Eventide

by Sarah Goodman

Overview

Eventide is an evocative YA historical fantasy thriller by debut author Sarah Goodman, for fans of Jennifer Donnelly and Libba Bray.

A BEA YA Buzz Pick
A SIBA Fall Okra Pick
A Once Upon a Book Club Subscription Box Selection

MADNESS, SECRETS, AND LIES

Wheeler, Arkansas, 1907

When their father descends into madness after the death of their mother, Verity Pruitt and her little sister Lilah find themselves on an orphan train to rural Arkansas.

In Wheeler, eleven-year-old Lilah is quickly adopted, but seventeen-year-old Verity is not. Desperate to stay close to her sister, Verity indentures herself as a farmhand. But even charming farm boy Abel Atchley can’t completely distract her from the sense that something is not quite right in this little town. Strange local superstitions abound, especially about the eerie old well at the center of the forest. The woods play tricks, unleashing heavy fog and bone-chilling cold…and sometimes visions of things that aren’t there.

But for Verity, perhaps most unsettling of all is the revelation that her own parents have a scandalous history in this very town. And as she tries to unearth the past, sinister secrets come with it—secrets that someone will go to violent lengths to protect….

A haunting tale of long-buried secrets, small-town scandal, and single-minded vengeance by talented debut novelist Sarah Goodman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250224736
Publisher:	Tom Doherty Associates
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	168,902
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Sarah Goodman is a former newspaper writer who lives with her husband and three children in a town of 280 people and several thousand cows. Despite growing up on a farm, she remains leery of all barnyard fowl. When she's not writing, Sarah enjoys going for runs with her dogs and drinking not-too-sweet-tea. Eventide is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

08/24/2020

Abandonments, rural secrets, and revenge web Goodman’s earnest but overstuffed historical fantasy debut. In June 1907, impoverished 17-year-old Verity Pruitt and her dreamy sister, Lilah, 11, leave New York on an Arkansas-bound orphan train. But Verity’s determination to earn them passage back to New York and study medicine derails when a robber baron and his ethereal schoolteacher niece, Maeve, are approved to adopt only Lilah. To stay close, Verity indentures herself to a kindly farm couple nearby and their charming nephew, Abel. But the secrets of the town’s haunted woods connect the siblings’ institutionalized father, Maeve, and the disappearance of a preacher’s spurned, pregnant daughter; Verity must unravel the connections them to save her sister and herself. Though a warm, grounded romance delights, a sprawl of overfamiliar plot elements undermine their own suspense, and outdated ones—a notably unattractive antagonist, Verity’s gendered fate—may alienate modern readers. A sincere small-town ghost story that never quite coheres. Ages 13–up. Agent: Mary C. Moore, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2020

Gr 6–10—In 1907, Verity will be 18 soon, and her hope is to become a doctor like her father. With their mother long gone and her father in an asylum for the mentally ill, Verity and her 11-year-old sister Lilah are taken in by the Children's Benevolence Society and put on an orphan train to Wheeler, AR, where their parents once lived. Lilah is taken in by the beloved town teacher, Miss Maeve, while Verity is taken in by an older couple who live on a farm near the woods. These woods contain a suspicious well where people have drowned, and many who live nearby know the story of Mary Mayhew, a young woman who became pregnant, lost her child, and died alone in the area. When Verity begins to see suspicious sights like children in the woods and a fire in the barn that isn't there, she learns that Mary is connected to her family and to Miss Maeve, and that Miss Maeve will do anything to keep Lilah with her forever. Set in the early twentieth century, this is a solid choice for readers seeking historical fiction with paranormal elements. The plot moves at a suspenseful pace as readers learn how the characters are connected, and a romance with twists and turns develops between Verity and a boy named Abel. The characters are fully crafted, and the touches of magic include potions, candle tricks, and spells that tie people to places. Each plot point is tied up nicely to make for a bittersweet ending. VERDICT An engaging historical novel with fantastical elements, this is a good fit for mid to large-sized collections, or where Southern settings circulate well.—Liz Anderson, DC P.L.

School Library Journal

2020-07-27
In 1907, a web of secrets is unraveled after 17-year-old Verity and her younger sister, Lilah, arrive by way of an orphan train.

Verity Pruitt is forced to abandon her offer of college acceptance when her widowed father is involuntarily committed to an asylum. Arriving in Wheeler, Arkansas, Verity is heartbroken to discover that Lilah is to be adopted by Maeve Donovan, a beautiful, mysterious woman, and her taciturn uncle while Verity is taken in as an indenture by brusque but kindly farmers. It’s clear from the start that there is something otherworldly about the woods near the town, and as Verity struggles to find a way to reunite with her sister, she uncovers layer after layer of a tragic backstory that echoes traditional fairy tales, interspersed with her straightforward narrative. Verity’s smart, determined, and sometimes stubborn persona will bring readers into her corner. The plot spools out lengthily though there’s never a lot of question about its likely resolution and even less doubt that Verity and the bookish, handsome Abel Atchley will find their way past their initial friction. Still, this blend of genres will appeal to a variety of readers with its detailed setting and plot. All characters, both primary and secondary, seem to be White.

An engaging, if predictable, take on the tropes of historical fiction and fantasy. (Historical fantasy. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews

A BEA YA Buzz Pick
A SIBA Fall Okra Pick
A Once Upon a Book Club Subscription Box Selection

“An engaging historical novel with fantastical elements.” —School Library Jounal

“Eventide is my favorite sort of book: a pitch-perfect historical ghost story, creepy and beautiful in equal measure. I am looking forward to whatever Sarah Goodman brings us next!” —Elizabeth C. Bunce, Morris Award-winning author

From the Publisher

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