{"product_id":"the-invocations-isbn-9780593532287","title":"The Invocations","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eHouse of Hollow\u003c\/i\u003e comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night. Now in paperback!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAN INSTANT \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThree girls, one supernatural killer on the loose . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eZara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to consider—that her murdered sister is gone forever and there is nothing she can do about it. Rather than grieving and moving on, Zara decides she will do whatever it takes to claw her sister back from the grave—even trading in the occult.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJude Wolf may be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul has been slowly turning necrotic. It’s a miserable existence marred by pain, sickness, and monstrous things that taunt her in the night. Now that she’s glimpsed what’s beyond the veil, Jude’s desperate to find someone to undo the damage she’s done to herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEnter Emer Byrne, an orphaned witch with a dark past and a deadly power, a.k.a. the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s problems. Though Emer lives a hardscrabble life, she gives away her most valuable asset—her invocations—to women in desperate situations who are willing to sacrifice a piece of their soul in exchange for a scrap of power. Zara and Jude are willing, but they first have to find Emer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Emer’s clients start turning up dead all over London, a vital clue leads Zara and Jude right to her. If a serial killer is targeting her clients, Emer wants to know why—and to stop them. She strikes a tenuous alliance with Zara and Jude to hunt a killer before they are next on his list, even if she can’t give them in return what Zara and Jude want most: a sister and a soul.\u003cb\u003eAN INSTANT \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER\u003cu\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Invocations\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/u\u003eA 2025 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick\u003cbr\u003eA 2025 Texas TAYSHAS Reading List Pick\u003cbr\u003eA Junior Library Guild Selection\u003cu\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ \"Sutherland (House of Hollow) pits three teens against a monstrous evil in this \u003cb\u003edevilishly bewitching\u003c\/b\u003e novel steeped in \u003cb\u003edark academia\u003c\/b\u003e and set in a fantasy London where only women wield magic. \u003cb\u003eVivid descriptions, mellifluous prose, expert pacing\u003c\/b\u003e, and a \u003cb\u003eslow-burning romance\u003c\/b\u003e keep the tension high and the pages turning while intimately written character arcs probe \u003cb\u003ethemes of misogyny, grief, and dynamics of gender and power\u003c\/b\u003e...the \u003cb\u003etwisty, haunting tale\u003c\/b\u003e unveils the \u003cb\u003echilling \u003c\/b\u003esocial inequities that disempower women.\"—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ “\u003cb\u003eDark, twisty…and beautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e…Readers will find themselves rooting for this ragtag team of wannabe witches\u003cb\u003e…\u003c\/b\u003e [and] \u003cb\u003espeeding through\u003c\/b\u003e to reach \u003cb\u003ethe explosive, satisfying ending\u003c\/b\u003e. Hand to mature readers who like a little \u003cb\u003eLGBTQIA+ romance\u003c\/b\u003e with their witchcraft and necromancy.\"—\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An \u003cb\u003eempowering \u003c\/b\u003estory about women fighting back against the violence of men and making the choice to forge one’s own path in a hostile world, in addition to a \u003cb\u003egrotesque murder mystery\u003c\/b\u003e sprinkled with demonic deals. \u003cb\u003eReaders hungry for their next dark, witchy, feminist read will have plenty to feast on here\u003c\/b\u003e.\"—\u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Three young women team up to track down \u003cb\u003ea serial killer who’s targeting witches\u003c\/b\u003e… Sutherland expertly weaves together their lives in intricate and fascinating ways. \u003cb\u003eFilled with feminist rage\u003c\/b\u003e and a sprinkle of queer romance, this \u003cb\u003elushly written\u003c\/b\u003e tale methodically builds to a \u003cb\u003eheart-pounding\u003c\/b\u003e confrontation…The evocative body horror, distinct and \u003cb\u003ecompelling leads, and twisty plot\u003c\/b\u003e will keep readers immersed in this grisly story. \u003cb\u003eA thrilling and exquisitely grotesque showcase of young women taking charge.\u003c\/b\u003e\"—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A gorgeously twisted modern fairy tale that shimmers with magic and mystery, \u003ci\u003eThe Invocations\u003c\/i\u003e is thrilling, irresistible, and unforgettable.”—\u003cb\u003eKaren M. McManus\u003c\/b\u003e, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eOne of Us Is Lying\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This is pitch-dark academia at its best and most captivatingly haunted: by demons and dead languages, occult magic and richly imagined supernatural disaster. If you’ve ever dreamed of leading a magic-touched double life in England’s most history-heavy places, \u003ci\u003eThe Invocations\u003c\/i\u003e is your next obsession.