Description

Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s gripping and magical YA thriller following a group of young women as they face the stress of harsh elements, a mysterious monster, and an unraveling of secrets after their yacht is wrecked off the coast of North America.

Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life . . . so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.

Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning a prestigious internship on a movie set filming in Alaska, and finds herself on a luxury yacht alongside pop star Paris Grace, actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight, Olympic gymnast Rosalind Torres, and social media influencer Celia Jones. Liv tries to find common ground with her famous companions, but just as the group starts to bond, a violent storm wrecks their vessel, stranding them on an island in the North Pacific Ocean.

Among the threats of starvation and exposure, they learn there is a predator lurking in the forest, unlike anything they’ve seen before—until they begin to see it in themselves. Every injury they suffer on the island causes inexplicable changes in their bodies. With little hope for rescue and only each other as their final tether to humanity, can the girls endure the ominous forces at work on the island? Or will they lose themselves to their darker natures? 

About the Author

Kyrie McCauley is the author of If These Wings Could Fly, winner of the William C. Morris YA Debut Award; We Can Be Heroes; and All the Dead Lie Down. She has also been a waitress, nanny, singer in a band, ACLU intern, rally organizer, Truman Scholar, and, most recently, a mother and a writer. She holds a master of science in social policy from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives near Philadelphia with her husband, children, and several ill-mannered but beloved cats. You can visit Kyrie at kyriemccauley.com.

Praise For…

“McCauley’s feminist spin on Shakespeare and Greek mythology is both lush and disturbing. Though the plot races forward at a shocking pace, each character feels fully formed, helping to construct a brutally relatable portrait of what it is to be a teenage girl. Compulsively readable.” — Kirkus Reviews

“A powerful story.” — Publishers Weekly

Praise for All the Dead Lie Down: "A rich, disquieting novel for fans of horror, fairy tales, and good storytelling."  — Booklist (starred review)

"Beautiful and textured."  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"McCauley skillfully wrangles haunting atmosphere, anticipatory tension, and macabre humor to cultivate a slow-boiling thriller couched in a decades-old mystery."  — Publishers Weekly

"Macabre yet somehow cozy, All the Dead Lie Down is perfect for readers who enjoy charmingly disturbing children and grand old houses full of secrets. A great book to curl up with on a dark night."  — Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns

"A compulsively readable jewel of the genre, All The Dead Lie Down, will seize you with an eeriness that refuses to relent. An instant classic, worthy of collection with the best of them."  — K. Ancrum, author of The Wicker King and Darling

"McCauley’s writing is as gorgeous as her story is gruesome, filled with a creeping dread that gets into your bones and holds you in thrall. All the Dead Lie Down is the best sapphic horror I’ve read in years."  — Erica Waters, author of The River Has Teeth and The Restless Dark

"This has it all: a slow burn sapphic love story, an agonizingly delicious build of tension, creepy children, reveals that made me gasp out loud. A gothic love story meets gothic horror story, with expert pacing, dark family secrets, and a twisted reveal I didn't see coming."  — Katrina Leno, author of Horrid and You Must Not Miss

Praise for We Can Be Heroes: "Powerful and unflinching, We Can Be Heroes is as fierce as the girls it portrays—and as unforgettable."  — Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends

"McCauley has penned a lyrically gorgeous and hauntingly beautiful story about love, loss, and the power of standing together to deliver justice.”  — Kim Johnson, author of This is My America

“We Can Be Heroes is a vivid, striking novel about all-too-common violence in America, and the ways it shapes lives in a small town. Vivian, Beck, and Cassie’s grief, rage, tenacity and vengeance give us the strength to fight back against the gun violence and violence against women that we as society have come to see as unstoppable and inevitable. May this book be an awakening for many, and a call to action for all of us.”  — Katherine Locke, award-winning author of The Girl with the Red Balloon

Praise for If These Wings Could Fly: “A hauntingly intense tale thrumming with hope! A stunning, powerful debut.” — Tiffany D. Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Grown and White Smoke

"A deep dive to illustrate the quiet strength of those in the darkest situations, If These Wings Could Fly is atmospheric, brilliantly drawn, and ultimately hopeful.”  — Mindy McGinnis, author of The Female of the Species and Heroine

“McCauley expertly blends the devastation of family with the invincibility of first love and sisterhood. This debut marks the start of a bold new talent!”  — Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always and Early Departures

“Heartbreaking, important, and layered with so much hope, this book breathes magic into every chapter.”  — Akemi Dawn Bowman, Morris Award Finalist and author of Starfish

"[A] lyrical novel [with] authentic, intimate first-person narration... Strong writing that features some dreamily lovely turns of phrase... A powerful, thoughtful, and ultimately hopeful debut."  — Kirkus Reviews

"Poignant and powerful, this novel uses magical realism to examine choice in a difficult world. There are titles for teens that address the realities of dating violence, but it’s more difficult to find stories of family violence; in her debut, McCauley traverses the tender ground with grace."  — Booklist

"McCauley offers just a touch of magical realism here, layering a painfully honest exploration of domestic violence with a subtle eeriness... Her narration is elegant and thoughtful... a refreshing portrayal of two teens who negotiate their own challenges while acknowledging those of others."  — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"McCauley makes a moving debut with this hard-hitting novel set in a small, tightly knit town."  — Publishers Weekly

“A beautiful, powerful, and emotional story that tugs at your heartstrings as it empathetically and honestly steers you through the pain of domestic violence.” – — Farrah Penn, author of Twelve Steps to Normal

“If These Wings Could Fly is a tense and emotional story that will in turns break your heart, make you swoon, and leave you feeling hopeful.”  — Elizabeth Eulberg, author of Past Perfect Life

“A careful, sharp exploration of rage, love, and what it means to balance on the knife edge between them.”  — Rebecca Barrow, author of This Is What It Feels Like