The Harrowing - by Kristen Kiesling

About the Book

"Rowan Sterling should be worrying about normal teenage things like attending college and whether her best friend Lucas is maybe more than a friend... Instead, she's having terrifying visions of blood and violence. As the premonitions increase in number and intensity, Rowan seeks her father's help, but instead finds herself drugged, kidnapped, and sent to a mysterious facility called Rosewood. It's a training center for teens with special abilities who are known as Harrows. Harrows can view the actions of would-be murderers before they commit crimes, and the scientists at Rosewood believe it is their duty to use the Harrows' powers to make the world a safer place. When they are apprehended by a Harrow, imminent criminals, known as imcrims, are captured and indefinitely detained in a state of sedation. At Rosewood, the Harrows are taught how to identify, track, and apprehend imcrims. Rowan is immediately drawn to Rosewood s mission; after all, she lost her mother to a random act of violence two years prior. However, some of the other Harrows question the treatment of imcrims-how can it be ethical to imprison people who haven't actually done anything yet? Empowered by the skills she s acquired and ready to change the world, Rowan returns home, but when she reunites with Lucas, she has a vision of him shooting a man in cold blood. Now Rowan is questioning everything she learned at Rosewood-she refuses to believe Lucas is capable of murder-and sets out to protect him from the Harrows"--

Book Synopsis

In award-winning author Kristen Kiesling and illustrator Rye Hickman's YA graphic novel The Harrowing, a psychic teen hunts potential killers until she discovers the boy she loves is her next target.

Rowan Sterling should be worrying about normal teenage things like attending college and whether her best friend Lucas is maybe more than a friend. . . . Instead, she's having terrifying visions of blood and violence. As the premonitions increase in number and intensity, Rowan seeks her father's help, but instead finds herself drugged, kidnapped, and sent to a mysterious facility called Rosewood. It isn't long before Rowan discovers Rosewood isn't a boarding school or an asylum: it's a training center for teens with special abilities who are known as Harrows.

Harrows can view the actions of would-be murderers before they commit crimes, and the scientists at Rosewood believe it is their duty to use the Harrows' powers to make the world a safer place. When they are apprehended by a Harrow, imminent criminals, known as imcrims, are captured and indefinitely detained in a state of sedation. At Rosewood, the Harrows are taught how to identify, track, and apprehend imcrims.

Rowan is immediately drawn to Rosewood's mission; after all, she lost her mother to a random act of violence two years prior. However, some of the other Harrows question the treatment of imcrims--how can it be ethical to imprison people who haven't actually done anything yet?

Empowered by the skills she's acquired and ready to change the world, Rowan returns home, but when she reunites with Lucas, she has a vision of him shooting a man in cold blood. Now Rowan is questioning everything she learned at Rosewood--she refuses to believe Lucas is capable of murder--and sets out to protect him from the Harrows.

Review Quotes

***STARRED REVIEW***
"This graphic novel thoughtfully explores themes of stereotypes, bioethics, and the moral dilemmas associated with "playing God,"...Hand this title to teen fans of Stranger Things and Wednesday. This stand-out graphic novel will have horror fans spellbound."-- "School Library Journal"

"Rowan's struggles with her identity as she searches for her voice and purpose will resonate with teens, especially those who like psychological horror."-- "Booklist"

"Slashes of color, mostly in hematic red, punctuate grayscale spreads and signal the blood-soaked climax of this visceral graphic novel, a jumping-off point for a critique of the prison industrial complex."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Kiesling makes excellent use of smooth, engaging, and natural-feeling dialogue to provide...world-building, and the heavy, shadowy illustrations do much of the rest."-- "Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"

"An original, genre-blending graphic novel for patient readers."-- "Kirkus"

About the Author

Kristen Kiesling grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and attended the University of Oklahoma. Early drafts of The Harrowing won the 2019 SCBWI Nevada Mentorship with author Heather Petty and was also a Top 20 Finalist for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award. Kristen's adapted graphic novel script under the same name was nominated for the 2020 SCBWI Cynthia Leitich Smith Award. Kristen also won the prestigious Sue Alexander Award for the national-level SCBWI 2020 Conference for her novel, If I Tell. She is an active member of the SCBWI and Houston Writers House and lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two boys. Rye Hickman is a visual storyteller and a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design's sequential art program. They are co-creator and artist on the graphic novel Buzzing. Past work include TEST, Moth & Whisper, Bezkamp, Jem and the Holograms, the Femme Magnifique anthology, and more. They get really excited about dystopian fiction, good coffee, and drawing hands.