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.
August 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 Students at Atwood School have always leapt across the Narrow, a slender stretch of river behind the school, renowned for its inescapable undercurrent. But for Eden, the Narrow isn't only the site of a school tradition. It's where she saw Delphine Fornier fall in and drown--and then miraculously show up alive again, albeit stricken with a bizarre disease making her allergic to anything but the purest water. Now, in Eden's senior year, she's been tasked with being Delphine's live-in companion in exchange for tuition. Soon, she finds out why the previous companion left. Something from the Narrow is hunting Delphine. And if it needs to break Eden to reach Delphine, it will. Marshall has written a good old-fashioned ghost story with modern-day updates, including technology and pop-culture references and an openly lesbian main character. With its carefully cultivated atmosphere of dread and uncertainty, this is a solid page-turner with several twists along the way to a bittersweet ending. A great choice for anyone who likes scary tales with strong romantic subplots.
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Starred review from June 1, 2023
Ghosts, secrets, lies, and loyalty. Seventeen-year-old Eden has secrets. As she returns to boarding school for senior year, she's keeping the biggest secret of all: the reason behind her bruises and injured arm. When the dean informs her that her parents (who are vacationing in Bali) haven't paid her tuition, Eden again feels the thud of their casual neglect. The dean offers her a choice: stay in climate-controlled Abigail House with mysteriously ill Delphine, whose family will cover tuition for someone willing to live there as her companion, or leave the school. Eden chooses Abigail House--with trepidation. Six years earlier, making the traditional (and potentially deadly) beginning-of-term leap across the Narrow, a river chasm, Eden and best friend Veronica turned to see Delphine fall in. Horrified, they watched her disappear beneath the water. But amazingly, they found Delphine back at the dorm when they returned. The next day, Delphine developed a deadly allergy to water unless it's distilled. Now, Eden hears rumors of the Drowning Girl ghost--and the cryptic Abigail House protocol includes never leaving the door at the bottom of the stairs unlocked at night. As Eden becomes romantically attracted to Delphine, she pursues the mystery of the ghost, convinced it holds the key to Delphine's illness. Love and loyalty intertwine with undercurrents of controlling abuse, giving this story the depth and richness of a darker reality. Main characters are White; there is diversity in sexuality and ethnicity in the supporting cast. Haunting. (Paranormal. 14-18)
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September 1, 2023
Gr 7 Up-Eden is thrilled to be back with her friends at their boarding school, Atwood, even though it means going back to lying to her friends about her abusive brother. Her parents are so focused on Luke, in fact, that they forget to pay her tuition, landing her a strange job as paid companion to the ethereal and very ill Delphine, who can never leave Abigail House. Delphine's illness began after a botched attempt to jump across the Narrow, a dangerous Atwood tradition with a haunting history, but Eden finds her magnetic and beautiful. The closer they get, the more haunted they become, and it seems the ghosts will not rest until they discover the true history of the Narrow. Marshall succeeds in exposing how the gaps between love and obsession or even possession can slowly become blurred, and Eden's gut-deep fear of not being believed about her assault is as real as her fear of not being believed about the ghosts haunting her. A broad but well-defined and supportive friend group shows lots of examples of healthy relationships, bringing Eden's unhealthy situations into sharp contrast. Dangerous ghost visitations; a cornucopia of secrets, lies, and misunderstandings; and a compelling cast make for a story with questions that echo long after the last page. VERDICT An excellent sapphic dark academia with gothic vibes and plenty of suffocatingly suspenseful moments.-Allie Stevens
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