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★ “Skillfully crafted and sharply descriptive with horrifying imagery to spare… Powerfully angry and vengeance-laden, with terrifying and very human monsters.” –School Library Journal, starred review

A queer, feminist spin on Stephen King’s The Mist, this ode to female-rage is a perfect pick for fans of She Is a Haunting, and a reminder that if “boys will be boys”, girls will fight back.

For high school senior Nell and her friends, a vacation house on a private Florida island sounds like the makings of a dream spring break. But Nell brings secrets with her—secrets that fuse with the island’s tragic history, trapping them all with a curse that surrounds the island in a toxic, vengeful mist and the surrounding waters with an unseen, devouring beast.

Getting out alive means risking her friendships, her sanity, and even her own life. In order to save herself and her friends, Nell will have to face memories she’d rather leave behind, reveal the horrific truth behind the encounter that changed her life one year ago, and face the shadow that’s haunted her since childhood.

Easier said than done. But when Nell’s friends reveal that they each brought secrets of their own, a solution even more dangerous than the curse begins to take shape. Reading like a YA feminist spin on Stephen King’s The Mist, So Witches We Became is a diverse, queer horror about female friendship, the emotional aftermath of surviving assault, and how to find power in the shadows of your past.

Step into your witchy power or be swallowed by the curse–the choice is yours.

Genre:

★ "This is a claustrophobic, evocative tale, skillfully crafted and sharply descriptive with horrifying imagery to spare... Powerfully angry and vengeance-laden, with terrifying and very human monsters."
SLJ, starred review
“Deliciously claustrophobic…[and] entirely gripping from start to finish.”
Kirkus
“Perfectly illustrating the righteous fury of young women with creeping shadows and hungry waters, Baguchinsky’s first step into YA horror slams in like a storm, leaving you anxious and breathless in just the right way.”
Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us and The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
“An eerie and powerful exploration of feminine rage and embracing your own power—this gripped me from the very first page.”
Katrina Leno, author of Horrid and You Must Not Miss
“Profound and powerful.…Essential reading for every young witch coming into her power.”
Lindy Ryan, author of Bless Your Heart and Cold Snap
“Baguchinsky weaves a terrifying and triumphant story of female friendship—a brew of secrets, grief, love, and rage—that readers will recognize in their bones. I adored it.”
Rebecca Podos, Lambda Literary Award–winning author of Like Water

On Sale: Jul 23, 2024
Page Count: 368 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780316568807

About the Author

Jill Baguchinsky is an award-winning author who grew up on a barrier island just off the coast of Southwest Florida, where she read too much Stephen King and dodged more hurricanes than she could count. After one storm too many, she and her mini menagerie of rescue animals moved inland. Aside from the manatees she used to watch in her backyard canal, Jill doesn’t miss much about island life. She invites you to visit her online at jillbaguchinsky.com.

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From NOVL Nation

“This queer horror was haunting, visceral, and downright gruesome at times… If you’re a fan of chilling tales where the survivors fight back then this one is for you!”

–Toya, @thereadingchemist

“The Island is not just a place it’s also a character… that wants nothing but revenge! Great read!”

– Ashley, @thepageladies