\"—\u003cb\u003eMelissa Albert\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Hazel Wood \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Invocations\u003c\/i\u003e is stunning. Perfectly plotted, gorgeously written, with a heart-pounding finale that will leave readers gasping. An intricate, twisty, brilliant book that pulls you in from the very first line and refuses to let go until the final page. I loved it.”—\u003cb\u003eKatherine Webber\u003c\/b\u003e, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eTwin Crowns\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Lyrical, grotesque and pulsing with feminist rage, this is sapphic horror at its very finest. Sutherland is a luminous (albeit slightly terrifying) talent.”—\u003cb\u003eLaura Steven\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Society for Soulless Girls\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Sutherland’s\u003ci\u003e Invocations\u003c\/i\u003e has been one of my favorite reads of the year. This story is exceptionally crafted. Equal parts visceral and haunting, its twists and turns will lure readers in, and its compulsive plot will keep them engrossed until the end.\"—\u003cb\u003eAyana Gray\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of the Beasts of Prey trilogyKrystal Sutherland is the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and indie bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHouse of Hollow\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eOur Chemical Hearts\u003c\/i\u003e, which was adapted into a film by Amazon Studios. Her books have been published in more than twenty countries and nominated for the Carnegie Medal and YA Book Prize, among others. Originally from Australia, she has lived on four continents and currently calls London home.\u003cb\u003ePROLOGUE\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA GIRL \u003c\/b\u003ewalks home alone at night.\u003cbr\u003e   It’s All Hallows’ Eve in London, and the street that stretches before her is empty, quiet except for the soft thud of her boots on the sidewalk and the rustle of autumn leaves plucked by the wind. Hazy sodium lights struggle to shift the dark.\u003cbr\u003e   The girl is dressed as a witch. Cartoon-green skin, pointy hat, a fake wart on her nose. She is coming from the Electric Ballroom, where, at a Halloween concert with her housemates, she saw the boy she likes kissing a girl dressed as a sexy angel. It immediately made her regret her costume and want to go home.\u003cbr\u003e    Now she slips through the gap between two buildings, past the canal-side pub she goes to with her friends in the summer. A girl sits on the other side of a window decorated with bat decals, her face smeared with blood. A couple in matching hot-pink jumpsuits are breaking up on a bench.\u003cbr\u003e    The girl takes a few steps onto the footbridge that leads over the water and down onto the towpath on the other side.\u003cbr\u003e    It is here, on the bridge, that she pauses. The canal beneath her is a thin snake of shallow water. On a clear day, you can see the algae-coated detritus that collects at the bottom: the bicycles, the shopping trolleys, the tires. Tonight it is black and impenetrable. If you didn’t know its depth, you might think it fathomless.\u003cbr\u003e     Across the water, the bars and restaurants of Camden Market are still busy with the Halloween crowd. Men and women in costumes cluster around the spaceship-red glow of outdoor heaters, laughing, drinking mulled wine out of steaming mugs.\u003cbr\u003e     Ahead, the footbridge slopes down to the towpath that winds alongside Regent’s Canal, below street level.\u003cbr\u003e     The girl hovers at the edge of the dark, weighing her options.\u003cbr\u003e     Usually she avoids the canal after sunset. It is unlit. It is the kind of place she has been told all her life to avoid for the simple fact that she is a girl—but tonight she is cold and drunk and sad and hungry for the leftover pad thai she knows is waiting for her in the fridge. The path by the water is the shortest, fastest route home.\u003cbr\u003e     Yet something tells her not to go any farther. Perhaps it is the memory of what happened to her on another night like this one. The stranger waiting in the dark, all the warnings she had been given growing up suddenly manifesting as flesh and breath and muscle.\u003cbr\u003e     Then the girl remembers the words at her wrist and runs a fingertip over the cool metal letters sunken into her skin. Words that took her a year to find. Words that mean she no longer has to fear the night or anyone who might be lurking in it.\u003cbr\u003e     She crosses the bridge. She plunges down into the blackness.\u003cbr\u003e     The first part of the walk is fine. The path is narrow and cobbled. The canal is bordered on both sides by converted warehouses turned into blocks of fancy flats. Light from their windows reflects on the smooth surface of the water, creating an eerie mirror world just below the real one. Houseboats sit snug against the canal’s edge, the smell of woodsmoke clinging to the air around them. A huge, fat dog sits atop one, watching her as she passes. The sounds of revelry dissolve into the distance, but there is still life here. Still people to hear her, if she were to scream.\u003cbr\u003e     She crosses beneath a bridge. It is mauled with graffiti and lit with shocking blue light to discourage drug use. Combined, they make the place feel dangerous. She moves on quickly, back into the waiting shadow.