death better than anyone, but it turns out the family business is more complicated than it seemed. And Meka isn't the only one desperate to unearth their secrets ... because the truth may be worth dying for.

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Reviews

Rachel

Make Me a Monster is not for the faint-hearted. Set in a funeral home with graphic descriptions and explanations about preparing a body for burial, Kalynn Bayron’s first horror story requires a strong stomach.

17-year-old Meka lives and works with her parents in a funeral home. She is used to people avoiding hanging out with her or not coming to visit when the "guests" arrive, but she has a gorgeous boyfriend, Noah, and two best friends. Meka battles with a nightly strange dream which she attributes to thinking odd things are happening but when tragedy strikes, Meka finds herself having to face things that she never thought were possible.

My first impression of this was that it could upset some readers who had recently experienced a bereavement. The details of embalming and preparing a body for burial are very explicit (and quite fascinating!), but then the story centres on Meka and Noah’s relationship, which is very well drawn and credible.

The true horror comes in the last third of the plot. The atmosphere is unnerving and morbid, and fans of this genre will undoubtedly love the ghoulish and gruesome detail of broken body parts and rotting corpses. There were a couple of points in the plot which were left undeveloped but overall, for someone seeking a macabre read, this could be your book of choice.

352 pages / Reviewed by Rachel Bolton