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#thesistersofstraygardenplacle
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (October 13, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 153621227X
ISBN-13: 978-1536212273
Praise for THE SISTERS OF STRAYGARDEN PLACE
Lyrical and imaginative, rich and riveting. This is Hayley Chewins at her best, writing about magical girls with secrets and sisters who rise above the odds. An absolute must-read! —Christine Day, author of I Can Make This Promise, an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book
Chewins’ prose is exquisite, her eerie concepts heart-wrenching…Superb, spooky, and unforgettable. —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Chewins (The Turnaway Girls) weaves a vivid, otherworldly tale of family and secrets, with a gothic setting that serves as a character in its own right. Through themes of identity, forgiveness, and longing, Mayhap’s unpredictable quest becomes intensely personal, especially as the sisters reinvent their familial relationship. —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A strong opening and consistent sense of urgency makes this an ideal choice for reluctant readers interested in slightly spooky fantasy. Give to fans of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, Kenneth Oppel’s The Nest, or The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee. —School Library Journal
A riveting middle-grade fantasy about sibling bonds, enchanted houses, and encroaching wildness, lyrically told in eerily beautiful prose
The grass grew taller than the house itself, surrounding it on all sides. It stuffed the keyholes and scraped against the roof. It shook the walls and made paintings shiver.
Seven years ago, the Ballastian sisters’ parents left them in the magical Straygarden Place, a house surrounded by tall silver grass and floating trees
They left behind a warning saying never to leave the house or go into the grass. “Wait for us,” the note read. “Sleep darkly.” Ever since then, the house itself has taken care of Winnow, Mayhap, and Pavonine–feeding them, clothing them, even keeping them company–while the girls have waited and grown up and played a guessing game:
Think of an animal, think of a place. Think of a person, think of a face.
Until one day, when the eldest, fourteen-year-old Winnow, does the unthinkable and goes outside into the grass, and everything twelve-year-old Mayhap thought she knew about her home, her family, and even herself starts to unravel.
With luscious, vivid prose, poet and author Hayley Chewins transports readers to a house where beloved little dogs crawl into their owners’ minds to sleep, sick girls turn silver, and anything can be stolen–even laughter and silence.
This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
A lush atmospheric middle-grade fantasy about sisterly bonds, enchanted houses, and threatening wildness, dreamy lyrical prose.
A wonderment of imaginable creation, The Sisters of Straygarden Place
By Hayley Chewins, was a delightful read. A magical eerie tale of family secrets and an unpredictable quest. One the most imaginative books middle grade to high school reads that have come across in a long time.
Astounding world building that is so clever, along inventive vocabulary that has you enthralled. Creeping, Straygarden Place is no everyday ordinary house, and the Ballastian sisters are no ordinary sisters. The suspense builds as clues and hidden secrets are revealed and the tension rises. The house is it’s own character, and the outside is as sinister in this gothic fantasy style tale
You need to read this book, seriously just to experience it, and come back and please tell me what you think
Do not leave the house.
Do not go into the grass.
Sleep darkly.
Wait for us.
Hayley Chewins is an author and writing coach. She grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, in a house so full of books that she learnt to read by accident. She’s fond of telling people that she writes books about magical girls with secrets—even if that’s not an actual genre. Her books are literary fantasy, surreal fairy tales, or weird magic. (Or: all of the above.)
Her debut, The Turnaway Girls, was a Kirkus Best Book of 2018 and made the American Library Association’s Amelia Bloomer List of Best Feminist Books for Young Readers. Her second book, The Sisters of Straygarden Place, is forthcoming from Candlewick Press on October 13th, 2020, and has already been called “superb, spooky, and unforgettable” in a recent starred review. Hayley lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her soulmate/husband/fellow coffee addict, Liale, and their toy poodle, Darfer.She is represented by Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, otherwise known as The Most Amazing Agent Ever.
– 5 Winners will receive a Copy of The Sisters of Straygarden Place by Hayley Chewins.
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