Starred review from March 13, 2017
In Wasserberg’s absorbingly creepy debut, a young girl grows up in an isolated commune at the edge of a Stonehenge-like group of standing stones. Born in the decaying old mansion that is the home of a “ragtag group” called the Family, the girl known only as Green tells her story from her own limited point of view, leaving the reader to infer much that the narrator can’t understand. It’s a literary perspective much like that of Emma Donoghue’s Room, and used to equally chilling effect here. Green’s troubled mother, Freya, one of the group’s founders, alternately smothers her daughter with affection and punishes her in grisly ways to get rid of “the Bad.” When a baby the Family names Blue is brought in from the feared outside world, Green is wracked with jealousy, and the stage is set for the downfall of the already distressed commune. Though the ending of the novel is violent, that horror arises naturally out of what precedes it. The narrator’s voice is equal parts naive and wise; Wasserberg has a gift for allowing the reader into this world inch by inch while playing up its claustrophobic nature, as well as the aspects that make Green susceptible to its enchantments. Agent: Noah Ballard, Curtis Brown.
April 15, 2017
At Foxlowe everyone has two names. Wasserberg's startling debut looks at childhood memories and how they never truly reflect the exact nature of history. Green, having been born into a utopian community, has only one name, and her voice tells the story. She recalls growing up free to explore as she pleases, loved equally by all members of the isolated colony. She cares for Blue, another child with no connections to the outside world, raising her according to the founders' rules. One abiding rule applies to those who depart Foxlowe Leavers are banished from memory, their names never to be spoken again. As the children grow, the possibility of leaving becomes a temptation. But does Green really want to escape her family? What will she do if Blue insists on abandoning the colony? The author's staccato first-person tempo and lack of quotes conveys the disjointed recollections of a child hiding from secrets in her past. Readers with a penchant for the creepy nature of gothic tales will want to stick around for the shocking ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)