The Revelry

by Katherine Webber

Overview

For fans of Laini Taylor, E. Lockhart, and Holly Black, the chilling story of a girl who goes to a once-a-year-party in the woods... and then must piece together the fantastical things that happened to her after she wakes up with no memory of the night before.

Once a year in the woods outside Ember Grove, the Revelry occurs. Everyone knows what it is — an exclusive, mysterious party in the woods at the school year's end. But nobody really knows what happens there. Because once you attend the Revelry, you are sworn to secrecy... forever.

Bitsy Clark knows better than to break the rules around the Revelry. But her best friend, Amy, isn't waiting for an invitation. As the night comes closer, her plan is clear — she and Bitsy are going to sneak their way in.

Bitsy can remember being nervous about this. She can remember going to the woods. But after that: Nothing. She doesn't know what happened to her. All she knows is that her life starts to unravel, while Amy's good fortune grows stronger.

Has Bitsy been cursed?

And if so, will she be able to discover enough secrets of the Revelry in order to free herself?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338828528
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2023
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Katherine Webber is originally from California but currently lives in London. She has also lived and worked in Hong Kong, Maui, and Atlanta. She loves an adventure, whether it is found in a book or in real life. Travel, books, and eating out are her favorite indulgences. Her debut YA novel Wing Jones/The Heartbeats of Wing Jones is published by Walker Books in the UK and Penguin Random House/Delacorte in the US. Katherine also writes the young fiction series Sam Wu Is Not Afraid as Katie Tsang with her husband, Kevin Tsang.

Editorial Reviews

06/26/2023

Every year in the small town of Ember Grove, high school seniors attend a party in the woods known as the Revelry. What transpires there is a closely guarded secret: “There are no photos, no official guest list, no proof of anything that happens.” This year, 16-year-old best friends Bitsy and Amy sneak their way in, despite being two years out from their own invitations, and when they wake up the next day, they bear matching scars in place of their friendship rings and only the faintest memories of the previous night. Bitsy quickly suspects something went dangerously wrong, especially when she finds that every time something good happens to Amy, Bitsy’s scar burns and she experiences bad luck. The girls’ friendship grows strained, so when Bitsy meets silver-haired newcomer Skyler, who seems privy to the Revelry’s secrets, she endeavors to figure out what happened that night. Leisurely pacing winds down to a rushed resolution, halting narrative impact. Still, Webber (Twin Crowns) weaves sinister ambiance by keeping the Revelry ambiguous and Ember Grove’s surroundings liminal, all the better to craft this tense tale of betrayal, codependency, friendship, and longing. Major characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Claire Wilson, RCW Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for the UK edition of The Revelry:

"A short, sharp punch of a book that has the feel of a long lost fairy tale. Dangerous, mysterious and wonderfully unsettling, The Revelry is a powerful exploration of the angst and beauty of female friendship." — Krystal Sutherland, NYT Bestselling Author of House of Hollow

"Webber weaves a haunting tale of a hungry wood, a legendary party, and longings sharpened like sticks by dark enchantment. But the book’s true heart is the seesawing bond between two best friends connected by love and history, whose lives are divided into Before and After following their attendance at that shadowy annual revel. You'll read it with your heart in your throat." — Melissa Albert, NYT Bestselling Author of The Hazel Wood

"A highly compulsive, witchy thriller taking an astute look at the complexities of female friendship." — The Bookseller

From the Publisher

2023-06-08
Bitsy Clark knows how to show respect to her hometown of Ember Grove.

She drops coins in the Founder’s Fountain and follows the local superstitions, like wearing rings of twisted strands of hair so you won’t lose your companion. So when her best friend, Amy, suggests they sneak into the yearly Revelry, Bitsy knows they shouldn’t; the Revelry at the end of summer is for graduating high school seniors, and the girls have only just finished their sophomore year. But Amy insists, and Bitsy always goes along with Amy. The party takes place in the woods, and no one ever reveals specifics, just saying that it’s life-changing. The next morning, neither of the girls can remember what happened, but their costumes are singed, their hair is damp, and there are raised scars on the fingers where they wore their hair rings. Bitsy also starts seeing a mysterious girl from the Revelry with white-blond hair who invites her into the woods after dark. Can Bitsy unravel the mystery before her life is irrevocably changed? The atmospheric prose feels overwritten and is infused with old superstitions reminiscent of tales of European fae; in this world, magic exists but as a fickle, double-edged sword. The girls’ friendship is at the heart of the narrative, but it’s manipulated by events and overanalyzed to such an extent that readers may feel it is better off abandoned. Main characters seem to be white.

Excessively drawn out. (Speculative fiction. 13-17)

Kirkus Reviews