If you think the title of this book is ominous, just wait until we get into the content. Although I read this book some time ago, I’m covering it now in honor of the movie adaptation, which released last week. It’s been so much fun to watch Booth tweet and post about the project from the screenplay stage to its film festival premiere. If you haven’t yet read We Need to Do Something, now’s the perfect time to do so. Check it out before the movie.

Here’s a Goodreads overview:

A family on the verge of self-destruction finds themselves isolated in their bathroom during a tornado warning.

Yes, that’s it, and yes, it’s brief. But there’s a great deal not mentioned here. We Need to Do Something includes queer witches (subjects near and dear to my heart), natural disasters, claustrophobia, family drama, snakes, the occult, and so much more. Let’s get into it, shall we?

I’m a claustrophobic person. When the plane lands and everyone stands up, it makes me anxious. I can’t think too hard about being up in the air in a little silver tube or I get panicked. When I was in college, I got stuck in an elevator and had a panic attack so bad, I had to skip my biology lecture. You get the point.

We Need to Do Something is a claustrophobic book. It contains expansive, far-reaching ideas, but it does take place in a bathroom. I grew up in Florida and spent a lot of my youth in bathrooms, hiding from tornado warnings. Honestly, I used to have night terrors about tornadoes. At first, I feared that picking up this book might trigger a panic attack. It didn’t. If anything, it made me feel better about storms.

What I love most about this book is that it primarily takes place in a single location: the family bathroom. It’s difficult to pull off telling a story with no scene changes, but Booth doesn’t flinch at the challenge. He surpasses it, crafting a suspenseful tale that raises questions throughout and leaves you reeling at its conclusion. It’s uncomfortable. It’s real.

Four characters is too many to have in a bathroom at one time, and Booth makes sure you feel that. He makes sure you sit in it. Things start out bad and get so much worse. As I kept reading, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted the characters to make it out alive. Even if they did, I knew they wouldn’t be the same.

One of my hobbies is reimagining books as plays. I love figuring out sets, lighting, and blocking choices in my head. Even if my imaginings never see the spotlight, it feels good to flex those creative muscles. Since it takes place in one setting, I think We Need to Do Something would make a great play. It makes a phenomenal movie and gets five spooky stars from me.

If you want a copy of We Need to Do Something, you can pick it up from Amazon or on Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing’s website. You can also follow Max Booth III on Instagram and Twitter. He also has a podcast called Ghoulish, which I was honored to appear on (we talked about time loops!). And, if you want to check out the movie adaptation, you can watch it on your preferred VOD service.

Thanks so much for reading. See you all next week!