House of Hollow

Filled with evocative detail, Sutherland’s (A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares) dark fantasy teems with eerie atmosphere and questions that have potentially undesirable answers. Iris Hollow, 17, is the youngest of three sisters, who “each [have] black eyes and hair as white as milk.” Ten years prior, Grey, the eldest, now a fashion icon and supermodel; musician Vivi; and quiet Iris disappeared without a trace for a month while with their parents in Scotland, only to return in exactly the same place. The girls who returned were different, with no memory of what happened, and each gifted with a strange power of influence. Now, with Grey missing and a mysterious bull-skulled man stalking their steps, Iris and Vivi must follow the scant clues Grey leaves behind in order to find her. Heavy topics, including parental alienation, suicide, feelings of isolation, substance use, and bullying, attend Sutherland’s carefully crafted fantasy world. Readers who are both delighted by stories of the uncanny and are undeterred by detailed explorations of decay will find themselves enchanted. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Catherine Drayton, Inkwell Management. (Apr.) [/em]