{"product_id":"smothermoss-isbn-9781959030584","title":"Smothermoss","description":"\u003cb\u003e“Bristles with dark magic. . . . equal parts gruesome and gorgeous and otherworldly.”―\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This beautifully strange book of the mountains is alarming and inspiring.\"―Samantha Hunt, author of\u003ci\u003e The Unwritten Book\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eWinner of the Great Lakes Colleges Association Fiction Award\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFinalist for the 2024 Big Other Book Award\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA haunting, imaginative, and twisting tale of two sisters and the menacing, unexplained forces that threaten them and their rural mountain community.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1980s Appalachia, sisters Sheila and Angie couldn’t be more different. While their mother works long shifts at the nearby asylum, Sheila cares for their home and keeps to herself, even when enduring relentless bullying. Her fearless younger sister, Angie, is more focused on fighting imaginary zombies and creating tarot-like cards that seem to have minds of their own. When the brutal murder of two female hikers on the nearby Appalachian Trail stuns their small community, the sisters find themselves tangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Angie discovers a ripped, blood-soaked shirt; money Sheila’s been stashing away disappears; and a strange man tries to barter with a woman’s watch at a local store. As the threat of violence looms larger, the mysterious, ancient mountain they live on—and their willingness to trust each other—might be the only things that can save these sisters from the darkness consuming their home.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn turns both terrifying and otherworldly, author Alisa Alering opens the door to the hidden world of \u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e—a mountain that sighs, monsters made of ink, rabbits dead and alive, and ropes that won’t come undone. Unsettling, propulsive, and wonderfully atmospheric, Alering’s stunning debut novel renegotiates what is seen and unseen, what is real and what is haunted.\"Bristles with dark magic. . . . equal parts gruesome and gorgeous and otherworldly. \u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e is a compulsive journey through a wild, unknowable landscape and the wilder hearts of young girls trying to understand themselves, and find their way to each other.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Surreal, thrilling. . . . Moody, potent, and tinged with the occult, \u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e is unlike anything I’ve read in a long time.\" —\u003cb\u003eBustle, A Best Book of Summer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"For those obsessed with Appalachian lore comes a hauntingly atmospheric tale toeing the line of a twisted fairy tale. Centered on two sisters growing up in 1980s Appalachia, this novel is a gothic and propulsive read that will dazzle you from start to finish.\"—\u003cb\u003eBarnes \u0026amp; Noble, A Most Anticipated Debut of 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Atmospheric. . . . one part fairy tale, one part thriller. . . . a compelling debut that glimmers with the lights of the forest as it unwinds its tale.\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Evocative.\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Alisa Alering’s alluring novel \u003ci\u003eSmothermoss e\u003c\/i\u003enters the bloodstream of Appalachian storytelling like a fevered dream, unraveling the intergenerational tales of women living on the edge. . . . a glorious Southern Gothic novel that celebrates women’s innate, powerful magic.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews, S\u003c\/i\u003etarred Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Stunning. . . . It starts with a vicious death and then spirals into a supernatural tale filled with pitch-perfect tension and atmosphere.\"—\u003cb\u003eDebutiful\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A Southern gothic fairy tale. . . . The story carries you away, with brief chapters and high stakes, each scene building in tension and a sense of wonder, surprising you with the direction these sisters’ future may take.\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBook Page\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Astounding. . . . The descriptive imagery of the natural world calls to mind a more sinister version of Natalie Babbitt’s \u003ci\u003eTuck Everlasting\u003c\/i\u003e, while the peculiar, mystical events draw comparisons to an earthbound \u003ci\u003eAlice in Wonderlan\u003c\/i\u003ed.\" —\u003cb\u003eSouthern Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Alering is a poet in prose, an alchemist with a pen, and \u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e delights and terrifies.\" —\u003cb\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Unique. . . A cult novel in the best possible way.\"—\u003cb\u003eReactor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Spooky and otherworldly, this debut novel will have you feeling unsettled in the best way possible.\"—\u003cb\u003ePurewow, A Best Book of July\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Outstanding. . . . I remain awed by Alering’s impressive ability to create something so unique, so evocative, and certainly without contemporary comparison. Don’t miss this rural literary explosion that resonates long after the final page is turned.