In return, the school promises its graduates a future of sublime power and prestige, and that they can become anything or anyone they desire.Īmong this year’s incoming class is Ines, who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, pills, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline-only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. Students are required to give the House three years-summers included-completely removed from the outside world. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents.

Ĭatherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. You are in the house and the house is in you.

You are in the house and the house is in the woods. and the dark truth beneath her school’s promise of prestige. Whether Royce is writing more adult or children’s stories, I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye out for the author’s work.A seductive, gothic-infused tale of literary suspense - the debut of a spectacular new voice - about a dangerously curious young undergraduate whose rebelliousness leads her to discover a shocking secret involving an exclusive circle of students.

The book provides an intriguing look into Gullah-Geechee culture, folklore, and beliefs. Set in 1963, it deals with issues of class, race, family, and power. A tween girl’s world is upended when her grandmother, whose wisdom and gifts have protected her family for years, passes away. The novel was also just nominated for the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction. While it is written for a middle-grade audience, it can be enjoyably read by adults as well. It received a lot of great reviews and made “Booklist’s” Top Ten Middle Grade Debuts 2021. Royce’s middle grade debut, “ Root Magic ,” was published in 2021. They are full of vibrant characters, in very realized settings. ” The stories are atmospheric, infused with the folklore of the South, and of the author’s Gullah-Geechee culture. ” You can also find one of the author’s stories in our collection in the anthology “ Black From the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing. Royce has published two collections of Southern gothic horror stories: “ Spook Lights ” and “ Spook Lights II. Our Women in Horror Month author for today is adult and children’s author Eden Royce. Created by Bob Helmbrecht, collection development librarian

Spook Lights by Eden Royce