How Brat are Horror Novels in 2024?
Collins Dictionary named “brat” the word of the year for 2024, and 2024 decidedly belongs to brat. Charli XCX just finished the iconic Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan, and she entered living rooms everywhere earlier this month when she both hosted and performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
If you’re reading this and wondering what “brat” means, check out Charli’s SNL monologue. Brat Summer might be over, but brat is sticking with us for the rest of the year.
Horror is probably the most brat literary genre, so all horror novels are pretty brat. But how brat are the top-rated horror novels of 2024? Let’s take a look!
The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim (13,507 ratings on Goodreads, 3.88 avg.) — Is it any surprise that the highest-rated horror novel of 2024 is also the most brat? When Ji-won’s appa has an affair and leaves the family, Ji-won doesn’t get mad. She gets to eating eyeballs. Human eyeballs. And she sticks it to a lot of misogynistic, racist white men in the process. 100/100 Club Classics.
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher (21,720 ratings on Goodreads, 3.84 avg.) — Kingfisher’s sequel to What Moves the Dead is a quick but intense read. Very brat. Alex Easton is back, and this time they’re back at their family hunting lodge, where they find the caretaker dead and potentially a breath-stealing monster on the loose. 20/25 “Apple” TikTok Dances.
Murder Road by Simone St. James (39,828 ratings on Goodreads, 3.70 avg.) — Is it brat to pick up a hitchhiker? Maybe. But what if that hitchhiker dies, and you get blamed not only for their murder but other unexplained murders that have happened along the highway? Not so brat. But riveting material for a horror novel. 50% So Julia.
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (39,390 ratings on Goodreads, 3.69 avg.) — This one is getting so much buzz as one of the scariest books of all time. And it lives up to the hype! It’s about an 8-year-old named Bela who befriends a malevolent entity she calls “Other Mommy.” Yikes. For the fear factor alone, this book is very brat. 75% chance of working it out on a remix.
I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones (10,515 ratings on Goodreads, 3.60 avg.) — Tolly Driver is a good kid, but he’s destined for evil. In this book, he tells his story of how he became a slasher. This is such a great book, and it deserves all the positive ratings. But is it brat? I don’t know. With all of its specific music references, this one is more metal than pop, and I think that’s exactly how Stephen Graham Jones likes it. It’s a knife when you’re 0/5 Brat but 100% Metal.
What was the most brat book you read in 2024? Was it a horror novel? Let me know! See you next week for even more scary content, horror fans!
