Roses and Rot

Publishers Weekly Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Novel of Summer 2016

Imogen and her sister, Marin, escape their cruel mother to attend a prestigious artists' retreat but soon learn that living in a fairy tale requires sacrifices, whether it be art or love, in this haunting debut novel from "a remarkable young writer" (Neil Gaiman).

What would you sacrifice for everything you ever dreamed of?

Imogen has grown up reading fairy tales about mothers who die and make way for cruel stepmothers. As a child she used to lie in bed wishing that her life would become one of these tragic fairy tales, because she couldn't imagine how a stepmother could be worse than her mother now. As adults Imogen and her sister, Marin, are accepted to an elite postgrad arts program - Imogen as a writer and Marin as a dancer. Soon enough, though, they realize that there's more to the school than meets the eye.

Imogen might be living in the fairy tale she's dreamed about as a child, but it's one that will pit her against Marin if she decides to escape her past to find her heart's desire.