The highly anticipated new book from the acclaimed author of The Accident Season is a gorgeous, twisty story about things gone missing, things returned from the past, and a group of teenagers, connected in ways they could never have imagined.One stormy Irish summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hairclips and jewelry, but soon it's clear that Rose has lost something much bigger, something she won't talk about, and Olive thinks her best friend is slipping away.
Then seductive diary pages written by a girl named Laurel begin to appear all over town. And Olive meets three mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in an abandoned housing estate. The trio are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too—and like Rose, they're holding tight to painful secrets.
When they discover the spellbook, it changes everything. Damp, tattered and ancient, it's full of hand-inked charms to conjure back things that have been lost. And it just might be their chance to find what they each need to set everything back to rights.
Unless it's leading them toward things that were never meant to be found...
Moïra Fowley-Doyle is half-French, half-Irish and lives in Dublin with her husband, their young daughter, and their old cat. Moïra's French half likes red wine and dark books in which everybody dies. Her Irish half likes tea and happy endings. Moïra started a PhD on vampires in young adult fiction before concentrating on writing young adult fiction with no vampires in it whatsoever. She wrote her first novel at the age of eight, when she was told that if she wrote a story about spiders she wouldn't be afraid of them anymore. Moïra is still afraid of spiders, but has never stopped writing stories.
The Accident Season is her debut novel.
"Fowley-Doyle is herself a literary spell caster, conjuring up a suspenseful and sensual ambiance . . . This smart and sexy page-turner that readers will want to devour and share with their friends is a real find."—
School Library Journal,
starred review"Fowley-Doyle's lush, atmospheric storytelling contrasts brilliantly with her characters' teenage normalcy—drinking, skiving, and cursing while mostly loving their parents and sticking up for each other. Readers will need patience to untangle the plot's silver threads, but those who savored Fowley-Doyle's previous The Accident Season will relish this as well."—
Kirkus"Complex, ambitious, magical."—
Daily Mail"
Spellbook is reminiscent of a medieval tapestry in its color, complexity, and stylistic texture. . . . This book is sure to please teens who enjoyed Fowley-Doyle's debut novel,
The Accident Season."—
VOYA"This book is filled with mystery and the storytelling is as enchanting as the spell it contains. Readers will get lost in this tale."—
School Library Connection
PRAISE FOR THE ACCIDENT SEASON: •
Kirkus Best Book of the Year •
SLJ Best Book of the Year •
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults •
Indie Next Pick •
Carnegie Medal Nominee •
Waterstone's Children's Book Award finalist"Fowley-Doyle's stunning debut novel weaves the temporal and the spiritual into a seamless reality, rich in emotional impact. Devastating loss and abuse are balanced by romance, teen hijinks, and spine-tingling discoveries. . . . This thought-provoking narrative will cast its spell over older teens and adults alike."—
School Library Journal,
starred review"Ghosts, secrets, and magic collide in this Irish author's astonishing debut. . . . a moving portrait of a fractured family, knitting itself back together with courage and love. A powerful novel from an exciting new talent."—
Kirkus, starred review"Beautifully crafted and atmospheric, the magic realism of this book gradually peels away to expose secrets and reveal unexpected truths. Readers will be swept away by Fowley-Doyle's lyrical writing and entrancing premise in this tale of forbidden love and magic."—
Booklist"Sensuous, eerie, lyrical . . . Fowley-Doyle's
The Accident Season reads like a poem. The mystery is intriguing, the writing is gorgeous, and the characters are vivid. A lovely debut."—April Tulcholke, author of
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea"
The Accident Season is amazing."—Holly Black
"Atmospheric and magical."—
VOYA"A lyrical and sometimes chilling exploration of the ways in which we manipulate memories to fall in line with our present narrative—the lies we tell ourselves to keep our brains safe and happy. Cara's narration brilliantly, sometimes brutally conveys the unraveling of both Cara and her family . . . and the bittersweet ending will haunt readers as much it does Cara."—
BCCB