\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLocus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A twisted fairy tale and an original coming-of-age story.\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVirtuoso Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hauntingly eerie.\"—\u003cb\u003eSouthern Bookseller Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Lush and deliciously witchy … feels like pages from a spell book.\"—\u003cb\u003eCompulsive Reader\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[Alering] lyrically evokes a mysterious landscape as splendid as it is diabolical in this stunning debut novel.\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Arizona Daily Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This beautifully strange book of the mountains is alarming and inspiring. Alisa Alering’s \u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e goes fearlessly toward realities dismantled by violence, and the weird, wonderful world of the woods.\" —\u003cb\u003eSamantha Hunt, author of\u003ci\u003e The Unwritten Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the heart of this story are two sisters, the mountain on which they live, and the persistent question as to which is more perilous, the natural world or the unnatural. Beautifully written, tense and absorbing,\u003ci\u003e Smothermoss \u003c\/i\u003eis an original story from a truly gifted storyteller. —\u003cb\u003eKaren Joy Fowler, author of \u003ci\u003eBooth\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e is rich, strange, and beautiful, simultaneously eerie and so very honest. An exciting first novel. —\u003cb\u003eKij Johnson, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Privilege of the Happy Ending\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003ci\u003eSmall, Medium, and Large Stories\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Unnerving and beautifully weird.\"—\u003cb\u003eClaire Fuller, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Memory of Animals\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Smothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e is written in kudzu, an all-consuming triumph of southern gothic, where the words creep into your consciousness and squeeze.\" —\u003cb\u003eClay McLeod Chapman, author of \u003ci\u003eWhat Kind of Mother\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e is unsettling, intricately strange, and sweet as decay. Angie and Sheila are utterly real, trapped in humid adolescence in the shadow of a mountain who guards her secrets jealously. I loved this trek into Gothic Appalachia. —\u003cb\u003eVerity M Holloway, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Others of Edenwell\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e is a brave and beautifully executed novel. Utterly mesmerising. —\u003cb\u003eKate Hamer, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Girl in the Red Coat\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA coming-of-age tale set in a world where the realm of the imagination meets stark, brutal reality and the wonders of nature merge with the uncanny. A highly accomplished, beautiful read.—\u003cb\u003eA. J. Elwood, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Cottingley Cuckoo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMany strange, slippery things draw together in these pages, and at the heart of them lies the complex, surprising relationship of two sisters and the mountain they call home: home, with all the good and bad that entails. \u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e has magic; I read it in one sitting. —\u003cb\u003eAliya Whiteley, author of \u003ci\u003eFrom the Neck Up and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e is an essential read for fans of Appalachian horror. Alisa's writing is rich and vibrant when capturing the dark themes in this heart-wrenching story of survival and love. Don't miss this one! —\u003cb\u003eV Castro, author of \u003ci\u003eImmortal Pleasures\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e The Haunting of Alejandra\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBewitching and beguiling, \u003ci\u003eSmothermoss\u003c\/i\u003e is a gorgeously haunting fairytale, written so evocatively you'll swear you can smell the humid foliage, hear the whirring insects, and feel the snap of twigs underfoot as you tread deeper and deeper into the nightmare. —\u003cb\u003eNat Cassidy, author of \u003ci\u003eNestlings and Mary: An Awakening of Terror\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eAlisa Alering grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania and now lives in Arizona. After attending Clarion West, their short fiction has been published in \u003ci\u003eFireside\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003ePodcastle\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eCast of Wonder\u003c\/i\u003es, among others, and been recognized by the Calvino Prize. A former librarian and science\/technology reporter, they teach fiction workshops at the Highlights Foundation.","brand":"Tin House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233559523557,"sku":"NP9781959030584","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781959030584.jpg?v=1767736813","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/smothermoss-isbn-9781959030584","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}