Our Crooked Hearts

NATIONAL BESTSELLER #1 INDIE NEXT PICK 6 STARRED REVIEWS

Secrets. Lies. Bad choices. Dangerous magic. . . . From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Melissa Albert comes OUR CROOKED HEARTS, a contemporary fantasy "so precise and enthralling that the only explanation is that Albert herself is a witch" (Booklist, starred review)

On the way home from a party, seventeen-year-old Ivy and her soon-to-be ex nearly run over a nude young woman standing in the middle of a tree-lined road. It's only the first in a string of increasingly eerie events and offerings: a dead rabbit in the driveway, a bizarre concoction buried by her mother in the backyard, a box of childhood keepsakes hidden in her parents' closet safe. Most unsettling of all, corroded recollections of Ivy and her enigmatic mother's past resurface, with the help of the boy next door.

What if there's more to Ivy's mother than meets the eye? And what if the supernatural forces she messed with during her own teen years have come back to haunt them both? Ivy must grapple with these questions and more if she's going to escape the darkness closing in.

Straddling Ivy's contemporary suburban town and her mother's magic-drenched 1990s Chicago, this bewitching and propulsive story rockets towards a conclusion guaranteed to keep readers up all night.

“"No one weaves fairy tale magic into the modern world like Melissa Albert. A truly masterful tale, Our Crooked Hearts comes with all the trappings of a classic: immaculate prose, a parallel generational story for the ages, and chills when you least expect them. If loving these crooked hearts is wrong, I don't want to be right." -- David Arnold, author of The Electric Kingdom "A riveting story that grips you like a spell until you're too deep to emerge unscathed! Once again, Melissa Albert reveals the power of magic within a daughter's grasp and the love of imperfect mothers." -- Angeline Boulley, author of Firekeeper's Daughter "Utterly believable mothers, sisters, and daughters with their hands full of magic, making bad decisions because they have to. I love it. No one combines magic, darkness, and the realities of being a woman the way Melissa Albert does." -- Kristin Cashore, author of The Graceling Realm series "The gravity of Albert's prose in Our Crooked Hearts is inescapable. I love the glint and grind of its magic--its tangled inheritance, the sacrifices it demands, the bonds it makes and breaks. This book will swallow you whole." -- Hannah Abigail Clarke, author of Scapegracers "Ruthlessly enticing, Our Crooked Hearts is a story about fierce magic and even fiercer young women. It caught me in its web and held on tight. This book pulses with a bewitching darkness, and I loved it." -- Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake " Our Crooked Hearts is a glitter-edged razor of a book, sharp and keen. The magic here is real and visceral, with powerful consequences. I fell into this book like Alice falling into Wonderland, and I didn't want to leave." -- Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians "Melissa Albert's signature storytelling is once again pure sorcery. This book has everything I love: girls with tremendous power at their fingertips, mothers with unforgivable secrets, horrors left on the doorstep, and best of all, writing that sings and stuns. To those with a crookedness inside you: You are about to be enthralled." -- Nova Ren Suma, author of The Walls Around Us "Melissa Albert's inimitable and gritty take on magic is beautifully woven in this poignant and striking story of mothers and daughters, power and balance, and love and betrayal. Our Crooked Hearts feels like a freshly spun secret; electric, dangerous--and impossible to keep to yourself." -- Courtney Summers, author of Sadie "Nobody writes like Melissa Albert. Her words are electric, sizzling; they crash through the bloodstream with the same force as the magic she conjures in her stories. Our Crooked Hearts is Albert at her very best; a sharp explosion of a book that's taut, haunting, and potent as a witch's brew." -- Krystal Sutherland, author of House of Hollow "A dark, searing force burns at the core of Our Crooked Hearts , one that circles the reader as subtly, as inevitably as a hunter closing in on a rabbit before the kill. Deftly melding intoxicating witchcraft with the equally potent spell of trauma handed down from mother to daughter, Melissa Albert examines how far love and friendship can be twisted before they corrode into something else--and, in the aftermath, what it truly means to claim one's power. An ominous and irresistibly compelling read." -- Shveta Thakrar, author of Star Daughter " Our Crooked Hearts is eerie, evocative, and electrifyingly brilliant. I was immediately gripped from the very first page and completely compelled throughout. I already can't wait to reread it. Melissa Albert's writing is magic made real." -- Katherine Webber, author of The Revelry”

Named a best book of the year by Booklist, School Library Journal, New York Public Library, Shelf Awareness, The Bulletin, Amazon, and more!

"Like a puzzle box that somehow contains a more interesting version of The Craft. . . . It all boils down to the roiling cauldron of mother/daughter issues at the core of this story, and the twisting mystery of it all is very satisfying to unravel. All that plus teen witches--what more could you ask for?" --NPR.org (Best New Book of Summer)

"This atmospheric, powerful YA fantasy is crammed with secrets, lies, and ferociously good writing." --The Guardian (Best New Children's Book)

"A tale both spellbinding and binge-worthy." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Albert's fast-paced storytelling is both thrilling and accessible. . . . Teens who enjoy drama, secrets, romance, and mysteries with a twist of magic will love this one." --SLJ (starred review)

"Vivid prose pairs effortlessly with an engaging slow-burn mystery in this eerie, dual-timeline thriller." --Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Haunting and beautiful, full of messy girls drunk on messier magic and told with electric prose brimming with sharp metaphors." --The Bulletin (starred review, Blue Ribbon title)

"This is a novel that will be devoured as well as savored. It takes risks and, magically, succeeds." --Booklist (starred review)

"Riveting, creepy, and utterly bewitching; do not miss this one." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Sublimely creepy." --PopSugar

"This exquisitely written, skillfully plotted page-turner offers gripping suspense, unsettling scenes of magic unleashed, and a surprising love story." --The Buffalo News

"In this paranormal young adult mystery, Albert creates a lyrical and creepy atmosphere that sucks you deep within the pages of the story." --BuzzFeed (Best New Book of June)

"Every line reads like an incantation, and the result is a book pulsing with magic, one that holds the reader firmly under its spell." --V. E. Schwab, author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

"A riveting story that grips you like a spell until you're too deep to emerge unscathed." --Angeline Boulley, author of Firekeeper's Daughter

"A truly masterful tale, Our Crooked Hearts comes with all the trappings of a classic: immaculate prose, a parallel generational story for the ages, and chills when you least expect them." --David Arnold, author of The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik

"Pulses with a bold, beguiling magic that feels brand new and classic at the same time. I couldn't put it down." --Karen McManus, author of One of Us Is Lying

"I loved it. No one combines magic, darkness, and the realities of being a woman the way Melissa Albert does." --Kristin Cashore, author of the Graceling Realm series

"Our Crooked Hearts feels like a freshly spun secret; electric, dangerous--and impossible to keep to yourself." --Courtney Summers, author of Sadie

"Our Crooked Hearts is Melissa Albert at her very best; a sharp explosion of a book that's taut, haunting, and potent as a witch's brew." --Krystal Sutherland, author of House of Hollow

"Melissa Albert's signature storytelling is once again pure sorcery. This book has everything I love: girls with tremendous power at their fingertips, mothers with unforgivable secrets, horrors left on the doorstep, and writing that sings and stuns." --Nova Ren Suma, author of A Room Away from the Wolves

Named to YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults and Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers Lists

Melissa Albert is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series (The Hazel Wood, The Night Country, Tales from the Hinterland) and a former bookseller and YA lit blogger. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and included in the New York Times list of Notable Children's Books. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

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