Join a book club that is reading Nightbitch: A Novel!

Sav Gals Book Club

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.” - Carl Sagan

We meet monthly for book discussion with 2-3 social events additional. Book selection is by group decision and runs the spectrum. We mix it up to keep it interesting. 

PDX: Horror/Thriller Fiction

Portland area book club for horror & thriller fiction genres! let’s connect over a shared love of spook and scare 👻 LGBTQIA+ friendly, all-inclusive.

Nightbitch: A Novel

In this blazingly smart and voracious debut novel, an artist turned stay-at-home mom becomes convinced she's turning into a dog. - "A must-read for anyone who can't get enough of the ever-blurring line between the psychological and supernatural that Yellowjackets exemplifies." --Vulture

 

One day, the mother was a mother, but then one night, she was quite suddenly something else...

 

An ambitious mother puts her art career on hold to stay at home with her newborn son, but the experience does not match her imagination. Two years later, she steps into the bathroom for a break from her toddler's demands, only to discover a dense patch of hair on the back of her neck. In the mirror, her canines suddenly look sharper than she remembers. Her husband, who travels for work five days a week, casually dismisses her fears from faraway hotel rooms.

 

As the mother's symptoms intensify, and her temptation to give in to her new dog impulses peak, she struggles to keep her alter-canine-identity secret. Seeking a cure at the library, she discovers the mysterious academic tome which becomes her bible, A Field Guide to Magical Women: A Mythical Ethnography, and meets a group of mommies involved in a multilevel-marketing scheme who may also be more than what they seem.

 

An outrageously original novel of ideas about art, power, and womanhood wrapped in a satirical fairy tale, Nightbitch will make you want to howl in laughter and recognition. And you should. You should howl as much as you want.

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Published Jul 5, 2022

256 pages

Average rating: 6

350 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

sneed
Jun 18, 2025
8/10 stars
the last 70 pages were clear and interesting and i honestly thought they were great, but before that was a slog for me to get through. not entirely sure if that was on purpose to serve a function of having us experience the book as the narrator does her life
CheriF
Sep 25, 2025
8/10 stars
Wow. I mean... wow.

I received the ebook ARC for this one but wasn't in the right frame of mind whenever I thought about actually reading it. So when I saw it on Audible a while back, I bought it. And Cassandra Campbell is a great narrator.

I finally started listening yesterday and just got sucked right in. I'm certain I've never read anything quite like Nightbitch. Also, I fucking love the name of the book and how the main character (and only POV character) refers to herself as Nightbitch.

The first at least half of the book struck me as a call out for the importance of birth control for heterosexual females. It still makes me feel incredibly grateful that our son was raised in a two-mom household. But as the book moved on, and Nightbitch discovered her own power and strength, it's much less about how shitty parenthood can be for women.

I will absolutely read this one again. Just to catch the small things I missed the first time. There were lots of laughs mixed in with the gruesomeness, too. And lots of howling. Such beautiful howling!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for bringing this interesting, smart, and unique book to my attention.
Nanizee
Aug 25, 2025
8/10 stars
A wild, thought provoking, twisted ride. Loved it!
Bea Melanie
Jul 13, 2025
1/10 star
Terrible waste of time for me. It seemed to have no plot other than motherhood is hard. I kept waiting for something to happen but nothing really happens. The writing can be confusing at times. It is told third person which was fine but lacked direction. I felt it had plot holes that left the reader unsure or unclear about what was actually happening. Is the story literal or hypothetical, it is never really clear. Very open to Interpretation, which is perhaps what the author wanted. I only chose this book because it was a Goodreads challenge choice, wish I had chosen another, any other book. I could have stopped and not finished it but I hate leaving anything unfinished, so I finish every book I start. Always hoping it will surprise me. This one did not.
Cam Bam
Jul 01, 2025
6/10 stars
Wonderful book for those experiencing caregiver burnout, tired mommy/dad/nonbinary parent syndrome, its interesting to watch the main character lose herself then find herself again and help other women connect with their inner night bitch. If you loved this, you'll love women who run with the wolves!

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