The Worlds We Leave Behind

Previous collaborators Harrold and Pinfold (The Song from Somewhere Else) probe the morality of vengeance in a multi-timeline fantasy with Twilight Zone vibes. When impulsive Hex Patel injures much younger Sascha, who inadvertently knocked him over on a swing, his disappointed best friend, Tommo, alerts Sascha’s family, and her older sister, Maria, retaliates with her fists. Enraged and facing parental consequences, Hex retreats to the woods, finding a cottage where an old woman offers to exact revenge on his behalf by “excising” Maria from the world. But “he hadn’t been made the only offer,” and Maria acts first, eliminating Hex from life and memory. When the old timeline’s events reoccur at Tommo’s hands, and the revenge cycle begins anew, Tommo’s conscience and Maria’s memories of Hex may not be enough to stop it. Cohesive, folkloric worldbuilding provides balance to off-kilter timelines, the otherworldly ambiance enhanced by Pinfold’s hazy, elongated figures and realistic landscapes. Harrold’s staccato third-person narration captures myriad physiological experiences, including anger, embarrassment, freedom, and guilt, while exploring reactions’ sometimes emotional roots. Most characters are described as having pale skin. Ages 8–12. (Feb.)