Review of Decomposition Book by Sara Van OS

It’s almost time for a weird girl lit summer, and if that sounds like you’re kind of summer, then Decomposition Book NEEDS to be at the top of your TBR!

When Savannah retreats to her family’s secluded cabin in the woods to get a grasp on her life and mental health, she’s not even shocked when she stumbles across a corpse near the house. Within the bag of the unknown dead woman’s bag is a composition book, a diary, where Savannah quickly learns belongs to Ava (the corpse) and where she describes how she found herself, well,... dead...

Decomposition Book is a raw novel that follows two characters, who in a way mirror one another in both life and death, touching upon themes of lonlieness, grief, humanity and the relationships that we hold dear to us, even the ones that cause us the most pain.

This book is darkly funny at times (maggots and decomp) but also identifiable and raw. The words are carefully thought about, and the characters are perfectly crafted with the character-driven storyline brilliantly executed. One of the best, and most memorable slices of lit-fic I’ve had the pleasure to read in a very long time! 

Published on 07.05.2026 by Dead Ink

Reviewed by Danielle

.

.

.