From Darkness

by Kate Hazel Hall

Overview

Sixteen-year-old Ari Wyndham lost her best friend in the sea. Everybody told her it was an accident, but Ari can’t forgive herself. Her own life is cut short when a tiger-snake delivers a deathly bite, and a beautiful, ghostly and strangely familiar young woman appears, summoning Ari's soul to the underworld. Ari, however, refuses to go.
 
Though she knows there will be a terrible price to pay for her transgression, the mysterious guide chooses to save Ari. Their rebellion upsets the balance of life and death in Ari’s remote coastal village. A rift opens from the underworld, unleashing dark magic: savage dog packs emerge at night, fishermen catch ghostly bodies in their nets, and children go missing.
 
Together, Ari and her guide battle the dark powers of the underworld and heal the rift. Though their bond seems unbreakable, it may not be enough. It is up to Ari to find the courage to do the one thing that will save the world from darkness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781945053986
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/03/2020
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Kate Hazel Hall has published short stories and creative non-fiction for adults, but YA fiction is where her heart is—especially fantasy, magical realism, and speculative YA with a healthy amount of Sapphic romance built in.
 
When she isn’t writing, Kate often sneaks off to the forest or the beach with a sketchbook and a surfboard. Despite wearing out several wetsuits, Kate is yet to gain her advanced surfer qualifications, but she does have a PhD in Literary Studies from Deakin University, where she teaches graduate research skills, genre studies and ecological fiction. Kate lives with her daughters and the world’s naughtiest rescue cat in a small Australian coastal town, just across the Southern Ocean from Antarctica.
 
From Darkness (Duet Books, November 2020) is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

"This delicate story combines suspenseful twists with emboldening love, threading miracles out of the bleakest moments. Gentle, cloistered scenes in which Ari tries to hide Alex’s return contrast with searches in a forest that’s pocked with treacherous sinkholes. The novel navigates these shifting environments with ease." —Karen Rigby, Foreword Reviews


"Set in two richly imagined, juxtaposed worlds and cleverly infused with Greek mythology, From Darkness is an atmospheric tale of grief, courage and first love." —Julia Ember, author of The Seafarer's Kiss and Ruinsong


"Hall’s unadorned, graceful prose suffuses first love, otherworldly threats, and mundane chores with the same irresistible sincerity...Ari’s journey is clear, heartrending, and shot through with sweetness and eerie beauty." —Publishers Weekly


"This coming-of-age story will leave readers empathizing with Ari as she transitions into adulthood and learns to be brave in the face of danger." —Beronica Puhr, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2020

Gr 9 Up—It has been seven years since Ari Wyndham's best friend, Alex, went missing at sea. Filled with remorse over the disappearance, Ari tries to move on, but she knows a piece of her is missing. After being bitten by a venomous tiger snake, Ari slips into an unknown realm and encounters the river Styx. A figure by the name of the Summoner approaches to take Ari to the afterlife, and Ari eventually realizes that the Summoner is actually Alex. Going against the laws of the underworld, Alex escapes with Ari back to Earth. What should be a wonderful reunion for the two friends soon turns ominous. Ari is filled with terror when evil, unexplainable occurrences plague her town of Stonehaven and Alex starts behaving strangely. Afraid of losing Alex again, Ari will do whatever she can to protect the love of her life, all while saving her town from underworld demons. Hall's debut will interest fans of magical realism and sapphic romances alike. Hall creates a marvelous LGBTQ love story in an eerie fantasy setting. The author intertwines nods to folklore and Greek mythology with relatable real-life issues, such as divorce, depression, and anxiety. Ari is described as white, and Alex has darker skin and black hair. VERDICT This coming-of-age story will leave readers empathizing with Ari as she transitions into adulthood and learns to be brave in the face of danger.—Beronica Puhr, Oak Park P.L., IL

School Library Journal

2020-08-14
Afterlife mythology meets romantic fantasy in this Australian debut.

Seven years after a tragic accident, grief-stricken Ari continues to blame herself for the loss of her best friend. If she hadn’t dared Alex to swim across the channel, Alex would still be alive. Although Alex’s body was never found, she’s presumed dead. Only child Ari longs for a sibling and is overjoyed when her mother and stepfather announce they will be having a baby. When her mother goes into preterm labor, a distressed Ari runs outside barefoot, receiving a venomous snake bite. A beautiful stranger brings her back from the edge of death—but this is no stranger: It’s Alex. Alex went to the underworld after her death, where she was raised to be a Summoner, one who leads the newly dead to their final resting place. In saving Ari’s life, Alex breaks Summoner law, knocking nature off balance and unleashing terrible events on their sleepy coastal town. Ari, who still seeks redemption for Alex’s death, will have to travel through the unlit realm to face the evil Lord Acheron to make things right. The book’s greatest strength is its sense of place; the pine plantation and terrifying sinkholes come vividly to life. The third-person narration places distance between readers and Ari, and she does not stand out as a memorable character. Queer Ari is wrestling with her sexuality and attraction to Alex. Most characters are White.

An atmospheric read. (Fantasy. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews