Every Friday night, best friends Delia and Josie become Rayne Ravenscroft and Delilah Darkwood, hosts of the campy creature feature show Midnite Matinee on the local cable station TV Six.

But with the end of senior year quickly approaching, the girls face tough decisions about their futures. Josie has been dreading graduation, as she tries to decide whether to leave for a big university and chase her dream career in mainstream TV. And Lawson, one of the show’s guest performers, a talented MMA fighter with weaknesses for pancakes, fantasy novels, and Josie, is making her tough decision even harder.

Scary movies are the last connection Delia has to her dad, who abandoned the family years ago. If Midnite Matinee becomes a hit, maybe he’ll see it and want to be a part of her life again. And maybe Josie will stay with the show instead of leaving her behind, too.

As the tug-of-war between growing up and growing apart tests the bonds of their friendship, Josie and Delia start to realize that an uncertain future can be both monstrous…and momentous.

I’m going to start off by saying I don’t usually cry much— okay, full disclosure, I cry a lot. Dog videos on Facebook, eating spicy foods, and don’t even get me started on being spoken to by any person with authority— but when it comes to media, it’s easier for me to distance myself and not get wrapped up in the emotional turmoil of a narrative. This was not the case for this book.

I have to hand it to Jeff; he really knows the ways to twist and pull and coerce genuine reactions out of his readers. I was a sopping wet puddle by the end of the novel; having loved and lost and discovered a new sense of self through it all. I related so much to the sentimental and horror-obsessed Delia, and I saw a mixture of two of my best friends as her sharp-witted and hardworking co-host, Josie. Their relationship was expertly crafted, and it honestly felt so familiar and like home.

I fell head over heels for Lawson, and it took me by almost as much surprise as it did Josie. Arliss also held a special spot in my heart; bringing up memories of mentors long past who filled a hole I never could quite place. I feel like this book was written for me: mashing up all of these things and combining them with horror. I’ve never really watched public access horror shows, but I love the genre, and my mom and I used to rent low budget horror films every week and just laugh and enjoy our time together.

Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee did just what the show of the same name did for Jacob and Erica in the last fan letter. It made me think of happy times, and of people I love, and of how proud I am to have been shaped and molded by the moments in my life that have led me here. This is the best book I’ve read in a long time.

5/5 stars