First published 2017
Jacqueline sits perfectly still in her princess dress while her mother fixes her hair. Her twin sister Jillian climbs trees in the backyard, making their father wish she were the son he wanted. The girls are five when they realize their parents shape them like clay, molding Jacqueline into quiet perfection and Jillian into wild adventure. At twelve, they find an impossible staircase that leads them away from their manufactured lives. The world below contains mad scientists, death, and choices their parents never prepared them to make. Jack and Jill must navigate this strange land where pretend love fails them and real survival begins. Magic fills every corner, but so does danger. The sisters learn that escaping their parents' expectations means facing something far more terrifying than disappointment.
Genres: fantasy, magical-realism, young-adult, dark-fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, siblings
187 pages · Hardcover · Tordotcom
Content warnings: death, emotional-abuse