Starlings

Ages 14 And Up, Grades 9 And Up

A dark YA fantasy debut perfect for fans of House of Hollow and Small Favors. In the wake of her father's death, a teen girl discovers a side of her family she didn't know existed, and is pulled into a dark—and ancient—bargain she is next in line to fulfill.

Kit’s father always told her he had no family, but his sudden death revealed the truth. Now Kit has a grandmother she never knew she had—Agatha Starling—and an invitation to visit her father’s hometown, Rosemont. 

And Rosemont is picture perfect: the famed eternal roses bloom all year, downtown is straight out of the 1950s . . . there’s even a cute guy to show Kit around.

The longer Kit’s there, though, the stranger it all feels. The Starling family is revered, but there’s something off about how the Starling women seem to be at the center of the all the town’s important history. And as welcoming as the locals are, Kit can’t shake the feeling that they're hiding something from her.

Agatha is so happy to finally meet her only granddaughter, and the town is truly charming, but Kit can’t help wondering, if everything is so great in Rosemont, why did her father leave? And why does it seem like he never wanted her to find it?

Story Locale:The fictional town of Rosemont, Wisconsin

About the Author

Amanda Linsmeier has been a book nerd as long as she can remember, and it was that great love of reading—especially R.L. Stine books and fairytales—that brought her to writing her own things. A self-proclaimed wimp, she finds courage in making up stories that scare her a little, and she hopes to scare you a little bit, too. She feels most joyful when writing, scream-singing her favorite songs, playing in the water, and laughing with her beloved family. She lives in a small blue house surrounded by trees and cornfields, with a man who smells like maple syrup and woodsmoke. Together they have three wonderfully wild children, and, somehow, five pets, including two dogs and three half-feral cats. At the time of writing this, a fourth cat is attempting to adopt her. His name is Mercury.

Author Residence: Wisconsin