Yeehaw Junction by Kayli Scholz was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had never knowingly read this author before but I will seek out more of her writings. Yeehaw Junction is a true to life crime type story that is only horror in that bad things happen by bad people. The story jumps around from narrated chapters, police reports, news article, 911 calls, hospital records, police interviews and Internet video transcripts. Generally this gets annoying and hard to follow but this author did a good job keeping the reader on the straight and narrow. The book is fairly short and is a quick read, with my never "having" to skim forward, as it kept me entertained.

4 Stars

I easily could have read this in a single sitting, but had to put it down about three quarters in because it's so messed up that it was kinda ruining my day. Yeehaw Junction is an unrelentingly bleak story about fucked-up hillbillies doing some grotesquely depraved shit in sun-scorched, contaminated middle-of-nowhere Florida just before the turn of the millennium.

Our narrator is Skeet, a twelve-year-old aspiring school shooter. We soon meet the other violent misfits in his found family of broken people, who mostly survive by stealing, peddling poisoned soil in mason jars to gullible tourists, and shooting fucked-up, snuff-like home videos to sell on the Dark Web or to local perverts. When an 11-year-old girl is kidnapped at a gas station in broad daylight, Skeet's crew decides to join the community's frantic search party for the promised reward... while peddling bootlegged Hope4Heather shirts on the side, of course. Not a single thing that happened in this novel is what I expected, at any point.

"We were rotten people and we came from a rotten place."

The story jumps around from Skeet's narrated chapters to 911 calls, police reports and interviews, youtube video transcripts, patient records, and news articles—a gimmick I generally don't much like, but it worked here, adding to the atmosphere of the very specific time and place this story takes place in, blurring the lines between fact and fiction. They also gave objective context to what was happening in the story, because honestly, Skeet is so crazy, I was never really sure how reliable a narrator he really was, and whether these things were actually happening, or just his violent imagination. I also repeatedly had to remind myself of his young age, because by his voice alone, I would've judged him to be at least 16 years old—I suppose you have to grow up fast when society first neglects and then forgets you.

"The world was suddenly like a roach I was gonna crush under my shoe."

Considering some of the things that happen, the gore surprisingly isn't overly graphic—in fact, I kind of missed a bit of horror? Like, what was the point of the creepy guy in a suit? Or of the other kidnapping, other than delivering the most skin-crawling scene? For such a short book, I found the story hard to follow because of how surreal and chaotic it gets—I often had to re-read paragraphs. I can objectively appreciate the world-building that went into crafting this gritty Y2K Southern Gothic novel, but the result wasn't entirely my cup of tea—I like my stories to have a point, and felt that Yeehaw Junction was as jaded and nihilistic a portrayal of abject violence as you could possibly get. Maybe that is the point, and where the actual horror I missed is meant to be found. I certainly know where I won’t be stopping for gas if I ever make it to Florida.

As always, thank you NetGalley and thank you Moonstruck Books for the advance digital copy of this tiny yet creepy book

This is a short book, around 180 pages, placed in the rural Florida, USA. Scholz really nailed the atmosphere, truly discomforting and you can feel the heat of Florida, the sense of being forgotten from the rest of the world, the decay and the entire society in these small towns, where kids grows up too fast and something eerie is creeping down under the surface of the "good and simple people" facade

The mix of narrative, police reports and interviews at first confused me but I keep up with it fast and I came back to the storyline without problems

So, what's make a psychopath a psychopath? Are you birthed like this or it's the environment that makes you a psychopath, the decayed society where you live that makes you like that?

In this book we don't have responses but more questions about the evil in people and why someone choose to be a monster or not

Maybe it was too short because, just 180 pages? Yes, maybe too short because some parts needs an in depth analysis but I get the message from Scholz

3.75 stars⭐

A well structured thought provoking ride of violence and discomfort.
Which means I enjoyed it.
This won't be for everyone. But it may be for you.
The setting stands out. You can really feel the world in a sad way.

