There Are Ghosts Here - by Adrienne Tooley (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Willa has no memory of anything before arriving at Dorsey House, and when she meets two sinister girls who seem to already know her, she slowly begins to lose her grip on what is real . . . and what is a lie. A haunting contemporary speculative thriller for fans of Kill Creatures and We Were Liars.

Willa Childs doesn't know why she's at Dorsey House. The tragic accident that banished her to the mysterious reformatory perched at the edge of the sea is lost in the recesses of her murky memory. The Dorseys themselves offer no answers, and the only other wards, Caroline and Ivy, seem intent on keeping Willa in the dark--and on the outside of their obsessive friendship.

Yet as the days pass, it begins to feel like the sinister twosome knows Willa better than she knows herself. And as her memories gradually return to focus, the girls become even stranger, doing their best to convince Willa that she's been at Dorsey House before. Only, that's impossible.

Or is it? If they're telling the truth, Willa can no longer trust her own mind. The line between reality and nightmare begins to blur. Willa is certain Dorsey House is haunted, but by what? And if she can't remember leaving, how will she ever escape?

Review Quotes

"Adrienne Tooley has written a razor-sharp fever dream of a book. Both staggeringly beautiful and deeply unsettling, There Are Ghosts Here weaves elements of grief, girlhood, and self-worth into an evocative seaside horror that kept me awake well into the night." --Kelly Andrew, New York Times bestselling author of Your Blood, My Bones

"As haunting as it is healing, There Are Ghosts Here will stay with you long after you close its sea-soaked pages. I couldn't put it down." --Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times bestselling author of She Is a Haunting

★ "It's a gratifying novel that boasts tear-jerking sentimentality and spine-tingling horror." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"No one does haunting prose like Adrienne Tooley. There Are Ghosts Here is as breathtaking as it is insidious. Brackish as olive brine and smooth as a silk bow, Tooley's foray into horror is a must-read for fans of Rory Power, Kelly Andrew, and Ava Reid." --Clare Edge, author of Natural Selection

"There Are Ghosts Here is an intimate, affecting exploration of trauma, mental health, and abandonment. For Willa Childs, everything at Dorsey House is elusive: her memories of the fire that still burns on her skin, a friendship with the prickly codependent girls who share the home, and the relentless secrets of the ocean's taunting tide. Tooley's ethereal, devastating prose left me gasping for air; this is a story I will return to again and again." --Jen St. Jude, author of If Tomorrow Doesn't Come

"In this cerebral thriller, Tooley effectively depicts the effects of childhood trauma as a literal haunting." --School Library Journal

"Atmospheric and chilling. The vivid gothic creepiness of Dorsey House and melancholic memories from Willa's past will propel readers." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Adrienne Tooley grew up in Southern California, majored in musical theater in Pittsburgh, and now lives in Brooklyn with her wife, their dog, eight guitars, and a banjo. She's the author of multiple novels for young adults, including the speculative contemporary thriller There Are Ghosts Here, and the fantasy novels Sweet & Bitter Magic, Sofi and the Bone Song, and the Betrayal Prophecies duology. She's also an occasional singer/songwriter who has released several EPs. Find her online most places.