Where No Shadow Stays - by Sara Hashem (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A homecoming queen and a bad-boy loner team up to break a generational curse in this YA supernatural horror from a talented American Egyptian voice.

Seventeen-year-old Mina is always focused on what comes next: exams, school dances, lakeside picnics with friends. Looking to the future keeps her from dwelling on her past and how little she knows about where she comes from. Anytime she asks her father questions about Egypt--or about her mother's mysterious death--he struggles to open up.

So, when Mina receives an invitation from an aunt she's never met to visit the Haikal mansion, her mother's childhood home in El Agamy, she decides it's time to find her own answers. Mina travels to Egypt in secret, eager to learn more about her roots and what really happened to her mother.

But when Mina returns from El Agamy, she doesn't come back alone.

A sinister entity follows Mina from the Haikal mansion to her tiny California town, leaving destruction in its wake as it violently possesses anyone who comes near her. Isolated and fighting for her life, Mina must seek help from an unlikely ally: Jesse Talbot, the town mortician's hostile son and the only person who proves immune to possession. Brooding Jesse would rather floss with barbed wire than team up with social butterfly Mina, but he doesn't exactly have a choice--after all, he's running from family secrets of his own.

As Mina and Jesse dig deeper into Mina's family lore, they uncover a bloody debt that must be satisfied if Mina wants to finish senior year alive.

This thrilling read is perfect for fans of Deal With the Devil horror novels that also borrow fan-favorite romance tropes like Sunshine/Grump, Forced Proximity, and the Misunderstood Bad Boy.

Review Quotes

In her YA debut, Hashem delivers an engaging, cohesive, genre-blending novel, executing the concept of a monster that weaponizes isolation with clarity and mounting suspense and seamlessly incorporating Egyptian Arabic and other culturally rooted details. Mina and Jesse's developing relationship is grounded in mutual vulnerability, bringing a warmth and romantic intimacy that effectively strikes an equilibrium with the horror elements. Mina's struggle to belong, to understand her family's past, and to reconcile the parts of herself shaped by two worlds gives the novel a lingering emotional depth. A gripping, atmospheric blend of supernatural terror and the aching work of reclaiming agency.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

[P]acked with witty dialogue, thrilling action scenes, gross gore, and a swoonworthy bad-boy romance. . . . The prose is snappy yet smooth, with a consistent pace full of excitement and mystery that will keep readers turning the page. This is an action- and adventure-filled horror perfect for reluctant readers and ideal for fans of Sabaa Tahir.
--School Library Journal (starred review)

Hashem mixes this chilling supernatural mystery with a satisfying, slow-burn romance that adds additional stakes to Mina's fight to survive, while developing Mina into an emotionally complex protagonist readers will genuinely fear for. The structure of the story moves through different time periods, settings, and viewpoints to slowly reveal the terrifying entity behind this generational curse. A well-earned but heartbreaking conclusion sets this tale apart from its peers.
--Booklist (starred review)

Hashem (The Jasad Heir) gifts readers a high-stakes, genuinely scary YA thriller and a delightful love story in one.
--Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Mina's strong narrative voice is imbued with witty sarcasm and introspection, and Jesse is more than her match in clever banter. They've got a sparking chemistry that is sure to make romance fans swoon. . . .
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Part teen drama, part paranormal thriller and wholly entertaining, Where No Shadow Stays is a book that readers won't be able to put down--and it might continue to creep them out after the last page has been turned.
--BookPage

About the Author

Sara Hashem is an American-Egyptian writer from Southern California, where she spent many sunny days holed up indoors with a book. Her love for fantasy and magical realms emerged during the two years her family lived in Egypt. Her debut novel, The Jasad Heir, the first installment in her Egyptian-inspired adult fantasy duology The Scorched Throne, has received many accolades since its publication, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Where No Shadow Stays is Sara's YA debut.