What We Harvest - by Ann Fraistat

About the Book

"The farms of Hollow's End were blessed with miracle crops, especially the shimmering, iridescent wheat of Wren's family farm, but then the black mercury blight came, and the blight destroys everything: crops turned to silver-black sludge, animals sickened and blinded, even people; Wren believes she is responsible, and desperate to save Hollow's End she turns to her ex-boyfriend--but they find that there is a lot they do not know about their town and its miracle crops, and that their ancestors have a lot to answer for"--Publisher's description.

Book Synopsis

For fans of Wilder Girls comes a nightmarish debut guaranteed to keep you up through the night, about an idyllic small town poisoned by its past, and one girl who must fight the strange disease that's slowly claiming everyone she loves.

Wren owes everything she has to her hometown, Hollow's End, a centuries-old, picture-perfect slice of America. Tourists travel miles to marvel at its miracle crops, including the shimmering, iridescent wheat of Wren's family's farm. At least, they did. Until five months ago.

That's when the Quicksilver blight first surfaced, poisoning the farms of Hollow's End one by one. It began by consuming the crops, thick silver sludge bleeding from the earth. Next were the animals. Infected livestock and wild creatures staggered off into the woods by day--only to return at night, their eyes fogged white, leering from the trees.

Then the blight came for the neighbors.

Wren is among the last locals standing, and the blight has finally come for her, too. Now the only one she can turn to is her ex, Derek, the last person she wants to call. They haven't spoken in months, but Wren and Derek still have one thing in common: Hollow's End means everything to them. Only, there's much they don't know about their hometown and its celebrated miracle crops. And they're about to discover that miracles aren't free.

Their ancestors have an awful lot to pay for, and Wren and Derek are the only ones left to settle old debts.

Review Quotes

★ "Intense, gripping, and deeply haunting." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Clever, grotesque, and oozing with atmosphere, What We Harvest is a delightful, page-turning debut. Fraistat masterfully blends horror, fantasy, and science into a tale brimming with slow-creeping dread and explosive, long-buried secrets. I devoured it in one sitting." --Allison Saft, author of Down Comes the Night

"Eerie and beautiful, What We Harvest is a novel that will sink into your roots before it devours you whole. Fraistat's prose is both lyrical and haunting, and she crafts a story that breaks your heart and heals it in equal turns. Horrifying but ultimately hopeful, this novel will be horror readers' next obsession." --Courtney Gould, author of The Dead and the Dark

"A vivid and engrossing horror-tinged tale of magic and corrosive family secrets" --Kirkus Reviews

"Fraistat proves a deft hand at both slow-burn suspense and body horror...an engrossing read." --The Bulletin

"Fraistat's debut is richly detailed and pulsing with harrowing suspense...Recommend to fans of Rory Power's Wilder Girls or Claire Legrand's Sawkill Girls. ­ This atmospheric tale of zombies and rotting legacies is riveting." --School Library Journal

"Dazzling and dreadful. What We Harvest grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go." --Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows

"Fast-paced and oh-so-creepy, with a festering secret at its center, What We Harvest is the rural zombie novel I never knew I wanted." --Erica Waters, author of Ghost Wood Song and The River Has Teeth

"Wilder Girls' successor is finally here--and it's eerier and more atmospheric than any reader could hope for!" --Laura Graveline, Brazos Bookstore, Houston, TX

"Unputdownable, unforgettable, and gorgeously written. A must-read book." --Ashley Winstead, author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

About the Author

Ann Fraistat is an author, playwright, and narrative designer. Her co-author credits include plays such as Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending, and alternate reality games sponsored by the National Science Foundation. When not engrossed in fictional worlds on her laptop, Ann has worked on stages across the DC-area as an actor and director. Other loves include all things spooky, baking, and drinking as much tea as possible. She is the author of What We Harvest and A Place for Vanishing.