The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

From Susan Dennard, the New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series, comes a haunting and high-octane contemporary fantasy about the magic it takes to face your fears in a nightmare-filled forest and the mettle required to face the secrets hiding in the dark corners of your own family.

An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Barnes & Noble YA Book Club Pick
An Indigo Best Teen Book of 2022
A Junior Library Guild Pick
An Indie Next Pick
A Goodreads Most Anticipated YA Book

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town--and the rest of humanity--from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal--and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie's ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

"You'll want to get lost in the world of The Luminaries again and again."--Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Also by Susan Dennard

The Executioners Three

The Luminaries trilogy
The Luminaries
The Hunting Moon
The Whispering Night

The Witchlands series
Truthwitch
Windwitch
Sightwitch (novella)
Bloodwitch
Witchshadow
Witchlight

Susan Dennard has come a long way since her childhood in a little Georgia village. She traveled the world while working in marine biology, visiting six of the seven continents (she'll get to Asia one of these days!) before settling down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor. She's also the author of the Something Weird and Dangerous series and the Witchlands series, which contains the New York Times bestselling novels Truthwitch and Windwitch, as well as the illustrated novella Sightwitch. She may be found hiking with her dogs, battling darkspawn on her Xbox, or getting bruises at the dojo when she's not writing.