“Chewins’s prose is exquisite, her eerie concepts heart-wrenching. . . . Superb, spooky, and unforgettable.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The grass grew taller than the house itself, surrounding it on all sides. It stuffed the keyholes and scraped against the roof. It shook the walls and made paintings shiver.
Seven years ago, the Ballastian sisters’ parents left them in the magical Straygarden Place, a house surrounded by tall silver grass and floating trees. They left behind a warning to never leave the house or go into the grass. “Wait for us,” the note read. “Sleep darkly.” Ever since, the house itself has taken care of Winnow, Mayhap, and Pavonine—feeding them, clothing them, even keeping them company—while the girls have waited and grown up. Until one day, when the eldest, fourteen-year-old Winnow, does the unthinkable and goes outside into the grass, and everything twelve-year-old Mayhap thought she knew starts to unravel. Now in paperback with an updated cover, The Sisters of Straygarden Place uses luscious, vivid prose to transport readers to a house where beloved dogs crawl into their owners’ minds to sleep, sick girls turn silver, and anything can be stolen—even laughter and silence.