\u003cbr\u003e     The next stretch of the walk is worse. There are no more houseboats. There are no more fancy flats. There is no one to come to her aid. There’s more greenery along the side of the path, vines and brambles that don’t lose their foliage as the nighttimes turn to frost. She moves closer to the water, wary of attackers hidden in the creepers.\u003cbr\u003e     The girl crosses under a second blue-lit bridge, and then a third that’s rancid with the stink of urine. She makes it to the base of the stairs that leap up out of the darkness and onto the brightly lit street above.\u003cbr\u003e     A girl walks home alone, but not alone.\u003cbr\u003e     She feels him before she sees him. There’s no sound, or movement, or smell. Just some primordial response left over in the blood from a time before humans were humans. A sudden prickle of fright in her gut. A displacement of energy that makes her gaze snap back over her shoulder and brings her footsteps to a stop.\u003cbr\u003e     Her eyes find the figure immediately, standing stationary on the path. He’s a slip of shadow, nothing more. No face, no weapon, nothing to indicate that he might do her harm. Just a man.\u003cbr\u003e     But she is a girl. And she is alone. And it is night. And that is enough.\u003cbr\u003e     She ducks her head and takes the stairs two at a time, but tries to do it casually, the way women do when they’re afraid but trying not to look rude. She forces herself not to run. There’s no need for desperate measures. Not yet. He’s just a man on the towpath at night. It would be rude to run.\u003cbr\u003e     And sometimes.\u003cbr\u003e     Well.\u003cbr\u003e     Sometimes, if you run, the monster chases you; this she learned the hard way.\u003cbr\u003e     So she climbs, step after measured step, up, up into the light. The staircase spits her out on Gloucester Avenue, only one street from her flat. She waits under a streetlight to see if the man will follow her, but he does not. She breathes a sigh of relief and turns for home. It’s a sloe-black, moonless night. The kind that beckons demons out of the liminal world and brings them into this one, hungry to feed on the souls of the living. London is full to bursting with magic, dark and dangerous, if you know where to look . . . and she knows, now, where to look.\u003cbr\u003e     A dog barks.\u003cbr\u003e     The girl looks up and stifles a yelp with her hand.\u003cbr\u003e     The figure from the canal is somehow standing on the sidewalk directly in front of her. Closer than he was the first time.\u003cbr\u003e     The girl stops again. Stares. Her heart crashes inside her chest. She takes small, gasping breaths as she tries to understand the logistics of what has just happened. How could he have followed her? How could he have overtaken her? How could he have moved so quickly? There’s no way. There’s no way.\u003cbr\u003e     Then she remembers the words at her wrist.\u003cbr\u003e     There’s no need to fear anymore.\u003cbr\u003e     There’s heavy shadow to her right, the deep, wet shadow that trees cast in the forest. The girl moves toward it, into it, lets it devour her, and—\u003cbr\u003e     She steps from a bank of shadows on the next street over. A little out of breath. A little frazzled. She looks around. She’s alone again. She went where the figure could not follow. Into one shadow, out of another.\u003cbr\u003e     A small smile on her face now, she again heads toward her flat, only a few buildings away. The price she paid for this power—blood and money and soul—was worth it to feel safe.\u003cbr\u003e     The girl climbs the five stairs up to her blue front door and unlocks it. When she steps inside and turns to close the door behind her, she finds the figure once more, now standing at the bottom of the stairs. He is unmoving and close. So very close to her now.\u003cbr\u003e     It is impossible. Men cannot use magic. This is what she has been told. This is what she has been promised. Men cannot write spells. Men cannot sear invocations into their skin. Men cannot bind their souls to demons in exchange for power.\u003cbr\u003e     Men cannot use magic.\u003cbr\u003e     And yet. Here he is. Again.\u003cbr\u003e     They stand still, staring at each other. Though—is he staring? She cannot see his face, cannot make out his eyes, his nose, his hair. He is empty space, a black hole from which no light escapes.\u003cbr\u003e     The girl slams the door closed and scrambles backward. She doesn’t bother with the stairs that lead up to her flat on the third floor. She lunges into the shadowed corner of the hall, falls out of another shadow in her kitchen, then fumbles in the sink for one of the dirty knives her housemates are forever leaving to soak.\u003cbr\u003e     The blade quivers like a water reed in her white-knuckled hand as she watches her front door and waits. Waits for a bang against the wood, a turning of the handle, a horror-movie moment worthy of a scream.\u003cbr\u003e     It does not come.\u003cbr\u003e     It does not come.\u003cbr\u003e     It does not come.\u003cbr\u003e     And then, when she thinks perhaps she is safe, perhaps he was no more than a Halloween prankster out for a laugh, a pair of strong hands close around her throat.","brand":"Nancy Paulsen Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301643276517,"sku":"NP9780593532287","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593532287.jpg?v=1767739982","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-invocations-isbn-9780593532287","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}