Carrying

Quotes

A Publishers Weekly Buzz Book
A Crime Reads Best Thriller of June
A Pink News Must-Read LGBTQ+ Book of the Year
A Phrasemaker Book to Watch
A Debutiful Most Anticipated Debut of the Year

"Not sure I've ever experienced a wider range of emotions during a single read. Carrying is a totally original (stomach-turning, laugh-out-loud, horrifying, heartwarming) work of art." —Marisa Kashino, USA Today bestselling author of Best Offer Wins

“Provocative and sharply original, Carrying is as unsettling as it is addictive. A body horror that pulls you in, disturbs you quietly, and doesn’t let you go. Samantha Josephs has a bold, singular voice.” —Raphael Montes, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Secret Dinner

“Pitched as Rosemary’s Detransition, Baby, Samantha Josephs’s debut novel is a notable entry in the (unsurprisingly robust) canon of trans body horror literature. . . It’s a fun, nasty little romp, and Josephs deftly weaves the visceral horror of embodiment into the domestic drama at the center of the book. Read it, but not while you’re eating.” —Lit Hub

“Oscillating between sinister, sexy, and sardonic… Carrying features a fresh and freaky coat of paint to familiar themes in trans literature using the kind of body-horror and sharp wit that I crave when I’m looking for a fleshed out world to fall into.” —Miss Benny

“Carrying ruined my weekend plans because I couldn't put it down and couldn't stop talking about it. I was insatiable, much like Martha, eager to devour every last word of Samantha Josephs' electric debut. Centered around one of the great antiheroes of contemporary fiction, Josephs' wickedly funny novel is at once grotesque and picturesque. It examines womanhood, motherhood, suburbia, and identity (ew, I know) through the sharpest pen, drawing blood on every page. The prose has the surgical precision of someone who has been carrying this story for a lifetime and the confidence of someone born to tell it, with a keen eye for the performance of femininity and the violence underneath it. Carrying wrecked me and delighted me in equal measure, a balance that's nearly impossible to pull off. The envy I felt reading this—wishing I could be both Martha and Samantha at once—is impossible to describe. Tens across the board. This book will probably make you trans.” —Tommy Dorfman, bestselling author of Maybe This Will Save Me

“A sharp horror exploring the trans experience with razor-sharp writing. Joseph understands how to pace a story to perfection.” —Debutiful

“Of everything we’re tracking, this is one of the debuts we’re most curious to see break through.” —Phrasemaker

“Josephs does a great job of making Martha not only sympathetic, but justified . . . Carrying captivated me from the very first sentence and kept me reading throughout. The pacing was incredibly quick . . . This book is a true page turner that incorporates all of the elements of queer fiction, identity, women’s fiction, and horror into one. I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a deliciously repugnant story of being a woman.” —Write Through the Night