Dead Girls Don't Dream

Nino Cipri

Book cover for Dead Girls Don't Dream
Book cover for Dead Girls Don't Dream

Dead Girls Don't Dream

Dead Girls Don't Dream

Nino Cipri

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Description

There are rules for Voynich Woods: Always carry a whistle. Never go alone. Always come home before dark. And if anyone calls your name, don't answer. Because everyone who wanders from the path is never seen again.

Except for Riley Walcott.

Riley knows better than to stray from the trail in the woods behind her uncle Toby's house. But her little sister Sam breaks the rules in pursuit of a local legend, so Riley chases after her and discovers a knife-wielding figure and a waiting grave.

Madelyn lives deep in the forest. Subject to her mother's strict rules, she's forbidden from leaving home or using her magic--but one night, she risks everything to help a stranger who's lost in the woods.

Riley is murdered in a strange ritual, Madelyn uses her magic to resurrect her, and their lives are immediately entwined in the gnarled history of Voynich Woods. Riley, who feels trapped in her small town but too afraid to leave, was never a believer, but now the evidence is taking root under her skin. Madelyn has the scars to prove how terrible magic can be, and longs for a life beyond her mother's grasp. As the legends become all too real, Riley and Madelyn must confront their deepest fears to uncover the truth about Voynich Woods.

At once tender, violent, and thrilling, Dead Girls Don't Dream is a novel of recovery, healing, and finding your power.

Critical Reviews

★ "A coming-of-age tale that's dripping with dark magic." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "Crackles with righteous rage. A brutal modern fairy tale." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A haunting, macabre story about girls whose connection is stronger than death." --Newbery Honor winner Darcie Little Badger

"As twisting and haunting as a gnarled old tree, this queer coming-of-age novel is chock-full of body horror, monsters, strange magic, and a mythos so strong it bursts through the pages." --Booklist

"A horror novel that's all heart. Beautiful and agonizing." --Sarah Hollowell, author of What Stalks Among Us and A Dark and Starless Forest, a Locus Award nominee

"Creepy, beautiful, witchy, and queer, Dead Girls Don't Dream was hard to put down. An engrossing and memorable read." --Erica Waters, author of The River Has Teeth and All That Consumes Us

"Compassionate and unflinching, Dead Girls Don't Dream is one of the loveliest, most devastating things I've read in a long time." --Sarah Gailey, Hugo Award-winning author of Just Like Home

"An eerie, modern fairy tale that sinks its teeth into readers from the first page. A must-read for folklore lovers and those who've wandered off the safe path in the woods." --Alex Brown, Locus Award finalist, author of Damned If You Do

"Atmospheric and intense and honest, Dead Girls Don't Dream reads like a love song to the power we find within ourselves." --Maggie Tokuda-Hall, author of Squad

Publishing Information

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Pub date: 2024-11-12
Length: 304 pages

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