My Throat an Open Grave - by Tori Bovalino

About the Book

Growing up in the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania, feels like drowning. Leah goes to church every Sunday, works when she isn't at school, and takes care of her baby brother Owen. Like every girl in Winston, she tries to be right and good and holy. If she isn't, the Lord of the Wood will take her, and she'll disappear like so many other girls before her. But living up to the rigorous standards of the town takes its toll. One night, when Owen won't stop screaming, Leah wishes him away, and the Lord listens. The screaming stops, and all that's left in the crib is a small bundle of sticks tied with a ribbon. Filled with shame and the weight of the town's judgment, Leah is forced to cross the river into the Lord of the Wood's domain to bring Owen back"--

Book Synopsis

Labyrinth meets folk horror in this dark and romantic tale of a girl who wishes her baby brother away to the Lord of the Wood.

Growing up in the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania feels like drowning. Leah goes to church every Sunday, works when she isn't at school, and takes care of her baby brother, Owen. Like every girl in Winston, she tries to be right and good and holy. If she isn't the Lord of the Wood will take her, and she'll disappear like so many other girls before her.

But living up to the rigorous standards of the town takes its toll. One night, when Owen won't stop screaming, Leah wishes him away, and the Lord listens. The screaming stops, and all that's left in the crib is a small bundle of sticks tied with a ribbon.

Filled with shame and the weight of the town's judgment, Leah is forced to cross the river into the Lord of the Wood's domain to bring Owen back. But the devilish figure who has haunted Winston for generations isn't what she expects. He tells her she can have her brother back--for the price of a song. A song that Leah will have one month to write.

It's a bargain that will uncover secrets her hometown has tried to keep buried for decades. And what she unearths will have her questioning everything she's been taught to fear.

Review Quotes

"A must-read for truth seekers and those hoping to glimpse a world built around kindness and acceptance."
--Booklist, starred review

"Tightly written and clearly envisioned [...] a standout new release. The story is cloaked in fantasy-like horror but remains grounded in its themes of religious trauma and the pernicious evil of purity culture. [...] If you like books about women who misbehave and refuse to be punished for it, you'll want to pick this one up."
--NPR's Here & Now

"In this darkly atmospheric tale of folk horror, Bovalino [...] employs sophisticated prose to perceptively examine the town's unspecified oppressive religious institutions and how its tenets keep the young women of Winston from achieving their full potential or pursuing happiness."
--Publishers Weekly

"[A] welcome addition to the paranormal genre that concentrates on just what it means to be good. Readers of Ava Reid's works will devour this book."
--SLJ

"Bovalino [...] is proving to be a master of atmosphere, mining the insularity of a small town to maximize tension while still emphasizing the unnatural elements in the seemingly more welcoming but still unsettling village in the woods."
--BCCB

"Whimsical, dark, and acutely painful. This is a story that will reach into your soul, pull taut, and make itself at home there."
--M.K. Lobb, author of the Seven Faceless Saints duology

"Raw, brutal and heartbreaking in turn, Bovalino masterfully weaves deliciously sinister horror with unflinching, complex themes. I am in awe."
--Kat Dunn, author of Bitterthorn

"A deliciously creepy, haunting exploration of love, hate, and what it means to forgive yourself."
--Kate Dylan, author of Mindwalker

"Sweet as honey and brutal as a knife--Bovalino has crafted a parable of self-forgiveness and community power fearsome enough to drive men and gods, alike, to their knees. If only all vengeance could be so lush."
--GennaRose Nethercott, author of Thistlefoot

About the Author

Tori Bovalino is the editor of the bestselling horror anthology The Gathering Dark and the author of Not Good for Maidens. She lives in London.