June 19, 2023
When Eden White arrives for her senior year at Atwood boarding school, she’s met by her three roommates, who drag her off to undergo their annual first-day ritual: making the near-fatal jump across the Narrow, a four-foot-wide section of river. Falling into the swift current would mean certain death; no one has survived it except Eden’s ill, reclusive classmate Delphine Fournier, whom she witnessed fall into the Narrow six years prior. After surviving the jump, Eden meets with the school dean and learns that her wealthy parents—who are away on a remote vacation—have neglected to pay her tuition. He offers her a deal: become a live-in companion to Delphine, who dwells alone in a former residence hall and has a deadly water allergy, and Delphine’s mother will pay Eden’s tuition. Eden is soon entangled in a mystery surrounding Delphine’s former companion, and at the same time finds herself falling in love with Delphine. In this serpentine horror mystery, Marshall (These Fleeting Shadows) intertwines gothic ambiance and swoony romance while exploring hefty issues of abuse and manipulation set against a terrifying ghost story. Eden and Delphine cue as white; supporting characters are racially diverse. Ages 12–up.