As someone who grew up in rural Florida, Yeehaw Junction hits. Kayli Scholz nails the atmosphere, the heat, the decay, the sense of being forgotten by the rest of the world. Skeet’s voice feels raw and unsettling in a way that rings true to how some kids in these places grow up too fast, with violence and desperation simmering just under the surface.

I loved the mix of narrative and police reports/interviews, it gave the story a gritty, documentary feel that worked perfectly. The community of misfits felt authentic, messy, and painfully real. The themes of environmental neglect and systemic failure are spot-on, and they’re things people in towns like this actually live with every day.

That said, I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I wanted more. At around 180 pages, the story sometimes felt like it skimmed the surface when it could have dug deeper, especially with side characters like Trudy and Cricket, or with the bigger conspiracy about the contamination. The book is powerful, but I was left wanting more detail to really ground some of the threads it raises.

Overall, this is a dark, unforgettable story that captures the ugliness and the strange resilience of places like Yeehaw Junction. Not an easy read, but definitely a worthwhile one.

What makes a psychopath--nature or nurture? Spoiler alert, Skeet only adds more questions to the fire.

I knew by the summary of this book that I was going to enjoy it. With an opening about a young boy wanting to be a school shooter when he grows up, it was impossible for me to pass up the chance to read this. I was not disappointed. Scholz's novel is engrossing as any horror that pushes the boundaries of child psychopathy can be. With its southern gothic setting and intriguing characters, you'll no-doubt find it hard to keep reading, but unable to put down.

Thanks to Netgallery for this ARC.

I gave this 3.75 rounded up to 4 stars, this was a interesting if strange and challenging read. I found it hard to like the characters but felt some sort of sympathy at the crappy hand they were dealt, I found it to be a good read if disturbing and bit of WTF. Honestly I didn't vibe with it but that's my opinion it might someone's cup of tea.

I really struggled with this one.

I liked some of it and really dislike other parts that make the whole story.

I won't recommend it to my audience because I know it is not their style at all and I really struggled with the writing style myself. It's not bad but a bit niche in term of style and the story by itself is definitely not for everybody.

This is like nothing I’ve read before….
I really enjoyed, what I would call the extra’s: Police interviews, reports and patients records.
I found this really added to the story.

There was violence but it wasn’t overly gory in my opinion.

I’m not sure it’s for every reader, unfortunately this one fell a little short for me but I will definitely be checking out more of this authors work in the future.

✨️Title: Yehaw Junction by Kayli Scholz
✨️Method: Netgalley-e.reader
✨️My rating: 4/5⭐️

I mean wow. This book was chaotic, gritty, messy, and raw. There was so much trauma and insanity and unbelievable wtf moments, but I COULD.NOT.STOP.READING!
This was an incredibly unique horror/slasher read that will probably stick with me forever. Kayli did NOT shirk on shock value. She did NOT shirk on chaos. I appreciate that this was something that I hadn't really come across before.

We follow this young male character who is so mentally insane that you truly do not know whether what he sees is the truth or a hallucination. His found family is a cluster of insane and broken beings who are simply just trying to make it through the day.

This book and the way it is told throws you around and roughs you up and expects you to hold on tight and take whatever is thrown at you. I loved the gritty atmosphere, the absolute chaos in story telling, it was an incredible experience I will not soon forget and I will recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slashers!

"We're all gonna die someday. May as well not think too hard about it."

"Take no shit, punch hard. Live like you're going to die because you gotta work for what little you can get, even in places that didn't have you on the map."

Oof. This book is messed up—in the best possible way. It’s bleak, it’s rancid, it’s unapologetically depraved, and I devoured every page.

Narrated by Skeet, a teenage boy who casually announces he’s a school shooter in training, the story unfolds in the scorched backroads of Yeehaw Junction, Florida in 1999. Under the threat of Y2k, Skeet drifts through town stirring up chaos everywhere he goes, living in a ramshackle home with Trudy, her mentally disabled sister Cricket, and three kids—one biologically hers, the others, like Skeet, absorbed into her orbit through circumstance or neglect.

They’re the living embodiment of white trash and wear the label like armor. Things spiral quickly after a local girl vanishes from a rest stop, snatched in broad daylight from beneath her mother’s nose. While the town mobilizes in a frantic search, Skeet and his feral foster crew set up shop roadside—hawking poisoned dirt in mason jars and bootlegged Hope 4 Heather t-shirts. To stave off boredom, they capitalize on an opportunity to torment a man and his very pregnant wife when the couple crosses their path. and things only get darker from there.

Scholz weaves in found-footage elements with eerie finesse—peppering the narrative with snippets of news articles, police transcripts, interviews, and YouTube clips that deepen the dread and blur the line between fiction and documentary. It’s a storytelling style that feels voyeuristic, invasive, and brilliantly immersive.

The characters in Yeehaw Junction were really well developed and the writing itself was strong, which I appreciated. Kayli Scholz definitely knows how to bring people to life on the page. That said, the plot just didn’t click for me personally. On top of that, the story deals with a lot of heavy themes and triggers, so it might not be for everyone. I am all for heavy themes but for me this was just a three star read.

Not a true rating as I DNF’d, too hard to get through emotionally. For the amount of what I read the writing was good, I was just struggling emotionally. This is heavy and there are trigger warnings, however, it was too much for me.

This was an unhinged, twisted little read and I ate it up! The author draws you right in and keeps you hooked with the descriptive prose. You actually feel and feel for Skeet, the MMC, the bleak little town, and the hopelessness of its characters.. The dialogue cracked me up but also gave me that feeling this is the real deal. As a Gen X who grew up in the 80s and 90s, I appreciated the worldbuilding the author used by providing dates, news reports, 911 transcripts, etc. I’d recommend!

I enjoyed this one a lot! Can't wait to experience more of Kayli's writing!!! What a talent. I loved the whole thing.

I was a teenager in the late 90s, so I remember when Marilyn Manson became the scapegoat for the emerging school shooting epidemic, or really anything that didn’t conform to a Christian conservative worldview for that matter.

He became a symbol for the downtrodden and misanthropes, for anyone who didn’t adhere to a narrow worldview. His presence throughout this novel was a perfect backdrop for the depravity within.

This is bleak and nihilistic. It’s well written and immersive. But there’s something missing that prevented it from becoming a complete story. It would have benefitted from a greater sense of purpose. It would have been better if it stood for something more than a frigid nothingness. There was no pay off for any aspirations, as amoral and wicked as those aspirations were.

I think the author is on to something here, and I will keep checking in on her work. She clearly has writing chops, and I could see her putting all the pieces together for something brilliant in the future.

Raw, disturbing, and unforgettable, Yeehaw Junction drags the reader through the sweltering backroads of rural Florida, where desperation and decay breed violence. Narrated by Skeet, a chillingly believable teen obsessed with becoming a school shooter, the story spirals into a feverish mix of missing girls, toxic conspiracies, and Southern gothic grit. It’s a novella that burns hot and fast, leaving behind a sense of unease that’s hard to shake. This one was harsh.

I loved the layout for this book. An almost epistolary style that is eye-appealing to a reader. The story itself is dark and crazy. I think the story will cater to a certain audience; it won't be for everyone.

#NetGalley #YeehawJunction

Kayli Scholz continues to up her game and Yeehaw Junction is her best work yet! I couldn't help but be reminded of of the legendary Katherine Dunn while reading this book (which is the highest praise I can give as a massive Katherine Dunn fan). These characters are deranged, yet fascinating. The voice is exceptional and a thrill to read, even while horrified by the content. I can guarantee this book will surprise you, which is hard to do. Get on the Kayli Scholz train and head on down to Sugar Bends--there's some weird shit afoot!

I liked the format and the writing, but that was about it. Where was the horror? What was the point of the Matrix-looking guy? To me, this book was just some weird hillbillies doing fucked up shit. But then, not to an extent that it grabbed my interest either.