From the author of the New York Times bestseller Wilder Girls comes a new twisty thriller about a girl whose past has always been a mystery--until she decides to return to her mother's hometown . . . where history has a tendency to repeat itself.
Ever since Margot was born, it's been just her and her mother. No answers to Margot's questions about what came before. No history to hold on to. No relative to speak of. Just the two of them, stuck in their run-down apartment, struggling to get along.
But that's not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she just found the key she needs to get it: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Pointing her home. Only, when Margot gets there, it's not what she bargained for.
Margot's mother left for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what's still there?
The only thing Margot knows for sure is there's poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she's there, she might never escape.
Praise for Burn Our Bodies Down:
“Wow this was amazing. Rory Power does it again! Burn Our Bodies Down is a masterpiece: an incredible and unnerving mystery that will creep up on you, twisty and labyrinthine, like the eerie cornfields of its setting.” —Holly Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
“With this bloodcurdling blend of agriculture, advanced genetics, and interpersonal turmoil, Rory Power reminds us that seemingly disparate things in life can come together in horrifying ways. I will keep a candle lit after this one.” —Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin
“Rory Power’s prose hits like a lightning strike in this deliriously creepy tale, the kind of slow-crawling horror that’ll keep your nightmares up at night.” —Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood
★ “Gritty and strange, this sophomore novel is utterly compelling.”—Booklist, Starred Review
Praise for Wilder Girls:
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
★ "Power's evocative, haunting, and occasionally gruesome debut will challenge readers to ignore its bewitching presence."—Booklist, Starred Review
★ "This gritty, lush debut chronicling psychological and environmental tipping points...weaves a chilling narrative that disrupts readers' expectations through an expertly crafted, slow-burn reveal of the deadly consequences of climate change....Part survival thriller, part post-apocalyptic romance, and part ecocritical feminist manifesto, a staggering gut punch of a book."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
★ "An ode to empowering women and a testament to the strength of female bonds....Far more than just an unsettling horror story, this powerful debut novel about a strange disease at an all-girls boarding school explores female empowerment, friendship and survival with tenacity and brilliance."—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review
★ “Electric prose, compelling relationships, and visceral horror illuminate Power’s incisive debut...[and its] environmental and feminist themes are resonant, particularly the immeasurable costs of experimentation on female bodies, and the power of female solidarity and resilience amid ecological and political turmoil.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Tightly coiled narration moves between quietly reserved to vividly but coldly detailed, doubling the horror."—Bulletin
"Take Annihilation, add a dash of Contagion, set it at an all-girls' academy, and you'll arrive at Rory Power's occasionally shocking and always gripping Wilder Girls." —Refinery29
“Everything about this thrilling, unnerving debut will make you want to immediately read it. For fans of Mindy McGinnis and Gillian French.”—Paste
“Wilder Girls is so sharp and packs so much emotion in such wise ways. I’m convinced we’re about to witness the emergence of a major new literary star.” —Jeff VanderMeer, author of the New York Times bestseller Annihilation
"Wilder Girls is the bold, imaginative, emotionally wrenching horror novel of my dreams—one that celebrates the resilience of girls and the earthshaking power of their friendships. An eerie, unforgettable triumph."—Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn
“A nightmarish survival story that’s as much literary fiction as it is young adult...I couldn’t look away."—Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White, and Royal Blue
"The eeriness of Raxter Island permeates every scene, and Rory Power's characters are fierce and honest, blazing from the pages. This is a groundbreaking speculative story—brutal and beautiful, raw and unflinching. I adored this book."—Emily Suvada, author of This Mortal Coil
"A feminist, LGBT+, sci-fi-horror story with all the tantalizing elements of gore, mystery, war, and love you can ask for. Real, flawed, brave girls against a world gone mad. A shudderingly good read!” —Dawn Kurtagich, author of Teeth in the Mist.
