Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (October 13, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 153621227X
ISBN-13: 978-1536212273

Praise for THE SISTERS OF STRAYGARDEN PLACE

Lyrical and imaginative, rich and riveting. This is Hayley Chewins at her best, writing about magical girls with secrets and sisters who rise above the odds. An absolute must-read! —Christine Day, author of I Can Make This Promise, an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book

Chewins’ prose is exquisite, her eerie concepts heart-wrenching…Superb, spooky, and unforgettable. —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chewins (The Turnaway Girls) weaves a vivid, otherworldly tale of family and secrets, with a gothic setting that serves as a character in its own right. Through themes of identity, forgiveness, and longing, Mayhap’s unpredictable quest becomes intensely personal, especially as the sisters reinvent their familial relationship. —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A strong opening and consistent sense of urgency makes this an ideal choice for reluctant readers interested in slightly spooky fantasy. Give to fans of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, Kenneth Oppel’s The Nest, or The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee. —School Library Journal

A riveting middle-grade fantasy about sibling bonds, enchanted houses, and encroaching wildness, lyrically told in eerily beautiful prose

The grass grew taller than the house itself, surrounding it on all sides. It stuffed the keyholes and scraped against the roof. It shook the walls and made paintings shiver.

Seven years ago, the Ballastian sisters’ parents left them in the magical Straygarden Place, a house surrounded by tall silver grass and floating trees. They left behind a warning saying never to leave the house or go into the grass. “Wait for us,” the note read. “Sleep darkly.” Ever since then, the house itself has taken care of Winnow, Mayhap, and Pavonine–feeding them, clothing them, even keeping them company–while the girls have waited and grown up and played a guessing game: Think of an animal, think of a place. Think of a person, think of a face. Until one day, when the eldest, fourteen-year-old Winnow, does the unthinkable and goes outside into the grass, and everything twelve-year-old Mayhap thought she knew about her home, her family, and even herself starts to unravel. With luscious, vivid prose, poet and author Hayley Chewins transports readers to a house where beloved little dogs crawl into their owners’ minds to sleep, sick girls turn silver, and anything can be stolen–even laughter and silence.

Review

This is the best kind of middle grade as it imaginative, includes fun elements and is easily read in one sitting. I enjoy long books that i can get lost in for hours and enjoy for days on end. In the rush of everything some days are just to packed with stuff for that to be possible so it nice that this book i read in just a few hours. It made me smile, laugh, brought up sweet memories of my own sisters. It opens with a magical house, magical grass and some very different animals. At the heart of it is a mystery that is solved in a timely manner. I think even a reluctant reader would be able to pick this up and enjoy it.

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Guest Post

Ten reasons to read THE SISTERS OF STRAYGARDEN PLACE:

It has really cute magical dogs in it!

There’s lots of pretty wallpaper.

There are many, many secrets.

And tense conversations.

Each room has hundreds of tiny windows.

And the silver grass outside can open the windows. . .

And slither into the house.

THE SISTERS OF STRAYGARDEN PLACE is quite short, so you can probably read it in one sitting.

It’s about sisters, and forgiveness, and fear.

And it’s set in a magical mansion that makes any food you want, dresses you however you want, and cleans up after you–total wish fulfillment!

Photo Credit: SLDV Portrait

Hayley Chewins is an author and writing coach. She grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, in a house so full of books that she learnt to read by accident. She’s fond of telling people that she writes books about magical girls with secrets—even if that’s not an actual genre. Her books are literary fantasy, surreal fairy tales, or weird magic. (Or: all of the above.)

Her debut, The Turnaway Girls, was a Kirkus Best Book of 2018 and made the American Library Association’s Amelia Bloomer List of Best Feminist Books for Young Readers. Her second book, The Sisters of Straygarden Place, is forthcoming from Candlewick Press on October 13th, 2020, and has already been called “superb, spooky, and unforgettable” in a recent starred review. Hayley lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her soulmate/husband/fellow coffee addict, Liale, and their toy poodle, Darfer.She is represented by Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, otherwise known as The Most Amazing Agent Ever.