e-ALC, 08:40:39
Narrated by: Jade Wheeler
Release Date: January 27, 2026
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: January 13-14, 2026
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received this ALC free from the publisher and PRH Audio App. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Body Horror, Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Racism, Stalking, Vomit
For Readers Interested In: Action, ARC, Audio, Auto-Buy Authors, Most Anticipated, Own Voices, Paranormal, Pre-Ordered, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Thrillers, YAA YA thriller about a Black teen whose family vacation to a town with a terrifying history becomes a desperate search for two missing girls and a fight for survival.
When sixteen-year-old Naomi Stoakes and her family head to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley for summer vacation they don’t know the small, mountainous town of Sparksburg, Virginia has a dark and twisted past. But when they arrive, Naomi can’t shake the feeling that something about Sparksburg just isn’t right. When she learns Sparksburg had once been a Sundown Town—a town where Blacks weren’t allowed after sunset lest they be murdered—well Naomi’s unease starts to make sense.
As Naomi digs more into Sparksburg’s violent origins, she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a girl, appearing nightly outside her window. Then she learns of two girls who’ve recently gone missing and suspects the past may still be present in Sparksburg and beneath the quaint façade of this tourist town is a palpable danger.
When Naomi decides to track the disappearance of the two girls herself and confronts the ghost of another, she become suspicious of a local man who has kindled fear in Naomi more than once. When she learns he has a connection to one of the missing girls, Naomi is certain he’s responsible for the disappearances.
When no one believes her, Naomi takes matters into her own hands. But to save the missing girls, she’ll have to finally face her own past trauma as a “missing girl”, and risk losing everything she loves.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I saw there was a book about Sundown Towns I have to admit I was a little nervous. I just hate the idea of them. And even more so the thought that they would be widely talked about in the past tense. But Stratton did a great job in bringing them to the present and explaining what they were in the author’s note.
She DOES explain what it is in the story from a book that she buys from a bookstore, but I do wish there was a bit more in-depth in the story. I know she was trying not to like info dump on the story, but I just need people to know these were REAL things, some places are still like that, and they were all across the US. As a librarian I loved that this is a YA book tho. This way librarians can explain what they are and why it’s important to know about them etc. This opens conversations and the librarian can help to find other books that can help them better understand it.
So the mystery was my other favorite part of this. I was on the edge of my seat not only trying to figure out who it was but also how the ghost was a thing too. This mystery had two parts and I thought that was the coolest thing. The ghost ends up being a paranormal part of this and I loved it. She’s the only person that can see it tho. The mystery was real and it pissed me off. Please know this will make you mad. I had to take a break for a bit. Don’t be upset or mad if you have to do that same.
The characters were what got me in this book tho. I was so upset with her not wanting to even let her parents try. She didn’t seem to want to put herself in their shoes at all. And while that’s warranted, I mean she did go through something traumatic, I just didn’t feel like they deserved that. I KNOW this is an impossible situation and people grieve in different ways, but that was sad. However I do think this is another part of the book that could be used in a discussion.
I loved this book so much more than I was expecting. Here we are barely into January and here I am with one of my favorite books of the year already. Not only is this book entertaining, but it is also a good teaching tool that I hope librarians and educators use from here on out.
Overall, I give this
